• Proposal Story // Kate & Adam •

Oh where to begin with this one.

It was such a fun, emotional, creatively fulfilling, and just HAPPY day. Not only for me, but for a dear dear friend of mine, Kate and her man Adam — who pulled off one stunning proposal. I’m so honored to have been a part of this and capture such a milestone for them. Plus, we had a fabulous day actually shooting for fun (mind you, I love what I do, but sometimes it’s nice to just let loose and do whatever) in a beautiful place, with good friends. Doesn’t get much better. However, let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

My boyfriend and I had ventured out to Eastern WA a few months ago to do a little hiking and exploring and had stumbled upon some sand dunes. Spending an hour or so there, I knew I had to get back there and shoot. Whether it was with friends, clients, etc. didn’t matter. The fact was they were stunning and I needed to return (plus, I had no idea they even existed in Washington!) However, the desire to go out and shoot here quickly grew a second agenda — a proposal.

A bit before we had set our plan in stone with some lovely girlfriends, I get a phone call from Kate’s boyfriend, Adam wanting to see if he could pull of a proposal out at these sand dunes. UMMM yes, sir, you can certainly do that. He was about to walk into one of the best documented proposals in history…3 photographers with cameras on hand waiting to shoot in one of the most picturesque places. Talk about well planned! We spoke, schemed, and figured out a way to make it happen during our day trip to Frenchman’s Coulee. Here are a few photos from the day prior to the engagement…read on.

As we head out to shoot among the desert, I had butterflies in my stomach knowing what was going to go down in a couple of hours…I was worried I was going to slip and say something or give it away, but off we went (with me checking my phone every hot second to make sure he was there as planned, in position).

Just hanging out, shootin’ one another…Kate having no idea that in 1 hour she was going to be engaged.

Instagramming…duh.

This sand was tough to climb….

^ moments before….So at about 2pm, we strategically ate lunch a bit aways from the trailhead to allow Adam to make his way out to the dunes, set up camp, and just wait. And wait, and wait. Which I’m sure to him felt like a lifetime.

As we approached the dunes, I knew he was up there waiting for her. I tried to find a nonchalant way for Kate to make her way up the dunes, so I asked for her camera so she could “run up the sand” with Emily. As they began to make their way, she see’s someone. Her first reaction was actually pretty hilarious….not knowing who it was because he was still so far away, she turns to Emily and says “umm, there’s a strange man standing up there”. Emily, in her sweet way of coaxing “yea, do you know that man?”. 3 seconds later, Kate realized who it was, ran up to him, and the rest was history.

We had to make a mad dash after her…she made it SO fast up that sand I was terrified I was going to drop my camera or miss it, or something. Holy cow that gal can run fast.

Shocked we were all in on it…so naturally time for some bubbly.

Couldn’t stop smiling!

Shortly after, the sun came out from behind these dark storm clouds, we took some stunning photos and these two were ENGAGED.

So lovely, right? Honored to have been there. And a big thanks to the other ladies who helped pull this off (and who were somewhat thrown into this situation and handled it like champs!)

Kate & Adam: I’m so happy and excited to witness you two do life together. God has some amazing plans for your futures together as a team and I’m truly blessed to call both of you friends.  Best wishes to the two of you. Oh, and in Kate’s words “Holy cow, today was epic. I need a Slurpee.”