My husband and I have started a bucket list. We want to make it to all the National Parks in our life. We started off with our first being Arches National Park on the way from California to our newest home in Maryland. We knew we wanted to knock out the majority of the East Coast parks while we are living here for the next few years. Our first one? Shenandoah National Park. Now, I'll admit that I had never actually heard of this park, but our very first trip was breathtaking. I was and still am in awe of that park. Our very first trip there, we were joined by some lifelong friends of my husband who live in Virginia Beach. We decided it was a perfect middle point to meet for a day of hiking.
Being surrounded by the beautiful scenery, waterfalls, mountains, and fauna, I obviously knew I needed to shoot here. Who else to shoot than the couple that accompanied us to the park the very first time. After mentioning the idea to Sarah and getting the okay from Mike- we set in motion an adventurous meet up weekend with a few other photographers as well.
A few weeks later, my husband got a text from Mike, "Hey, I'm thinking about proposing to Sarah when we go to Shenandoah." Let me tell you, I just about jumped out of my seat with excitement. I had to make sure that this happened because I needed to capture it. I caught up with Mike and we hatched a plan to make sure we could make this proposal an unforgettable moment for Sarah.
On a beautiful April weekend, after meeting up and pitching tents, we set off up the trail to Hawksbill Peak. While this is a relatively short hike- it is a steep one, made worse not only by the ridiculous amounts of clothing we packed for the trip, but also the fact that my toddler only ever wants me to carry him, of course. Even with all the anticipation between myself and the other photographers and the nerves radiating off of Mike- Sarah never had any idea of what we she had coming her way. I could tell that Mike was ready to get this question off his chest.
A beautiful wooden block made by Mike and carved with the words, "Will you marry me?" was hidden away in my bag. At this point, I was sure that Mike was going to explode if we didn't get moving. I had mentioned to Sarah that I had a little item from a shop that I'd like to use in a shot. I had been planning a few small shop collaborations for this weekend that we had chatted about already, so she did not question it at all. I pulled out the block and we began shooting with them in the back ground. When we got the very shot we needed, I shouted over, "Oh my goodness, Sarah- you have to come see this photo! It's amazing!" When she turned around from seeing the back of the camera, Mike was on his knee-
Being surrounded by the beautiful scenery, waterfalls, mountains, and fauna, I obviously knew I needed to shoot here. Who else to shoot than the couple that accompanied us to the park the very first time. After mentioning the idea to Sarah and getting the okay from Mike- we set in motion an adventurous meet up weekend with a few other photographers as well.
A few weeks later, my husband got a text from Mike, "Hey, I'm thinking about proposing to Sarah when we go to Shenandoah." Let me tell you, I just about jumped out of my seat with excitement. I had to make sure that this happened because I needed to capture it. I caught up with Mike and we hatched a plan to make sure we could make this proposal an unforgettable moment for Sarah.
On a beautiful April weekend, after meeting up and pitching tents, we set off up the trail to Hawksbill Peak. While this is a relatively short hike- it is a steep one, made worse not only by the ridiculous amounts of clothing we packed for the trip, but also the fact that my toddler only ever wants me to carry him, of course. Even with all the anticipation between myself and the other photographers and the nerves radiating off of Mike- Sarah never had any idea of what we she had coming her way. I could tell that Mike was ready to get this question off his chest.
A beautiful wooden block made by Mike and carved with the words, "Will you marry me?" was hidden away in my bag. At this point, I was sure that Mike was going to explode if we didn't get moving. I had mentioned to Sarah that I had a little item from a shop that I'd like to use in a shot. I had been planning a few small shop collaborations for this weekend that we had chatted about already, so she did not question it at all. I pulled out the block and we began shooting with them in the back ground. When we got the very shot we needed, I shouted over, "Oh my goodness, Sarah- you have to come see this photo! It's amazing!" When she turned around from seeing the back of the camera, Mike was on his knee-
And she said, "yes!"
To celebrate this beautiful engagement, we made another day of it! The next morning, we hiked down to South River Falls, one of my favorite hikes in Shenandoah, to brave the freezing waterfall.
It was such a special end to a fantastic weekend. Sarah and Mike, Thank you for allowing us to be part of this special weekend. I can't wait to spend your wedding day with you as well.
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