Merissa and Emilio’s very first time in the Pacific Northwest was Emilio’s perfect chance to propose to his love! He wanted a beautiful backdrop to make the occasion truly special, and Rattlesnake Lake on a gorgeous spring day became the setting of a surprise proposal for this lovely pair.

Rattlesnake Lake

Rattlesnake Lake is best known for the hiking trail to Rattlesnake Ledge. You can see the peak of the hill behind Merissa and Emilio in some of these photos! In the heat of the summer, the lake will dry out. This exposes tree stumps everywhere! It was cool to see it full of water in this early spring session — it's still just as beautiful. Experiencing it with Merissa and Emilio on their first trip to the area made it an extra cool experience for me.

Planning a Surprise Proposal

There are lots of ways to surprise your partner with a proposal! Some people choose to plan a date and keep their partner totally in the dark. They contact me and we formulate a plan for where I’ll meet them, and I come prepared to pop out of hiding (sometimes in plain sight) and capture the rush! 

For this proposal, Emilio opted to tell Merissa that he’d planned a couples shoot for the two of them. This way, she could help choose the location for where the session would happen. Emilio and I just kept the proposal part to ourselves until the right moment! 

To throw her off track, I started the session like any other regular couples session and I had a cue for him to know when I was ready, and it was his time to shine. Once he had popped the question, I made sure to get plenty of photos of the beautiful ring! The sun even came out to celebrate with the couple, too. We were all prepared for a pretty rainy day, but we got a somewhat cloudy, gorgeous sunset that lit Rattlesnake Lake up right toward the end of the session. When the earth is celebrating with you, you know it’s the perfect match!😉

I would love to help you craft your own surprise proposal for your partner, whether you’re visiting the PNW for a special trip or you call it home! Reach out to me here and fill me in on all the details!