Wahkeena Falls Proposal | Kyleigh & Blake
This surprise proposal at Wahkeena Falls, just outside Portland, Oregon, will always be one to remember. The catch? I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW! Usually one partner emails me ahead of time to set it up but not this one! I was just as surprised by the proposal moment as Kyleigh was when Blake got down on one knee!
Here’s some backstory. Kyleigh reached out to me a month or so prior to their shoot through Instagram saying that her and her boyfriend, Blake, were road tripping through Oregon and wanted to do a shoot with me! Okay first of all, so honored when this happens!! I was so excited (as always if you know me!) when someone mentions they want to go explore the gorge. They’d never been here so I recommended we check out a waterfall of their choice (so many great options) and Government Cove, which is an open area with spanning views of the Columbia River. Little did we know it was going to snow the week prior! It was bittersweet because the snow was unique and beautiful but also the path specifically up to the waterfall was very slick.
Some even deeper backstory. This shoot was scheduled for the Sunday after Thanksgiving. My husband and I drove all the way to Lake Tahoe, where his family has a vacation home, for the holiday. It was a grueling trip that took twice as long as it should have due to being in a literal blizzard for most of the drive. Because of this I was forced to notify Blake and Kyleigh that I wasn’t sure when and how I’d make it back up for their shoot. Blake later told me he was freaking out inside when I brought this up (and I was totally oblivious to how important it was!). Thankfully I did but we all had a little scare for a moment!
Okay back to the main story… so we are at Wahclella Falls, our first stop. Because of the slippery-ness I had asked them to come down from under the waterfall and Blake says, “wait can we get one more right here?”. My immediate reaction was “of course!” but also was surprised because rarely do clients have specific poses they want! Little did I know Blake was about to pull out a special little box with a precious piece of jewelry inside. Wahkeena Falls was the perfect backdrop for this sweet proposal and I feel so lucky to have been there to capture it. Thank goodness I was ready to fire away! I think Kyleigh and I both almost fell on the ice out of pure shock! It was a bitter cold afternoon so we took a few more photos at the waterfall and then headed over to Government Cove for some more fun until we couldn’t handle the chill anymore!
As Kyleigh explains in the, “How They Asked” blog she says the two of them met on Tinder and the rest is history. This is so common these days – I feel like at least half of my couples have met online or on an app. Heck, I used Bumble BFF when I moved to Washington state and didn’t know anyone! There is no shame in using the tools technology has given us in this day and age. These babes specifically live in sunny San Diego, California and I so wish they lived closer! Good thing we have social media to keep us in touch!
I hope you loved hearing about this surprise proposal at Wahkeena Falls, a great spot to pop the question near Portland, Oregon! If you want to check out another proposal I got to capture near Mt Hood check it out here!
