Katie & Shane

6-24-2016

A Glacier Park Engagement

Katie and Shane are getting married tomorrow, and I just wanted to share some images from their beautiful engagement session, as well as their proposal story.  When I get stories like this sent to me that I am reminded why I love doing what I do so much.

They drove 6 hours to get up to this location, and then it started to snow.  It didn’t dampen our spirits one bit.  We went for it, and we got those epic images we wanted.

Here’s some of their story….

The proposal….

“The moment I learned that Katie loved Ranch and Ketchup as much as I did I knew she was the one. My only challenges left was when, where, and how should I propose and would she say yes.

I had the plan and everything laid out in my head. The monkey wrench…college. Katie and I are both students working to obtain our degrees. She loves Nursing and I love taking forever to get a degree in Engineering. Being broke and jobless isn’t always the easiest way to start a marriage. So I waited and bided my time planning for that moment when I would break the news.

Years went by, summer turned to fall, fall to winter, winter to spring, spring to summer and summer back into fall. It was time, the fall was beautiful, a true Indian summer, the diamond ring glittering in glee to finally embrace the warmth of a delicate finger.

We both had Friday off, it was perfect all we had to do was make it through the week, Siri insisted that the weather be great… Never trust Siri. As it goes, we live in Montana and the weather is fickle.

Its Friday morning . As I step out the door to pick up Katie there is snow…snow! Of course this is how it would be all my careful calculated planning ruined by Montana’s sick definition of a joke.

It’s ok though I tell myself, if it warms up the snow should melt and everything will be ok.

The place I want to propose is called the Beartooth pass. It is perfectly placed at where the Great Plains meet the majestic soaring peaks of the eastern Rocky Mountain Range. Picture buffalo and grizzly bears cohabitating with eagles soaring overhead and geese peacefully chattering within their flock.

Katie loves the Beartooth pass and believes that we are simply just taking a day trip to help relieve stress from studying and enjoy the beauty that surrounds. Little does she suspect she will have a life changing decision to make.

We get to Red Lodge, a little tourist town at the base of the pass. I stop by our favorite coffee shop and order our favorite drinks. The weather is erratic, should I have expected much less, I pondered as I smiled because at least the snow melted.

We start our long drive up the Beartooth pass road to the plateau at 10,947 ft above sea level. We stop halfway up to feed the chipmunks and enjoy the breath taking scenery that envelope all senses. The weather you may ask? About the same: sunny, then clouds, then some rain/snow, then back to sunny.

We have reached the top. There is a small dirt parking lot that allows you to pull off and overlook these tiny little lakes fed by glaciers and snow melt. It is a very popular spot where I am expecting to have at least one or two group of people to ask if they can take out picture.

As fate would have it no one is there. Car after car drives by with not even a passing glance at the beauty they are missing if they would just pull off the road. Katie is very happy and says that we can just set her camera to delayed shot and take the picture, which she does. I am not leaving a proposal in the hands of a time-delayed shot. We get back in the car and start driving onto the Wyoming side of the pass.

I spot a couple getting into their vehicle headed the opposite way and back towards my proposal destination. After some questionable vehicular maneuvers to get into the pull off they are about to leave from, I jump out and run over to their vehicle like a mad man. The driver slowly rolls down and looks at me with a curious look. I explain to him about this amazing spot just up the road that I want them to take a picture of Katie and I at. Katie is within earshot so I can’t tell them its for a proposal.

They obliged and I turned my car around and led the way back to our spot. My heart is beating heavily now as I approach the biggest question of my life. Both cars park and we slowly get out. I do a more formal introduction of Katie and myself and learn that they are from London and on vacation. I tell them that the beautiful view is just a short jaunt over there. The husband looks at me and jokingly asks if were going to push them off a cliff. I assure him were not here for that and tell Katie to go show them where we are going to stand for our picture.

Katie looks at me and says, “Why can’t you go with me?” I tell her that I needed to show the wife how to use my phone to take a video. As Katie went down the path that overlooks the glacier fed lakes below I whisper in the wives ear that I am proposing.

I walk down the path and stand next to Katie putting my arm around her and pose for the first shot. It’s taken and Katie is like alright lets go. I say hold on lets take one more. My phone in the wives hand and Katie’s camera in the husbands I go down on one knee and ask if she will spend the rest of her life with me. As I hear the shutter from the camera going crazy and a quite exclamation of surprise from the husband, the word “Yes” is uttered and the years of planning come to a culmination. The woman of my dreams is now my fiancé and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with her.”