This surprise proposal at Priest Lake was meaningful for both the couple, Indre and Andy, and myself. Priest Lake is a place I have been going since I was a kid, and it was the same for Indre. When Andy reached out about proposing to her here, I was pretty excited.
Their sunset surprise proposal was super sweet and simple. If you’re looking for something similar, here is how we planned it.
How we planned their surprise proposal at Priest Lake
Andy reached out to me sometime in June while the two of them were living in England. They were planning a trip home and he wanted to propose to her on her family dock right there on the lake.
The tricky part was getting me into the scenario without her being suspicious. We went back and forth on a couple ideas, and eventually settled on this.
Their family dock is T-shaped and shared with the neighbors. It’s not unusual for someone Indre wouldn’t know to be sitting on the neighbor’s side of the dock. With that in mind, Andy set up an adirondack chair for me there earlier in the day and that’s where I waited. I sat down with a big hat, my kindle and my camera hidden in a large tote.
When Andy saw me on the dock (looking extremely casual, of course) he asked Indre if she wanted to sit at the end of the dock with him to watch the sunset. Luckily, they had just come back from a nice dinner, so she was already dressed up really nicely.
As they walked past, I said a quick hi and went back to my Kindle. Our agreed signal was that when he hugged her, that would be my sign to get ready. As he did, I grabbed my camera and stood up as he proposed.
Of course she said yes, and soon her parents were running out of the bushes to congratulate them with raspberries and champagne.
Although I’d been going to Priest Lake my entire life, this was my first shoot on the lake! It all went perfectly to plan, and ended with a classic summer sunset over the lake.
