forest proposal with mckenna and kaleb
When Kaleb first reached out to me, I had to read the message twice: ‘While we’re taking pictures, I’m going to ask Ken something, if you get my drift.’
Of course I got his drift, but my mind was almost unable to comprehend that my best friend of almost 15 years was about to get engaged and I was going to be the person to capture it.
For some context, I moved from Kentucky to Texas almost two years ago, and every time I’m home I try to knock out as many family portraits as I can for the people I know. I’ve been close to McKenna and her amazing family since I started high school. I sat behind her in my geometry class and as time went on, we became inseparable. She told me her secrets and I told her mine; we were roots that grew together and stayed intertwined as adults. We had planned on getting her family together for a while for photos and once her soon-to-be-fiancé saw the opportunity, he took it.
After much discussion, Kaleb and I decided I would fake setting up a ‘complicated motion blur’ photo, have her turn around and let him do the rest. After doing some photos with her entire family, I suggested the three of us explore the woods a little for some portraits of just them. She was ecstatic; he was nervous and trying not to show it.
I’ll be the first to admit that surprise proposals can be nerve wracking. You need a well laid plan because you realistically get one shot to get that moment authentically. I’m not a wedding photographer and don’t do much independent work in the industry, but this moment meant so much to them (and me, frankly) so we had to nail it.
Because we were on her grandparents’ land, we had free rein over where we went. As we drove through the woods, a long straight path with the perfect lining of trees showed itself. I stopped, told them I had an idea for a photo and set them up in the middle of it. Kaleb was nervous but confident and in the end, absolutely nailed it. Every frame I took as she turned around was genuine, excited, and full of love; it wouldn’t be till later that I realized I was watching soulmates discover they’d spend their life together in real time.
Time freezes in moments like this. The air leaves the space around you and the people you’re photographing fall into each other as the realization hits them: they’re getting married. It’s a special moment, filled with love and tenderness and getting to share it with both of them meant so much to me.
As I watched my closest friend take the next big step in her life, I was once again reminded that sessions like these are precious, and I’m beyond thankful I get to document them. Once it was all said and done, and she remembered I was there, we cried, hugged, celebrated and laughed at the plans Kaleb and I had made.
It’s truly a day I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
