Surprise Proposal at Shenandoah National Park | Luray, VA | Tyler and Kelsey
This surprise proposal in Shenandoah National Park was absolutely magical, and probably the coldest photo shoot I’ve ever done! Tyler and Kelsey have been doing the long distance relationship thing for awhile - with Kelsey in Pennsylvania and Tyler stationed in North Carolina. But they wanted to plan a weekend away together before Tyler deploys to Afghanistan, so they took a trip to Virginia. And of course, they happened to pick the one REAL weekend of winter that we’ve had in Virginia haha.
These two love hiking together, so Tyler wanted the proposal to happen at the end of a trail with a beautiful view. We chose Hawksbill as a relatively easy hike with a gorgeous vista at the top! The plan was for the proposal to happen on Sunday, but a winter weather system moved through the area, and Skyline Drive was completely closed for the entire day due to ice! Cue my panic, because I knew these two weren’t in town very long! Luckily, Tyler was able to send me a few sneaky texts without Kelsey noticing, and we were able to move the proposal to Monday. Parts of Skyline Drive were STILL closed on Monday (including the Shenandoah entrance we planned to use!), but thankfully we were able to access Hawksbill from the south at the Swift Run Gap entrance and the proposal plans were on.
After hiking to the top, I pretended to take photos of birds as Kelsey and Tyler arrived a few minutes after me (not my first time pretending to be a wildlife photographer as I photograph a proposal haha). They walked around and took in the view for a few minutes, but then Tyler knelt down and asked Kelsey to marry him!
Planning your own surprise proposal, engagement, or wedding photos in Shenandoah? Check out my other blog posts with all my Shenandoah engagement tips and Shenandoah wedding advice!
After taking a few photos at the top of Hawksbill Mountain (before we were completely frozen!), we hiked back down to our cars and sped off down Skyline Drive to reach an overlook before the sun went down. These Blue Ridge Mountain sunsets never disappoint!
Congrats again Tyler and Kelsey, and thank you for braving the freezing temperatures with me!
