Surprise Proposal, Lincon City | Andrew + Alena

Some sessions will just go down in history.  It can be because of the location, the couple, or a special memory.  For me this engagement will hold a special place because this soon-to-be bride is my cousin.  Alena and I grew up together, and while she and Andrew met during the pandemic, I never felt like I lost any of her love or support but if anything, that I was gaining a new friend!

When Andrew decided he wanted to make Alena his forever he knew he’d have his work cut out for him.  Alena is one of the hardest people to surprise, so much so that he had to tell her that for 3 months she would have to have perfectly manicured hands in order to keep her guessing when a proposal would be coming!  What I love about this day so much is that he had Alena inadvertently help plan her own proposal!  While Andrew was the one who rented out the lakeside cabin, it was Alena’s sister who told her that she had rented it in an attempt for a fun and family-filled weekend!  The goal was to somehow get Alena to nonchalantly invite Andrew to the cabin so she wouldn’t catch on to what was happening.  And it worked!  We spent that whole weekend really committed to trying to throw off Alena from what was about to happen.  I posted fake stories that made her think I was in Seattle, not Oregon, and found myself hiding in bushes.

Andrew and Alena went to catch the sunset on the beach while Andrew's friends & family quickly set up the perfect lakeside proposal spot on the dock. It was all ready to go down as the most perfect, unsuspecting proposal, until Andrew started his speech and Alena saw me hiding in the bushes.  Knowing what was going to happen she immediately burst into tears and the biggest smile came across her face!  You can say that pulling off the surprise was a huge success!

Family is the most important thing and I am so blessed and happy not only to have been a part of such a monumental day and get to document it, but to also welcome Andrew into our family!!!

Yours,

Annie!

The next morning we took some photos on the dock and inside the cute airbnb & then headed to the beach an had a blast running through the sand and taking in the views!