Silver Lake Sand Dunes Surprise Proposal - Ellie & Evan

THIS WAS AMAZING!

You guys, when Evan reached out to me letting me know that he was planning on proposing to Ellie, I was SOOO freaking happy!! I know Evan and Ellie from the dune community (shoutout to Silver Lake, you’re amazing) and they are seriously so kind. Evan wanted to propose to Ellie at the dunes because it’s her favorite place and it’s really sentimental. Evan and I talked back and forth for awhile and I sent him a long list of ways we could pull it off (I’m an over-planner sometimes) and we came up with the perfect way to surprise her! I had just purchased a gorgeous dress for myself to wear for photos with my boyfriend, but I had the thought that it would look perfect on Ellie and we used that to our advantage! I reached out to Ellie and asked her if her and Evan would be up for doing a couples session on the dunes for me and she could wear the dress so I could use the photos to advertise for dune sessions! Perfect, right? ;) She was sooo excited and said yes! I mean, who wouldn’t say yes to “free” pictures?! I planned the perfect modeling session with Ellie while Evan and I kept in contact about the big day.

When the day finally came, Evan picked my boyfriend and I up to take us to their campground so I could give Ellie the dress. When he picked us up, he gave me the ring to hang onto. I had the ring and Ellie had the dress, it was going perfectly!! It was finally time for the session and I was feeling alllllllll the butterflies, I was so nervous and excited! We met on the dunes and Evan and Ellie came dressed in a casual outfit. We took some fun photos and I prompted them the entire time so when it came time for the proposal, everything seemed normal. Then they went and changed into a second outfit and Ellie put the dress on! While she was changing, I slipped Evan the ring and he put it in his pocket. This was the most nerve-wracking part because I was terrified that the ring would slip out of his pocket and fall into the sand to never be seen again. Spoiler alert: that didn’t happen!! We took more photos in the second outfit and I was trying my best not to make them move a ton because I didn’t want the ring to fall out of Evan’s pocket. Then, we walked back towards where we were parked because Ellie thought we were going to take a few family photos. Both of their families were lined up watching us. This is when the magic happens!

I had them stop in front of a gorgeous tree with the sunset in the background and I got them into a cute pose. I then told Evan to whisper a secret into Ellie’s ear (this was his cue). I didn’t hear exactly what he told her, but I’d like to think that he said some veryyyyy sweet words and then he got down on one knee! AHHHH!! Ellie had NO idea and started crying she was so happy and surprised! I was snapping photos like a madman and their families came running in to hug and congratulate them! Ellie obviously said yes and it was a day no one will ever forget! It was SO much fun and I love that Evan incorporated things that Ellie loves into the proposal!