You may not know this about me, but my family lineage includes some pretty incredible grandparents who together had a vision of building a cabin on a lake in Montana where their 7 kids and their families can come, bond, and enjoy time together for years to come.

That lake cabin is still a central part of my family life and having that place where we can all go to congregate, hang out and catch up has been one of the most valuable treasures of my life.

How great was it then, to have found and met Brittany and Kevin- another couple whose family shares the exact same values and has set up the most amazing place for their family to bond and congregate as well!
Now, to be fair- Kevin’s family is doing it on a scale my grandparents probably never dreamed of! In the 60’s Kevin’s grandpa acquired hundreds of acres of land in Molala, Oregon where his kids (and what would become Kevin and Kevin’s nine siblings!) could come to call a second home.

Now Molala isn’t exactly a “land of lakes” but if you think of the perfect summer hang out spot you’ve gotta picture a lake right? Well Kevin’s grandpa actually took that idealic vision and brought it to a reality, literally carving out and building a gigantic lake in a valley on their property! Today it is teeming with fish and salamanders, and is a heaven for wildlife like the giant group of Turkeys we saw while driving the road next to the lake.

Growing up visiting this amazing paradise his grandfather and family had created, it was a no-brainer that Kevin and Brittany wanted to do their engagement session in this gorgeous place! I feel so lucky to have had the chance to explore this beautiful slice of heaven with them and Brittany’s delightful daughter Payton during their engagement session last weekend.

Driving up to the property, Brittany met me at the turn off from the main road and I followed them through a lovely little valley and into the forest where we passed a homemade baseball field complete with backstop, volleyball area and little collection of tee-pee structures before pulling up to a covered picnic spot whose table selection would put any state park to shame!

Jumping out in the cool crispness of a sunny spring morning, Payton lost no time in showing me around, including catching a salamander with her bare hands! We enjoyed taking photos on a swim dock while the sun started creeping over the hills to fill the forrest with the most gorgeous sunrise light.

Kevin and Brittany are an amazing couple and I feel so honored to be a part of celebrating their love story.
Kevin was actually one of Brittany’s brother’s very close friends and she and Kevin became quite close while bonding through a tough time in the family 6 years ago.

They love the outdoors, going clamming or hunting and spending any spare time at the lake with family. Kevin is an incredible cook and Payton was telling me and his specialties include an incredible bacon-wrapped shrimp dish. He’s even taught Brittany how to make homemade jerky and sausages!

Kevin proposed to Brittany in a private setting, bringing her a slice of her favorite dessert (cheesecake) and then “accidentally” dropping the fork, setting him up to be on bent knee, fishing the ring out and ask her to be his wife! Amid tears and laughter she accepted and now they are planning a gorgeous wedding amid the fields and surrounding mountains at the Coleman Guest House.

We had an absolute blast taking their engagement photos at their family’s lake and Kevin gets a HUGE gold star, as we had to switch our shoot last-minute to be a sunrise session and it wasn’t until the end of the shoot that I found out Kevin had been at a bachelor party only the night before!

Brittany and Kevin are a classic “Kate Holt Photography Couple” up for adventure and willing to go wherever for some epic shots- including turning over a winterized boat, and paddling out to the lake while I balanced from above on a downed tree branch!

Check out this little selection of images from our session together and drop this amazing couple some love and congratulations on the comments below!