A few years ago I photographed a young couple’s wedding and Lucy was one of the Bridesmaids so when she reached out to me for her engagement session I was very excited!!

Lucy and Stephen love the Gorge in Oregon because of its beautiful views and so opted for an adventure engagement session out on Rowena Crest.

Two days before, Stephen had surprised Lucy in a big way! Lucy’s family have a home in Lake Oswego and have a boat they use to enjoy the lake with. It is tradition in Lucy’s family that every time they pass by this one area in their boat they yell and shout. On this day, Lucy had been relaxing at home but was convinced by her family to take boat ride. She was missing Stephen a bit, so as she passed by this area of tradition she shouted out “I love Stephen!” and suddenly heard in response, “I love Lucy!” Confused, she looked around, but saw no one. That’s when Stephen popped out of a very small compartment in the boat, pulled out an engagement ring, and proposed! I don’t know how long Stephen had been hiding in that little compartment, but that is some dedication to a true engagement surprise!

Lucy and Stephen began dating in college in Utah, although they had known each other growing up in Oregon. Stephen was in class one day and their professor was posting student responses for the whole class to see. Stephen was surprised to see Lucy’s name and immediately contacted her. They began hanging out and the rest is history!

Their engagement session was filled with laughter as these two have an infectious and bubbly personality that just permeates the space. They also are fantastic swing dancers so Dominic and I got to watch them twirl and jump around while spinning through one of their favorite routines! Dom and I too chose swing dancing for our first dance at our wedding reception, so seeing these two dance it up in the fields on top of Rowena Crest tugged at my heart strings in more ways than one.

Stephen is also interested in SCUBA diving, which of course Dom and I are obsessed with after living in Thailand and working as instructors the first two years of our relationship, so we were able to give him a few tips of where to go to get his SCUBA certification!

Even though we had to shoot through some truly strong and persistent Gorge wind, we still were able to capture some gorgeous portraits that celebrate the love Lucy and Stephen have for each other. Their wedding will be in Utah this July, and then they will move back to Oregon where Stephen will be starting medical school at OHSU.

I look forward to seeing them grow as a couple and wish them nothing but the best!