Crowder Mountain State Park Surprise Proposal

I’ve said it before, but I will say it again!!! I LOVE SHOOTING PROPOSALS! They are the most nerve wracking to shoot, but seeing all the joy and emotions of such a special moment is the absolute best!,

Patrick reached out to me about capturing his proposal to Claire while they were in Charlotte, North Carolina visiting family. When Patrick emailed me, he had a date and he knew he wanted to propose on a hike and that is about it. Since he and Claire do not live in Charlotte, I was able to go and scout out the location for him. The hike he was recommended was Crower Mountain and it is the one we ended up using! Its a fairly short hike but man was it STEEP! I went a few days before the proposal and did the hike myself. I was able to find a location that would be easily identifiable to Patrick with having never been there and sent pictures for him to see. He loved the locations and so we began to plan the details. He wanted to have the proposal in the morning so they could celebrate with the family afterwards. Patrick decided he wanted the proposal to happen around 10 am, so the morning of I arrived at the base of the hike at 9am. I wanted to be at the top of the mountain before they arrived in the Parking lot. I made it to the top just a few minutes before they arrived to start the hike. Patrick texted me when the arrived and what they were wearing and then the waiting began! I found a spot to sit where I could see the trail reach the top and the spot we had chosen. The great thing was that Claire had absolutely no idea who I was, so when they reached the top she walked right past me and was completely unaware. Patrick and I made eye contact and I slid into step behind him. He pulled her into a hug and then released her to go down on one knee. Everyone around us stopped to watch and started taking photos on their phones. Claire being so overcome with Joy also fell to her knees as she said YES! The crowd around us erupted into cheers and congratulations! Remember how I said earlier this hike was steep? after everything had settle a little Patrick looked at Claire and said I told you making it to the top would be worth it! Claire had wanted to give up on the hike on the way up, but little did she know what was waiting for her at the top!! 

We took a few minutes to explore and capture some more photos and then I left them to soak in the Bliss of being engaged!