What a wonderful day we had for Alan and Lori’s engagement session in Grand Lake, Colorado!! We drove up August 9th, parked the campers, and headed to Winding River Ranch, their wedding venue, to take their engagement portraits. Then spent the weekend enjoying the wonderful Colorado mountain weather!
Just as we drove into Winding Ranch we were greeted by a beautiful moose, an absolutely stunning animal. Just in awe, and so thankful we got to see him and grab some photos!
Here is some of their story:
Alan and Lori met at work. They were friends for a while, Alan always made Lori laugh. He would help her with home projects and would shovel her drive when it snowed. So fortunate that Alan was able to meet Justin and spend a great deal of time with him. After Justin passed away, Alan purchased a bench at Seven Mile Park with the help of their good friend Jean. Alan and Lori dated for 4.5 years before Alan proposed.
The Proposal:
They were getting ready for date night with their friends Lisa and Mark. “Alan was acting strange.” Lori’s friend Kelsi called. Kelsi’s dog, Roxie, got loose during a walk at 7 Mile Park and she needed their help catching her. It was a cold day and almost dark. As they walked back to where Kelsi was, Lori noticed what appeared to be yellow flower petals dropped on the path. The petals looked like sunflowers, but it was January so she knew it could not be real. Lori figured something special had gone on, but really didn’t think of anything more about it. Lori was freezing and wanted to find her friends dog. As they continued to walk toward the creek they also continued to walk among the flower petals. When they turned the corner of the path Lori was now able to see Justin’s bench, but her friends were not in sight. Lori could see the bench had a blanket over it, covered in sunflowers, and blue ribbon. When she saw this she was a little taken aback and then started to cry. Not because Lori thought Alan was proposing but because she thought they finally had a plaque on the bench. The bench was covered up with the blankets and the flowers so Lori thought Alan was going to reveal! (The plaque: They have been waiting for the girls to come up with words for the plaque since the bench was purchased. So there was no plaque dedicating the bench to Justin.)
Alan and Lori sat down on the bench and Alan was talking about random stuff. Then, Alan told Lori about the promise he made to Justin, he had promised Justin that he would take care of Lori. Alan picked this place with Justin’s bench, Justin’s favorite flowers, and his favorite color to make sure he was included in this day. Alan proposed and……. Lori said YES!!
A huge thank you to Lori’s friend Lisa who was in cahoots with Alan, she set up the entire bench area with all the flowers and the blanket and she had champagne and the Blue Ribbon all planned out. Lisa was in the trees just a little bit away from us taking pictures. Lori had no idea, Alan totally surprised her. After Alan proposed, Lisa, Hope, Kelsi, Shaelyn, and Roxie, all came out from behind the bushes and surprised Lori!
Take a look at Alan and Lori’s Engagement Session Portraits, they are a stunning couple, leave some love for these two. Cannot wait for their June 2019 wedding at this beautiful place!
