Surprise Pacific Northwest proposal at a mountain lake

John and Bruce were all about the outdoors in their Pacific Northwest engagement session, which took place on Washington’s Lake Crescent among soaring trees, a beautiful lake, and a glistening waterfall. The catch: Bruce didn’t know it was an engagement session until John dropped to one knee!

How did you meet?

We met in Seattle while Bruce was completing his internship with a local design firm. We met over a gay social networking app and met in person for the first time at our favorite coffee shop in the Capitol Hill Neighborhood. Shortly afterwards we had our first kiss in the rain at the corner of Broadway and John under the neon lights of the Bank of America sign. We now both live together in West Covina, California.

Who proposed and how?

John proposed to Bruce at a mountain lake called Lake Crescent located in the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. But before that happened we had to drive up from Southern California to Washington. Due to Covid, flying to Seattle was out of the question. I asked Bruce if we could have a Pacific Northwest PNW Style photo shoot while we were visiting family for Thanksgiving and he agreed to it. I found an engagement photographer, BreeAnna Lasher, who helped me plan the whole thing. We went to one of our favorite places in Washington State, Lake Crescent, which is a mountain lake nestled in the edge of the Olympic Rain Forest.

We took couples photos in the trees and in front of a waterfall then changed into more formal clothes for the second half of the shoot that would be on the lake. We walked to the edge of the dock on the lake and BreeAnna told us to stand back to back from each other. It got quiet. I stumbled to get on one knee and asked Bruce to turn around. I asked him, “Bruce will you go on more adventures with me?” and I showed him the ring. Bruce was caught off guard and surprised and I’m very happy he said yes! We celebrated with some champagne and finished off what turned out to be our engagement photos on the lake in the PNW.

What do you love most about each other?

We love how we each accept each other the way that we are. Bruce loves that John loves him even though he can act weird and silly. John loves Bruce because he is a centering and calming presence for John. We love that we balance each other out very well.

What are you most looking forward to in your marriage?

We’re excited about having more adventures together, whether it is going to the grocery during a pandemic, having children together, and even growing old together.