How to plan a surprise mountain winter proposal when you’re traveling with family to a destination? Add in needing to include other family members who are also traveling in secret to be in on the surprise? Well, I’ll show you how we made that happen!

Family Visit to Jackson Hole

Maddy and Andrew were traveling with her family to Jackson Hole for Thanksgiving. Her sister, Taylor, helped Andrew plan the perfect proposal! Andrew wanted his family to be a part of the proposal also, so his mom, sister, and best friend flew into town for the weekend. We discussed many ways we could keep his family a secret, but also have them in position when the moment happened.

After discussion, Andrew decided to do family photos with Maddy’s family as a cover! So, we planned for family photos to happen at Taggart Lake Trailhead and let things happen from there. We started with pictures of the whole family, did some couple portraits, and then finally it was their turn. Now, for the magic to happen!

Mountain Winter Proposal

We took a few couple portraits of Maddy and Andrew while I waited for the signal. Once we got the okay that the other family members had arrived (still totally a surprise!), Andrew got down on one knee and proposed! This mountain winter proposal took her completely by surprise. Then, she was surprised again when she saw his family there to celebrate too! They popped some bubbly and raised a glass to being newly engaged! If you’re considering a Mountain Winter Proposal, don’t delay in getting it planned out. There are lots of ways to make your proposal unique.

How To Have the Best Proposal

• Hire a Photographer, Me!
• Decide how you want the proposal to happen – is it part of a bigger plan? A picnic? A hike? Family photos?
• Discuss your expectations of your photographer about positioning, how close they will be, etc
• Make sure you have a pre-determined signal with your photographer for when the moment is going to happen
• Ask your significant other the big question!
• Celebrate!