When Skylar first emailed me, he said how stoked he was to propose to his girlfriend, Kylie, of almost 5 years and he couldn’t think of a better place than on the slopes at Mammoth Mountain! They spend tons of their weekends snowboarding and skiing in the Eastern Sierra Mountains during the winter months, and their summer months are often spent up here fishing and exploring, too! I couldn’t contain my excitement, this had always been an absolute dream of mine to capture! So the planning begun almost right away.
After deciding that the highest run, up by McCoy Station, would be an epic location to pop the question, Chris and I agreed to arrive early and scout the scenery then text the go ahead. But, the winds ended up being gnarly and the top wouldn’t have been enjoyable, plus we realized there’s so many people swarmed at all times up there. We did a few laps and location scouted for a little bit until we found THE prettiest view of the Minarets, and an even better, more private place, for the proposal. We sent Skylar videos and photos and he was on board right away, and let us know they were just finishing up their beers and should be over to us in no time.
Chris and I waited anxiously at the top of the run, pretending to be taking our own photos with our cameras. Skylar had sent us the outfits they were in, so we peaked towards the chair until we saw them getting off the lift!
Once they got off the lift and came towards us, Skylar asked if I’d be willing to take a photo of them and I, of course, said sure! That’s when he unstrapped from his board and got down on one knee, and Kylie was completely surprised… success! Capturing these moments of genuine emotion is one of the best parts of being a photographer. I wish they could relive this day and we could capture it again and again!
After Kylie said yes, Chris and I congratulated them and we all shred down the rest of the run together. Then we got to capture them FaceTiming friends and family and sharing the awesome news- they just got engaged on the prettiest mountain in the Eastern Sierras! What a joy it was to capture these moments with them.
Our epic weekend with Skylar and Kylie didn’t end here, and we were pumped about it because we were all instantly great friends! Kylie and I laughed at how many random things we had in common, from both practicing martial arts for many years, to both being huge true crime fans (uhmm she hosts her own podcast and it’s amazing, what!? It’s called You’re Not Paranoid and all true crime listeners need to hear it!).
After another lap or two down the slopes, we headed to the Main Lodge and had some celebratory champagne and hot toddys- the best post shredding drink. We laughed and listened and talked about their dreams for their wedding and honeymoon ideas, our hearts were so full sharing their happiness with them.
Then, Skylar surprised Kylie with the last big surprise… we were also going to run all over the Eastern Sierra’s the next day for their engagement pictures. We. were. stoked. The location ideas were being thrown left and right, and we ultimately decided on spending the golden hour sunset light at Convict Lake, then hopping over to Hot Creek Geological Site, and finishing with blue hour along the Owens River. All of these locations were special to both of them, as they’ve spent time fishing and exploring each area. Now they would get to document their love in all of these places that were dear to them, and we couldn’t wait to capture it all!
