When Richard reached out to us, he made it very clear that he wanted to have a romantic Lake Tahoe Proposal for his beautiful girlfriend.
“I am in love with the woman of my dreams and I want to create the most amazing proposal story and experience for her. My ideas are still coming together but my initial plans are to end a special day with a trip to a vacation rental home with a private dock on Lake Tahoe. I chose this idea because I wanted a breathtaking landscape to be the backdrop of the big question. My plan will be to arrive before my fiancé-to-be and set up a romantic sense with balloons and roses lining the private dock (think “The Bachelor” level of proposal scene). She will have just driven up from Reno after a scavenger hunt where she picks out a new dress, gets a massage and gets her hair and makeup done. She will probably be expecting that something is up, but she will never imagine all this amount of pomp and circumstance. I need your help to capture the moments when she sees it for the first time, and when I ask the big question.”
Fast forward to the proposal week. We met up with Richard the day before at the rental home to scout it out. Not only were we blown away by the stunning house and views, but they had authentic artwork scattered throughout the home. The 500 roses and fire bowls were already in the home just waiting for him to decorate the dock the following day. When he went over his proposal idea for Eleanor in person it really had us so excited!! We honestly couldn’t wait for tomorrow to come. After heading out after our meeting we made sure to tell Richard to get some rest but we knew it would be hard.
Come proposal day, we woke up to a stunning late January winter day filled with clear skies and a balmy 55 degrees. If you’ve ever been to Tahoe in the dead of winter, you will understand just how surprising this was. As the rental home is located on the east shore, we were a bit worried about how windy it would be. That side of the lake tends to get the winds whipping in across the water and can be quite the wind chill. We arrived early to make sure we were all ready to go and we were seriously over the moon at how warm and calm the lake was. The lake was like glass and we couldn’t believe our luck!
To start their day off, Richard had booked them a couple’s massage in Reno where they live. At a point during the massage, he got up and said he had a surprise for her. At that point, one of her friends came in and had the first of many clues in a scavenger hunt. After getting her hair and nails done, The scavenger hunt would take Eleanor through all of their firsts….the location of their first kiss, their first date, and so on. Eventually, the clues lead her to their place where a rack with a selection of beautiful dresses that Richard had purchased was waiting for her with a note to choose one. The note also mentioned that a car would be coming to pick her up to take her to meet him. When the car pulled up to the house, Richard had lined the walk starting in the driveway with red rose petals that led all the way through and on down to the dock where he was waiting for her. The dock had been decorated so beautifully and each pillar had a fire bowl on it that looked so stunning!! Talk about really setting the backdrop for a romantic Lake Tahoe Proposal.
Wanting to add to the drama, Josh was hanging out in the house to be able to capture the proposal from a view, and I had Richard face me on the dock until I saw her come down. Once she reached the dock and started walking toward him, I told him to turn around. At that point, I scurried as gracefully as I could to get the lake view behind them for the proposal. After greeting each other and chatting for a while, he got down on one knee. Of course, she said yes and then we proceeded to watch them pop some bubbly before hanging out for some photos together.
We loved how much effort Richard put into his proposal to Eleanor and it really paid off. Not only did the proposal unfold beautifully, but the stunning lake backdrop was made even more beautiful by all of his thoughtful touches.
Check out our gallery to see more images of other Lake Tahoe surprise engagements. Also excited to announce that their sweet proposal was published on How They Asked by the Knot
