Their Love Story

The first thing I said to Cassie when I met her as a kid was, “Are you blind? Your eyes are so blue.” 🫠🫠🫠😂😅😅 Now, I was able to capture her surprise proposal at Crater Lake National Park. What an honor.

Cassie and I go WAYYYYY BACKKKK. Therefore, capturing her proposal, was absolutely and irrevocably SPECIAL😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️

Their love story started in California, and now led them to their home together in Oregon 🫶🏻

Their anniversary restaurant is Applebee’s, their favorite thing to do is watch TV together, their favorite coffee stop is Dunkin’ and their go-to evening beverage is tequila ginger ale 🥳 Ronnie says that Cassie laughs a lot about anything. He also said one of his favorite memories with her was watching Malignant in Big Bear.

But that’s just them on paper, them from my experience in person was … a legit fairytale love story couple.

The Proposal Plan for Crater Lake

Ronnie had me arrive to Crater Lake, their favorite place to hike, where I would hide and wait for them to walk to their favorite view. I was hiding in the trees as they walked up to their spot. Cassie walked ahead of him, while Ronnie got down on one knee behind her. I jumped outside the trees, preparing for Cassie to turn around. She looked at him with a huge smile, tears, laughs, and more tears. Then she saw me, while Ronnie was on one knew, she asked him, “Is that Ally?” 🤣🤣🤣

Little did Cassie know, I also traveled with her mom, her best friend and her cousin. As she realized I’m the photographer, she then sees her mom and cousin come out of the tree line. More tears more smiles more tears. And finally Sabrina walks out of the trees. Tears.

I’ve never captured a more high energy, laughing, smiling, pure happiness, nature proposal moment ever before. I’m forever in love with these photos, these memories and that I was able to capture this moment with my dear friend Cassie 🫶🏻

We spent the weekend hanging out, celebrating Cas & Ronnie’s engagement and enjoying beautiful Oregon bursting in autumn colors. Literally a dream weekend with the best people. CHEERS TO CAS & RONNIE #engagedaf 💍🥳🫶🏻❤️

The Proposal Photos at Crater Lake National Park

Crater Lake is super special to Cassie & Ronnie. They would go on hikes there together frequently once they moved to Oregon. So, naturally it was a perfect place for Ronnie to propose to Cassie.

Surprising Cassie with Her Family and Best Friends

As Ronnie & I planned the proposal, he included surprising Cassie with her mom, cousin, and best friend. The plan for the day was that their close friends in Oregon would accompany them on the car ride, and made sure that everything was on time. While I setup with Cassie’s best friend, mom and cousin at Crater Lake ahead of them. We got there early, scouted out the location that Ronnie sent to us, and we got comfortable with the area around 1 hour before they arrived. By the time they arrived, I was already hiding in the trees. Cassie’s best friend, mom and cousin were hiding on the other side of the proposal location in the trees. That way, we could all watch from the trees and make sure we knew she was coming up, while we were still hidden.

Post Proposal Bliss

Cassie was smiling ear to ear and it was so beautiful to see. She was jumping around, laughing, cheering, and getting piggy back rides from Ronnie. She was happier than I have ever seen her before. One of the happiest brides to be I ever saw. Her best friend Sabrina brought her two dresses so that she could change into them. We all walked to the national park visitor center so that Cassie could change into the first dress, and then we would walk back down into the park.

First Dress at Crater Lake

The first dress was a dark blue long sleeve lace dress. It matched the beautiful blues of Crater Lake and was so majestic while Ronnie spun Cassie around, dipped her, and walked with her through the forest.

Second Dress at Crater Lake

The second dress was a white cream color shorter dress that matched the cozy vibes of the fall season. We chose the mountain and forest as the backdrop with this dress to emphasize the beautiful autumn season out west. By this time, it started to lightly rain and gave a dark and moody vibe that was so romantic.

Dinner After Crater Lake

After the proposal, our whole group got an Italian dinner together. We all talked and reminisced about the proposal, having a wonderful time together as close friends.

Hiking the Next Day

The next day, we picked a park to go on a walk and hike in the beautiful Oregon scenery. It was autumn, so the leaves were absolutely vibrant and the most beautiful colors: deep reds, bright orange, dark yellows, and bright greens. It was the perfect end to such an exciting and emotional weekend.

Perks of Capturing Your Close Friend’s Engagement

When I saw Cassie and Ronnie at my birthday celebration this past summer, Cassie said, “Ronnie, if you propose it has to be Ally taking the photos.” Then I said, “Sign me up, I’ll be there whenever you need me, I am ready.” And not shortly after, Ronnie messaged me with the whole plan to propose to Cassie. I was jumping for joy and could not withhold my excitement. Not only did I have this amazing opportunity to capture a surprise proposal in a national park, but I got to do it for my friend. That was so special.

More Information

Link to Crater Lake’s website: https://www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm

More of my engagements: https://allyfrances.com/category/engagaments/