Winter Wonderland Proposal | Morgan + Karli

I was hanging out at my parent’s house one afternoon, when Morgan came walking in with a sparkle in his eye and a grin on his face that could only mean one thing – he finally bought it. He handed the box to me and told me to take a look, and while I was “oooh”ing and “ahhh”ing over the pretty little number, he said, “So, you wanna be there to photograph when I ask her?”

Before he could even finish his sentence the words “HELL YES I DO!” fell out of my mouth. I think my parents were a little surprised at my exuberance, but that’s how excited I get when proposal shoots come around!

The next few hours were spent coming up with the perfect way to execute his plans without her finding anything out, and without me being seen while it happened. He was going to take Karli shooting (this is something they do often in their free time together), and pop the question using a target that she’d only be able to see while looking through the scope of her gun.

There’s a reason there’s a #montanaisforbadasses tag.

The Prep

The day before everything was going to take place, Morgan and I attempted to drive up to the spot he wanted to ask her, but the snow was really deep and we didn’t want to risk them coming up on me, stuck in the snow on a random mountain road by myself. That probably would have blown our cover.

Eventually we came up on a spot that was PERFECT. Like, seriously, people – I was giddy with excitement I loved it so much! We figured out the tree I’d be hiding behind, where Morgan would hang the target, exactly where he’d get down on one knee, and which direction he would face. All of this tromping around left a million tracks in the snow, and I secretly hoped this wouldn’t tip her off that something unusual was going on.

As soon as I got the text the next afternoon that they were getting ready to leave, my husband and I hopped in the car and drove up to the location. It had dumped several inches of snow the night before, and again, I didn’t want to risk getting stuck by myself and have Morgan and Karli find me. At least with Trever in the car, I’d have an alibi!

Trever dropped me off and drove up around the corner, and I settled in at the base of my trusty tree and waited. Decked out in snow bibs, coat, boots, hat and gloves, I sat there and watched the snow fall and listened.

Finally, after what seemed to be hours, (I forgot to go pee first), I heard the sound of a truck cutting through the wintery silence.

The Proposal

Karli waited in the truck while Morgan got the table and stool set up, and then he headed up to put up his target. Out of his pocket came a folded piece of paper, and a grin that he just couldn’t hold back. He sent me a quick glance as he jogged back to his lady, and the grand moment finally arrived.

She was all set up and ready to go, and Morgan sank down onto his knee behind her. Out of his pocket came a box that he held tightly in his hand. Karli looked through the scope… and shot!

He laughed nervously and tucked the box out of sight as she looked at him. “Did you look at the target?” he asked?

“Yes,” she replied.

“REALLY look at it this time,” he said.

She looked through the scope again, and the box came back into view. No shots were fired this time, but I swear I could hear both their hearts racing from my hiding spot. Karli glanced at Morgan, and then at her ring, and back to Morgan with a look of total shock in her face. His smile spread from China to New York as he slipped the ring onto her finger and wrapped her up in his arms.

Morgan and Karli, I couldn’t be more happy for you two! Thank you SO MUCH for giving me the honor of being a part of such a special moment. Congratulations!!