Get ready to grab some tissues, because this sweet lakeside proposal from Brittany Mahood is sure to get the waterworks flowing. It’s thoughtful, sincere, and totally the kind of love story that’ll make your heart sing, and we’ve got it all waiting for you in The Vault!
From the Bride… Even after three and a half years together, the proposal came as a complete surprise! And as someone that loves surprises, no matter how much I try to ‘expect the unexpected,’ I was still completed fooled.
In a lot of ways Jordin and I different; he couldn’t care less about sports as I paint my face for the Super Bowl, his ideal evening would be spent around a campfire with close friends as I would be in a crowded restaurant on my way to catch a show. He’s enduring and thoughtful, I’m impassioned and affectionate. But when I met him, I knew I’d met a man that was going confidently in the direction of his dreams, as I was with mine.
It was winter in Manitoba, where the snow and ice stay until May, and he helped me get my car out of a snowbank after a party. The next day, I was elated from our time together and tried to think of a clever and coy way to connect with Jordin again. Fibbing a little bit, I texted him saying I had used his get-out-of-the-snowbank trick that morning to free my car from snow piled against a curb. When, in reality, my car was parked on my snow-free driveway. But it worked! We were quickly immersed in each others’ lives, as his younger sister was already a close friend of mine before Jordin and I officially met. They say ‘when you know, you know’ and we knew, undoubtedly.
Having a best friend that’s also an incredible photographer has given me many opportunities to see behind the scenes at shoots, trek through trails to find the best light, and impromtu posing to use the last shots on a film roll. So I didn’t think anything of it when Brittany asked me join her on an overnight trip to shoot an engagement session a few hours from home. As we packed up, she told me about the couple we were going to meet, I was just glad to go on a mini-vacay with my best friend.
When we arrived at Steep Rock, along Lake Manitoba in the early evening, we started to explore the area in preparation for the ‘engagement shoot’ taking place the next day. I kept thinking ‘this couple is so lucky, this place is beyond amazing!’ We walked along the cliffs and the trails, continually saying ‘we can’t believe this place,’ such beauty. Soon we spotted a picnic along the cliffs and thinking it belonged to someone else, I kept walking along the trail but Brittany turned and walked right towards it! After a moment I followed her and finally realized what was going on when I saw Jordin walking towards me, wearing his best suit, playing our song. I’ll never forget the feeling in that moment as my eyes went from his to the ring; it was overwhelming in all the most incredible ways.
Each sense was filled to the brim with pure joy because all my favorite things were happening simultaneously: feeling the warm sun and fresh breeze on my cheeks, catching the scent of Jordin’s cologne mixed with the fresh flowers while hearing the soft waves as the background rhythm while the man of my dreams was sharing his deepest, truest love. If I had all the time in the world to orchestrate every aspect of my own proposal, it couldn’t have come close to this amazing surprise.
The ‘yes’ moment transitioned seamlessly to an engagement session. Brittany and Jordin had taken care of every aspect: beautiful dresses to choose from, complimentary jewelry, nail files and polish, champange! I don’t know how I stopped shaking long enough to put the dress on! Brittany captured the overwhelmingly joyful emotions perfectly, I still get a rush when I relive it through the photos.
We spent the rest of the evening on and in the water, in complete awe of the scenery and how every piece of the plan had fallen into perfect place. Jordin had a rented a cabin nearby, that’s where we crashed at the end of it all and relived each moment together again and again; with wine, laughter and unstoppable smiles.
Photography: Brittany Mahood | Floral Design: Heather Page | Dress: Billy Ella | Film Lab: The Find Lab | Floral Shop: Academy Florist