This Acadia National Park engagement proposal holds a super special place in my heart. After graduating from UMaine, I moved away from Orono and the first friend I made in New Hampshire was Kate! She has become a best friend over the past couple years and as you can imagine, knowing I would get the chance to photograph her proposal made me giddy. It was so hard keeping such an amazing secret from her. I was busting at the seams with excitement! Thankfully, Keith only made me wait about 2 weeks until the special day.
Keith put a lot of thought into this Acadia National Park engagement proposal. He spent months planning how he would do it. He knew he had to include her family, he just didn’t know when that would be possible. See, Kate and Keith live in New England and frequent Kate’s family home in Acadia on a regular basis but her brother and his family live in Hawaii. This meant getting the whole family together, at the same place at the same time, was going to take some coordination. Thankfully, Keith confided in Kate’s parents about when he would propose. Obviously, being the outdoorsy and adventurous couple they are, a family hike was the perfect way!
The morning of the hike was a tough for Kate. She had just arrived back to the East Coast from a wedding on the West Coast and was extremely jet lagged. Not feeling very well after family breakfast, she decided to head back to bed for a nap. During this time, Keith and I were chatting through text about how tragic this was going to be if he couldn’t convince her to join them for the hike. Keith decided to not pressure her and let her rest. Then he sent Kate’s mom up to her room. Kate’s mom did the typical mom guilt trip and Kate rallied herself together and agreed to go!
Keith’s plan to get Kate to not suspect him proposing was to do their traditional “adventure selfie”. An adventure selfie is when Kate is engaging in the adventure in the background while Keith takes the photo. These can be seen on Instagram @kateandkeith, check them out! Keith planned on reversing the roles and having Kate take the photo with him holding the ring in the ring box in the background. This TOTALLY worked. I was so nervous for this idea as Kate can be stubborn (love you, Kate!). I was afraid she would insist on Keith taking the photo. Thankfully, in her tired state, she agreed to take the photo with all her family in the background. Hilariously, she didn’t even realize what was going on for a few seconds and then was so incredibly surprised!
And this was the moment when Kate realized I had made the hike up behind them and was hiding behind a tree. I had told her I was in a different part of the state, driving home from an overnight wedding! What are friends for, right?! 
It is a dispute over when Kate and Keith actually met. Kate and Keith are both professional photographers. Keith hosted an educational social group event in Southern New Hampshire for photographers and Kate attended. Kate was fairly certain Keith never noticed her, as he was busy with a fan club following him around. When they actually began to talk escapes their memories, as they were both in other relationships, so there was never a thought of a future.
Soon after they met, they began a professional relationship attending photography events together. Then they started a new smaller photographer group with breakfast conversations. It was during one of those breakfast conversations, they were stood up by the other group members. Their conversations drifted to topics other than photography. As their topics became more personal, they realized that they were both recently single. During this specific breakfast meet up, Kate invited Keith to join her for a photographer’s get away up in Acadia National Park. Keith instantly accepted the offer.
Over the course of that autumn weekend in the beauty of a red, orange and yellow canopy of Acadia they began their friendship which turned into the merging of their photography businesses and a romantic relationship. This new relationship spanned a distance as Kate moved to Hawaii for 6 months. So one could say that Acadia National Park holds a significant spot in their love story. It will continue as they get married on another mountain top in Acadia National Park next year! 
With their dog and their family looking on, Kate said “Yes!”.
Here is the official adventure selfie!!! 
This Acadia National Park engagement proposal wouldn’t have been complete without including Kula, Kate and Keith’s adorable golden retriever! Kula is the coolest dog and was obviously pumped for her parents! 
Kate’s ring is so her! This Maine tourmaline, handcrafted in downtown Bar Harbor, is the perfect ring for Kate. Keith hit a grand slam on this one!
In conclusion, Kate and Keith’s Acadia National Park Engagement Proposal could not have gone any better! This couple deserves the absolute world and I couldn’t be happier that they found love and happiness in each other! I am anxiously looking forward to seeing where the adventure of life takes them together!
Acadia National Park Engagement Proposal
Hiking Trail: Flying Mountain Peak
Engagement Ring: Willis’ Rock Shop
Photography: Haley J Photography
