Tyler was the maid of honor; Dale was the photographer. Though they already knew of each other, they first officially met at Tyler's sister's wedding in August 2010. He remembers she was the fun bridesmaid who had a blast on the dance floor. She remembers he was the crazy photographer who would do anything for a smile. Dale shot approximately 246 of Tyler's friends' weddings in the years following their meeting. Eventually, they became friends and mutually blog-stalked each other. For years, they kept up with each others' comings and goings, until finally, almost eight years later, playing the long game paid off. The stars aligned and the rest is history!

First off, there was some work that went into this before we ever hopped on the plane. I designed her ring (ethically sourced diamond, something vintage-inspired). While the original estimate was 2 months, I was able to sweet talk and streamline so it would be ready the Friday before we were heading to Alaska - the plan was working perfectly! I had the idea to have them ship it straight to my friend in Alaska to save time and keep the surprise. I also had to share my plans with her family and with my daughter Ellie. Ellie was precious and excited and while I'll keep that conversation private, she showed her tremendous heart for me and for Tyler, and I was overjoyed that I got her blessing. I asked Tyler if she would do an Alaska photo shoot with me. When she agreed I knew I had a cool way for it to be captured on camera. I spent the two days before the proposal hiking Alaska with Tyler, and while she thought we were sightseeing, it was because I wanted the perfect backdrop for the knee drop. Our friends who were shooting our pictures met us at our hotel, and Sean and I had to use the restroom at the same time; our little cover-up for passing the ring over to me. Off we go to the site. The light was beautiful and hit us perfectly. I gave Sidra my camera, and kept running back and forth from Tyler to Sidra, working up the nerve to do the thing (but pretending to check images on the back of the camera). Then I did it. I said a few things I'd been wanting to say to Tyler. After I said what I had wanted to say to her, I dropped to a knee and she was so surprised! It felt wonderful to give her a surprise because (1) she loves surprises, and (2) she's kind of awesome at figuring things out before they happen (which I think makes her a very good lawyer). Success!