Utah Engagement at Lake Powell

Grace & Ian

When Grace and Ian first inquired with me, it was actually to capture their wedding. Unfortunately, I was already booked that day and couldn't be the one to document their special day. Despite this, however, they still wanted to hire me to capture their engagement session at Lake Powell, Utah. Did I mention that this was my first *official* Utah session? Woohoo! I felt completely honored that they still wanted to work with me, despite being booked for their wedding day. Nonetheless, I happily agreed and we began planning out all the details for their Utah engagement at Lake Powell.

Grace & Ian's love story

Grace and Ian originally met as co-workers at their restaurant job. It was from the moment that they first locked eyes that they knew there was something special. Over the years of working together, their friendship began to blossom. Slowly but surely, they were falling for each other and then eventually began dating. It was then that their fate would be signed and these two knew they were destined for love and greatness.

It wasn't until one night at dinner while on their first solo vacation in Mexico, that Ian popped the question. A band playing in the background took a brief pause as Ian turned to Grace and expressed his feelings on their journey together thus far. He then knelt on the ground and proposed to Grace with his grandmother's wedding ring. A surprise for Grace but clearly, we all know her answer on that one ;)

Lake Powell, Utah

So here is a little back story on why Grace and Ian chose Lake Powell, Utah to do their engagement session. Ever since Ian was a little kid, it was a family tradition to head to Lake Powell. Basically every single year they engulfed in this tradition ever since he was around 2 years old. Once his family stopped going, however, they didn't want the tradition to stop. So instead, he and his friends would rent out a boat and head to Lake Powell, Utah every year to carry on this tradition. Are you obsessed with this yet just as much as I am?! Grace and Ian love traveling to Lake Powell so much so that they even named their dog after a landmark in Lake Powell, Moka. Lake Powell, Utah has become a major part of Grace and Ian's relationship, ever since Ian began bringing Grace there back in 2020. So it only made sense to have their Utah engagement at Lake Powell!

Originally, their plans were to have us go on a speedboat around Lake Powell. However, those plans quickly fell through. No worries though, as with any adventure engagement session or any engagement session in general, we always have backup plans! For Grace and Ian's Lake Powell engagement session, we got there a bit early to scope out some of the locations that we could head to in order to make this one epic engagement sesh.

utah engagement at lake Powell

When I first arrived at Lake Powell, I met up with Grace and Ian at their hotel, The Defiance House Lodge in Bullfrog, Utah. Located on Lake Powell, this is the ultimate getaway if you're looking for something in close proximity to this beautiful lake. For this Lake Powell engagement session, Grace and Ian wanted to keep things very relaxed and nothing too crazy. Really we just wanted an area where we could dip our legs in the water and move around some, and we found the perfect spot. A surprising fact is that the location where we ended up shooting their engagement photos used to be completely underwater. No, not like 20 years ago but in 2021! Many states use Lake Powell as their water supply source, so water is slowly diminishing in Lake Powell. It is incredibly sad when you think about it, but we hope that this can be remedied soon!

One thing about Grace and Ian is that they are very intentional with one another. Frankly, majority of their engagement session I didn't have to give them any prompts seeing as that their natural connection did most of the talking. We took a lot of photos of Grace and Ian playing around in the water, laying in the water, and really not being afraid to get a bit messy with their engagement session. Luckily, I made sure to bring my bathing suit so I was getting all up in the water with them to make sure we were getting the most epic shots. So moral of the story, I am down for *whatever* you're looking for in order to have the most beautiful engagement session. Throughout their engagement session, it was evident how much Grace and Ian love nature and the beauty of it all. Several times throughout their session we had to stop and stare at the beauty surrounding us, which honestly I appreciated so much.

As the sun began setting, we became amazed at how beautiful everything really was. It felt very surreal to be there at Lake Powell, surrounded by so much beauty. We took a few non-flash and flash photos and I completely fell in love with everything about this Utah engagement session. After their Utah engagement session, we headed back to their hotel room to eat some dinner together and gush over how beautiful their photos were going to turn out. Overall 10/10 experience with Grace and Ian and I would absolutely do it again in a heartbeat.

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Photos By Gayle does more than just take photos of people. Rather, it is capturing moments of LOVE and HAPPINESS. Singing to the skies, dancing in a field, and smiles that hurt because they’re so big. There is nothing else I would rather be doing than photographing these unique details that make you and your significant other a couple. If these photos from Grace & Ian's session puts a spark in you, you know where to click <——— right there!