Lost Gulch, Boulder Engagement: Congratulations Bekah and Ryan

This engagement session was a little bit different. Most couples hope for sunny skies and mild weather, but when Ryan, a meteorologist, contacted me he asked how we could get the most dramatic weather! We talked about how fickle Colorado weather can be and hoped for dramatic skies from the gorgeous views around Flagstaff Mountain. The sunset did not disappoint!

Ryan and Bekah were full of joy and their love for each other shown right through. We started the session at Veile Lake and then drove up to Lost Gulch Overlook.

 

Bekah shares, “I had moved to Denver from the east coast in the summer of 2023 after finishing up grad school in Virginia. I knew no one when I first moved here except for a couple friends of friends and my new coworkers. After being here for a few months, I had a friend visit for Thanksgiving. We talked about our post-grad transitions and she talked me into jumping back onto dating apps to meet new people. I had been on dating apps before, but never had much luck with finding anyone I could see myself going out with past a few dates. I chose the app Hinge because I felt I had the most success there in the past with finding guys looking for long-term relationships. I was on the app for less than a month before I matched with Ryan. He made the first move by sending me a message about one of my pictures in which I was holding up a sign with weather-related pictures from a museum.

Our first date was to Putt Shack in the RiNo area of Denver on December 22, 2023. Ryan was my last date before I went home to Maryland for Christmas for 2 weeks and then to Florida for a wedding. I was set to fly out December 23rd at around 4:30 AM, so I had warned him our date might be cut a little short depending on timing. I arrived early and he was a few minutes late because he was traveling from Colorado Springs to meet me (I had no idea he lived that far away). He sent me an infamous text when he arrived, saying, “Walking up in my white Vans” (these are the only shoes he wears to this day). We ended up staying out for about 3 hours, after two rounds of mini golf and then chatting away. (Despite what Ryan may try to convince you of, we tied the first round, but he won on a “technicality” since he had more holes-in-one. But I crushed him in the second game!) We even began our first inside joke that night, which revolved around the word “dabble.”

Since the date went longer than expected, when I got back to my apartment I had planned to finish packing and get in a couple hours of sleep before heading to DIA for my flight home. Well…I never set an alarm. I was so giddy thinking about the date and exhausted from my day that I fell asleep in my clothes from the date. I needed to be up and leave my apartment by 2 AM to make my flight. If it wasn’t for my Uber driver who sensed my urgency and TSA pre-check, I would have missed that flight. I got to my gate just as the plane was boarding.

I knew Ryan was special right after the first date. I am a notoriously bad texter and hated texting guys when I was going on dates. But Ryan was different. I wanted to text him. It was easy to have a conversation with him. We texted everyday until I returned from my travels in January when we went on our second date. After that it all runs together for me. We ended up spending most of our weeks together and were truly inseparable. I knew he was “the one” early on. In the beginning of our relationship, I was going through a difficult situation and was struggling not having friends and family close by to help out. Ryan was there through it all. He often brought me food so I would eat, would let me vent to him, and affirmed me through all of the tough decisions I had to make. I told him the sacred words, “I love you” first, although we disagree on the location (I know for a fact it was at my apartment, but Ryan remembers differently…). Despite Ryan’s poor memory, we both agree we were enamored with each other in the moment.

After only “officially” dating for 6 months, we moved in together to our first apartment. We adopted our second cat, Potato, and settled into our new chapter. 

Ryan adds, “I have so many favorite qualities about Bekah, but one that has stood out above all others is her intelligence. I cannot believe how lucky I got, she is so unbelievably smart and that was at the very top of my ‘want’ list! In addition to her brain, she is also very kind, patient, and understanding with me. I often tell people that after I met Bekah, it felt like the world was no longer on fire. She centers me and I feel as though we do a great job complementing each other where our qualities can each shine. I could write a whole novel on my favorite things about her but I’ll just leave it at that for now. 

We have been on the same wavelength since day one. We agree on everything and see eye to eye on the most important aspects of our relationship. It astounded me, and still does, just how much we have in common with each other. Picking Bekah to be my forever person was the easiest decision I have ever made.”

Ryan shares, “I knew from the start that managing to surprise Bekah was going to be a challenge. She’s just way too smart and I was going to have to go above and beyond to pull it off. Since Bekah moved out here, she had to leave behind her friends and family. I know just how much they all mean to her so I made sure to include them in the proposal. I really wanted the proposal to be about her and how much she means to me. 

Therefore, I reached out to her friends and family and we had several brainstorming sessions to make sure this would be the surprise of a lifetime for her. One of the hardest parts about pulling this off was having to ‘guard’ my phone a bit closer than I normally would. I didn’t want her to accidentally see a text from her family or catch wind of what was coming her way. We all did a great job hiding it from her, even though I know her mom especially didn’t like having to ‘lie’! Before they all left for the trip out here, they set their iPhone locations to their home address as a precaution – that precaution paid off because Bekah checked all of their locations multiple times that day. She knew something was up! 

Bekah continues, “Ryan and I went back to Putt Shack where we had our first date to reminisce. That day a winter storm was blowing across Denver and was dumping more snow than expected.  After golf, we got dressed up for dinner, which I still had no clue where we were going. Ryan had given away just enough hints that I had an inkling we were heading to Red Rocks, but l there is actually a nice restaurant at Red Rocks that I thought he was surprising me with reservations.

Before we got off on the Morrison exit of 470, Ryan blindfolded me with his tie as we climbed up the mountain in the snow. This made me nauseous so I was distracted trying not to get car sick, so I didn’t notice his nerves. When we got to the top, Ryan asked me, “Do you trust me?” and then left me alone, blindfolded in the car. After that, Ryan’s twin brother Nathan greeted me at the car door with a flower and notecard memorializing a moment from the past year of our relationship. It was at this moment it finally clicked he was proposing. Ryan surprised me with my family and friends who flew in from the east coast to greet me as I walked down to where Ryan was waiting for me with the ring. I was in shock that he pulled this off without me realizing until the moment it was happening. It was a cold and snowy proposal, but this made it all the more private as only a few other people were visiting Red Rocks in the snow.”

Ryan continues, “I chose Red Rocks for the proposal because it was important to Bekah. It was a key reason that she chose to move out to Colorado and I know the venue means a lot to her. Therefore, the decision to have the proposal there was easy. The timing of the year, with the weather, was less than ideal but it sure made for a memorable experience. Nobody could feel their face or toes when it was all said and done! I will forever remember the frozen tears of joy streaming down Bekah’s face when she finally made it to me. The wind chill must have been close to negative 10 degrees but I don’t think I would have it any other way. There were tiny bits of ice particles suspended in the frozen air and it really painted the amphitheater in a stunning light!”

Happy engagement Bekah and Ryan! They will be married on June 20, 2026 at the Shupe Homestead. Bekah says, “We fell in love with the Shupe Homestead from the first visit. I envision lots of flowers, bright colors, and intention in the small details. It will be a more laid-back wedding with lots of personal touches. Ryan and I both have big families and lots of friends, so the wedding will be on the larger side. We want our guests to feel our appreciation for each of them, so we will be adding in a few personalized touches for each guest. 

I am just so excited to marry Ryan! I love the planning process even though there is still a year to go. A wedding is something I’ve looked forward to my whole life and just to see the day come to life will be spectacular.”

Ryan adds, “We could not be more pleased with how our engagement session turned out and we cannot thank Jess enough for her flexibility and recommendations for making our experience as flawless as it was! Jess gave recommendations for clothes, items to bring, times to shoot for, etc. It made the whole experience quite easy. 

From what I gather, Jess had never had a request for a ‘stormy sky’ so I’m glad I was able to challenge her a bit on that! Really it was just a toss of the dice if the weather would cooperate with my unusual request, but in the end it did! I remember looking at satellite imagery on my phone and forecasting that the clouds would clear up just enough in time for sunset to peek through!”