Summer Rock Climbing and Hiking Engagement Session in the Red River Gorge

Our friends Liz and Skip are engaged! These two fun loving adventure seekers are absolutely perfect for each other. We could not be happier for them! They decided to do something fun for their engagement session. Rock climbing has always been an important part of their relationship and so they decided that making it a part of their engagement session was a must. We went to a famous climbing area in the Red River Gorge called Muir Valley. It is a nice little shaded spot with several fun climbs. We had so much fun climbing and just hanging out. For sunset, we decided to hike out to one of our favorite overlooks in the Red River Gorge, Auxier Ridge. We had the most gorgeous sunset. It was so much fun getting to spend time with Liz and Skip and to hear all about their love story.

One day Liz was invited to go rock climbing in the Red River Gorge with her friend. She had no idea that he had invited his friend Skip and told him that he had to meet Liz. It was a setup from the beginning but Liz had no idea until after they started to date. She did think it was strange how friendly Skip was considering that they had just met, but Liz was there to climb and didn’t think much about it. One day Skip texted Liz asking her how her day was. She had a pretty tough day so Skip texted her back and asked her if she wanted to go to dinner. They met at a little Cuban restaurant and time flew by. Before they knew it the owners told them that the restaurant was closing and that they had to leave. They kept talking in the parking lot between their cars. Skip asked if he could see Liz again and they have been together ever since.

Skip being a jokester had asked Liz to marry him on several occasions for health care benefits. Liz turned him down on all the occasions and told him he needed to ask her when he actually wanted her to say yes. On a January day, Skip suggested they take a hike and enjoy the warmer temperatures and sunshine. Liz got dressed in a heartbeat and was ready to go but Skip dragged his feet. He asked Liz to take their dog Briggs to play fetch while he finished getting ready. Liz thought this was strange but didn’t argue about it. Skip was eventually ready and they drove to the Gray’s Arch trailhead. As they had finished their hike they started to walk back towards the parking lot. Skip led Liz off the trail to view the sunset. Liz thought it would be the perfect time to break out some snacks. Skip declined and waited for the perfect moment. Skip then got down on one knee and proposed. Liz was so surprised and happy that she didn’t have to turn him down again.

Liz and Skip are the owners of Events at Hemlock Springs in the Red River Gorge which is a gorgeous weddings venue where they will be getting married this November. The ring Skip gave Liz is from a company in Nova Scotia that makes custom rings out of wood. The Hemlock tree is their favorite. They knew that they wanted their rings to connect to their property in the Red River Gorge. So they cut down a section of the Douglas Fir for the beams in their building and sent it to Northwood Rings. A good friend of theirs designed a hemlock branch and the company laser engraved and then inlaid it with malachite. Their rings reflect their connection to the Red River Gorge and is a unique tie to their favorite place. We are so excited to celebrate these two amazing people and can’t wait for their wedding this fall.