Costa Rica Proposal Photos | Claire and Gerik

I can’t even explain how epic this Costa Rica proposal was. Especially since it was my little sister. Claire and Gerik have been together over 6 years. When he told me on Halloween that he was going to propose to her during our family vacation to the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica, I nearly started crying on the spot. Gerik is already like a brother to me and I was SO thrilled and excited to be a part of this huge moment. Making it happen was NOT easy though. Once we arrived, we found this amazing Costa Rican waterfall on the map, so my boyfriend and I made up a white lie about wanting to go have an adventure day alone together, and then the two of us set out to scout it. Holy cow it was NOT easy to get to. We had to drive across about 5 creeks/rivers, we got lost, we missed the trailhead, we almost didn’t walk far enough up the non-existent trail (it was basically just scrambling up the side of other waterfalls to get there, including some sketchy ropes to hold you up) and then, to top it all off, we ripped a MASSIVE hole in one of our tires just trying to get home since the road was so incredibly bad. Calling it a road is doing it a favor really. It was more of a “track.” Anyway, next day I convinced Claire and her twin Annie that we were going to go to the waterfall to do a photoshoot! And that I might take a few shots of Claire and Gerik as well while I was there, because why not. So I did their makeup, gave Claire all my cute clothes (if her outfits look familiar, now you know hahah), and my ENTIRE family, even my parents, drove off to this waterfall that none of us were supposed to have seen before. I had to keep pretending like I didn’t know how to get there. The hike up to the waterfall was NOT easy, and I was amazed to see everyone, even my mom, scale up the slippery rocks, and use the sketchy ropes to get close to the top. I had everyone stop before we reached the main falls, and then I told Claire and Gerik that I wanted to get a few couples shots of them alone without anyone else watching since that would be awkward. I took a few pictures of them centered in front of the falls, and then Gerik got down on one knee in the middle of a river and asked Claire to be his wife. While I shakily tried not to cry. They took a second alone and then I invited everyone else up to see what had just happened. It was one of the hardest-to-get-to locations I’ve ever been to, but we had the place entirely to ourselves and it was undeniably SO romantic. And it was such a special family moment we all got to share!! Claire and Gerik, I cannot wait to see what the future brings!!