The best part of Instagram is the way can connect people from across the world. I got a message from this sweet couple from Singapore and they were so stoked to get engagement photos taken while they were on their school break here in The Pacific Northwest.  

After looking through a couple of different locations we decided on Mount Rainier‘s Reflection Lake. Truth be told this was my first time working at Mt. Rainier but I had seen tons of pictures of all of its beauty and I couldn’t wait to show it off to James and Shin on their trip to the states. 

But there are definitely some lessons learned with this experience… 

• First, DON’T pull your directions off of Instagram locations… they are not always right. Little did you that pin may take you to the middle of a road that is not anywhere near Reflections Lake. 
• Secondly, if you are working with a couple from another country, make sure you have multiple channels of communication otherwise your calls and texts to them may not go through until it’s too late…
• Third, always meet up with your couples before going up a mountain because you may not know when you’re going to lose your service, or hit a dead end.
• Forth, always plan your photos at the BEGINNING of your trips jusssst in case anything comes up.
• Finally, check and see which locations will actually be open to going because some will be closed at certain times of the year, which will make your bulletproof plan be not so solid anymore. 

Let’s just put it this way, this engagement session was a two day event and I felt absolutely terrible the first time around because of my rookie mistakes. But Shin and James are the most gracious and kind people EVER and were willing to give me a second chance and I’m so glad that they did! I can sit here and pretend that I’ve got it all together, but I don’t, nobody really does. But it’s experiences like this that show you the genuine humanity in people and teaches you a lot of lessons so you don’t make the same mistakes twice.

Our first trip to Mt, Rainier will definitely not be one we soon forget, for good and for not so good. ***Insert sweaty faced emoji*** But we created a beautiful friendship and an experience we can definitely laugh about now. Cannot wait to go and visit their beautiful country in the future!

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