Winter Red River Gorge Engagement Session in Kentucky (Nada Tunnel, Sky Bridge & More)

We were so excited when Brittany and Sam wanted to do their engagement session in one of our favorite places, the Red River Gorge. We share a lot of common interests with Brittany and Sam including a love for hiking, climbing, and adventure. When I talked to Sam on the phone I knew we were going to have fun together.

On the day of their winter engagement session snow was in the forecast. We were crossing our fingers the entire time to have snow for some of their pictures. Our adventure started off at the Nada Tunnel a 900 foot single lane tunnel that was blasted through a sold limestone rock face. This tunnel is by far one of the most memorable we have ever driven through. The next stop was to a hiking trail that leads to Left Flank and Military Wall which are popular rock climbing crags. We were able to enjoy the beautiful creek that runs along the trail and also the moss covered rocks.

Our journey concluded at the beautiful hiking trail that leads to the Sky Bridge Arch. The top of the arch is filled with evergreen trees making it the perfect location for a winter Red River Gorge engagement session. Standing beneath the Sky Bridge Arch is absolutely spectacular. Definitely one of the more unique arch formations found in the Red River Gorge. As the sun was setting we started hiking back up to the parking lot. To our surprise the snow really started coming down. So we were able to get an amazing backlit shot with the snow surrounding them.

Sam and Brittany met while at a mutual friend’s bond fire in Louisville, KY. Brittany was attending Morehead State while Sam was at Northern Kentucky University. Neither of them knew any of the other people at the party and so they spent the entire night talking in the glow of the fire. They discovered that they shared many common interests including their love for Jesus, climbing, and the great outdoors. A few weeks later Sam asked Brittany out on a date. Sam drove down on a Saturday morning and they ate at a small Italian restaurant. Next, he drove her to the Red River Gorge where they hiked to Natural Bridge and Lover’s Leap. Afterwards they drove back towards Morehead and decided to hike up to Amburgie, which is a large rock formation in Rowan County. They finished the night by sitting around a fire. How romantic of a first date is that?

The week leading up to Christmas Sam kept telling Brittany that he wanted to go on a Christmas date. They spent the night before Christmas Eve at Sam’s parent’s house where they woke up early on Christmas Eve to go on their Christmas date. Sam drove Brittany up to the Newport where they grabbed breakfast and headed to the Newport Aquarium. As they went through the aquarium, Sam mentioned multiple times that he wanted to take pictures with Santa or find a photo booth. As they neared the end of the aquarium they saw a photo booth and they decided to hop in. Sam snuck the ring into the picture before Brittany had a chance to notice. As the last picture snapped she finally saw the ring. He got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. Brittany said, “The pictures were golden!” We are so excited to share some of our favorite photos from Brittany and Sam’s winter Red River Gorge engagement session.