Woman says yes to proposal at Artist Point in Washington

Congratulations! You’ve decided to propose to your partner!

Now comes the exciting part of planning the marriage proposal and Washington has so many amazing proposal locations for you to choose from.


Where are the best marriage proposal locations in Washington state?

The great part about Washington State is that there are so many different types of landscapes and cityscapes where you can propose.  That’s also the hard part about proposing in Washington State. How will you decide where you want to propose?

Washington has 3 amazing National Parks, an incredible coastline, millions of acres of state and national forest land, epic waterfalls, and the iconic Seattle skyline….and that isn’t everything.

When planning your proposal, you’ll want to think about the things that you and your partner enjoy doing together or places that have special meaning to you. You should consider those while planning your marriage proposal location in Washington State.


Here are just a few of the most iconic locations you can propose in Washington:

  1. Mount Baker Wilderness, Artist Point
  2. Mount Rainier National Park, Reflection Lake
  3. Olympic National Park, Hurricane Ridge
  4. West Seattle
  5. Green Lake Park in Seattle
  6. Snoqualmie Falls

Mount Baker Wilderness, Artist Point

Mount Rainier National Park, Reflection Lake

Olympic National Park, Hurricane Ridge

West Seattle

Green Lake Park in Seattle

Man proposes to woman at Green Lake Park in Seattle

Snoqualmie Falls

Man proposes to woman at Snoqualmie Falls near Salish Lodge

What do you need to propose in Washington?

You don’t need much to propose – the most important part is the person you want to propose to! Most people like to have a ring that they can gift to their partner, but that’s not necessary either. Sometimes you may decide to propose on the spur of the moment and don’t have the ring with you and that is fine. There are no legal requirements for a marriage proposal in Washington.

Who do you need for the marriage proposal?

You may want to keep your proposal a secret from everyone and that is completely understandable. It’s easier to keep a secret when no one knows.  However, it is helpful to have at least 1 other person you can confide in and maybe help you with planning. 

That person can be a proposal photographer. A proposal photographer is a photographer who has the extra skill and knowledge of knowing the places that may be most private for your special moment and that photographer is also able to capture the proposal for you in images that you’ll have for a lifetime.

Other Tips for proposing in Washington State

1. Weather – Depending on the time of year you want to propose, you’ll need to consider the weather. It can be rainy in Washington from mid Fall through early Summer, but you can still propose outside. Just bring along good rain jackets or cute umbrellas. It’s also good to have a backup location no matter the time of year. Luckily, there are so many different proposal location options to choose from.  For example, we had originally planned to hike to a high mountain location for this couple’s proposal. The snow was late to melt, so we selected a mountain top location that we could more easily access on the day he wanted to propose.

2. Clothing – If you do decide to have photographs taken of the proposal and afterwards, you will want to pack a special outfit for your partner that they can change into. Depending on your cover story, you may be able to have them dress a little nicer before getting to the proposal location.  With this couple, he told his future fiancé when they arrived at the location that he had scheduled a surprise couple’s photo session for them. He just happened to have a nice outfit packed in the back of the car for her to put on.

3. Timeline – You’ll want to consider the time of day you want to propose, but don’t try to plan it down to the minute. For example, are you morning people and you love going out for coffee and then taking a stroll on the beach? Do you want to propose on a hike and know that you can reach your destination near sunset? Put together a general timeframe in your mind for your proposal, but don’t stress about the exact minute details. Don’t forget to consider drive time and potential road issues or traffic concerns.

So that you don’t have additional stress, you should schedule in plenty of time to drive or hike to the location where you are planning to propose.  With this couple, he wanted to propose at sunrise. Since it was a long and windy drive to get to this location, I recommended that they allow extra time. They made it with time to spare and he proposed right as the sun rose. An experienced proposal photographer can help you with the timeline and alleviate some of that stress.

4. Propose in private or with others present? – You don’t have to propose in private. You can include people who are important to you and your relationship in your proposal. Since there are many wonderful marriage proposal locations in Washington, you can find a location that is easily accessible for your guests or even a location where they can easily hide until you’ve popped the question.  I worked with the mother of the person proposing to schedule a family photo session. While we were taking photos of the family, I had the couple step to the side for individual couple’s photos and that’s when he proposed.

There are many fun ways to propose. This is an exciting, yet stressful time, and you don’t have to do it all on your own.


Stacy is the washington elopement photographer for Outshined Photography

Outshined Photography – Washington Proposal Photographer

Hi! My name is Stacy. As a professional elopement photographer in Washington, I know many beautiful areas throughout Washington State and am very familiar photographing in nature and helping people plan important events, such as photographing a Washington marriage proposal. The first proposal I photographed in Washington was on Ruby Beach and it was a very memorable experience. I enjoy helping to plan proposals and then capturing one of the most important times in your relationship together. If you want someone else in on your secret, who can also help take some of the stress of a wedding proposal off of you, contact me today!

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11 Comments

  1. Ahh Washington is gorgeous and has so many beautiful proposal spots. This was such a help blog on all the beautiful spots Washington has to offer for proposals !

  2. An immensely helpful guide, with absolutely lovely photographs – what more could you ask for! I didn’t know Washington had such beautiful locales, thank you for writing this 🙂

  3. Aww you’ve been apart of so many beautiful proposals! This is a great guide for folks looking to find the perfect proposal spot in WA! I love all your locations! That waterfall shot is incredible!

    1. Hurricane Ridge was his backup location for the proposal. We are lucky to have so many beautiful places to propose in Washington.