Crafty photographer can turn a nervous proposal into a Hallmark moment in the Smokies
Forgive the South Florida couple for not factoring a snowstorm into their Great Smoky Mountains National Park engagement plans on Christmas, 2020.
Stephanie Richer had it covered.
A resident of Powell since 2011, Richer has evolved into the go-to unofficial proposal photographer of the Smokies. She’s 83-0 (83 “yes” responses) since 2014, but the South Florida couple still stands out in her mind.
“All our children are grown, so nobody’s doing the ‘Santa’ thing on Christmas morning,” Richer said. “I had no problem getting up early and doing the proposal.”
Richer said she had one question for the groom-to-be before the couple left the hotel room that morning: “Have you ever driven in snow before?” she said. As expected, the answer was “No.”
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They went on with the plan. Richer directed the groom-to-be to her reliable spot, Greenbrier. She figured the roads out of Gatlinburg would be open, and they were.
When the couple arrived, Richer had her tripod set up, looking like a typical nature photographer enjoying the vista.
“It’s a decoy,” she said. The plan was for the groom-to-be to hand Richer his phone and ask to take their picture. Richer sprung into action with her equipment, the groom-to-be did his proposal, and the moment was captured.
“It was like a Hallmark Christmas movie,” Richer recalled. “She had a white, puffy jacket. He had a red jacket. Great colors. The snow was falling. It was perfect.”
Richer will be in the Fort Lauderdale area in June to shoot the couple’s wedding.
‘It's the photographer’
Common sense is what separates Richer from the average photographer.
She has the Smokies scoped out for the most scenic areas. When’s the sun the best? Would the bride-to-be want to be photographed in casual clothes or should the ruse include a dress-up dinner at Dancing Bear Lodge in Townsend, with a “side trip” to Cades Cove? What side does the bride-to-be part her hair on? Don’t want a face full of hair during the crucial moment?
“You can’t imagine the number of texts I’ll get the day before and the day of a proposal,” Richer said. “The guys are so nervous. I’ll share road signs with them so they know they’re going the right way. If there’s a bear sighting, there’s going to be a traffic jam. I have to factor that in whatever we’re doing.”
If the guy wants a sunrise proposal, the couple better be ready to hike to that special spot with headlamps. The opposite goes for a sunset backdrop. Hiking out with headlamps is necessary.
Richer does her best to prepare her clients for whatever they might face.
“People don’t hire the photography, it’s the photographer,” she said. “Only 40 percent of the experience is the photography. The rest is customer service – time management, people management. It’s just being nice.”
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What she loved
After growing up in New York City, Richer went into the U.S. Army. She served in field hospital management in Oklahoma. She spent several years in California in information technology consulting until she searched for a new challenge. That new life was as a divorce attorney in California until life in California became too much.
Five acres in Powell was much more attractive in 2011.
“We found I-40 on a map and started heading east,” Richer said. “We looked at Nashville and Chattanooga, but Knoxville won.”
With the move came the pledge to do what she loved. Richer turned her photo hobby into a business in 2014.
Besides proposals in the Smokies, Richer enjoys weddings but loves her studio work. Controlling lighting, setting, posing and other aspects of the portrait is a lost art that Richer loves to embrace. Holiday family portraits, as well as pets, are right up her alley.
“We live in such a digital world,” Richer said. “Photos help us maintain our identity. Portraits are important because it keeps us from being forgotten.”
For more information, contact Richer at: www.stephaniericherphoto.com.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Powell photographer can turn a nervous proposal into a Hallmark moment
