Kelly Smith and Bradley Miller of Oakdale, Calif., recently got engaged at Sequim’s iconic New Dungeness Lighthouse, family members said.

The couple met in August 2018, and one of Miller’s longtime dreams was to be a lighthouse keeper.

“It’s too bad being a lighthouse keeper is no longer an actual thing anymore; I would have loved to be out there doing that,” he told her.

Smith then secretly got to work, researching and finding the only lighthouse on the West Coast that has a keeper program. She joined the New Dungeness Light Station Association, making reservations two years out.

The pair joined two other couples to be lighthouse keepers the week of Oct. 29-Nov. 5.

Miller arranged for Smith and him to be on duty in the lighthouse on Halloween afternoon. Having gone up top first, he carefully propped his phone on a pair of binoculars in the lighthouse cab to record the event. When Smith came up, the first thing she did was move the binoculars. Fighting panic, Miller got her to use another pair of binoculars while he rearranged his original setup. Then, down on one knee, he popped the question.

Miller’s answer was, “Heck yes! Nothing would make me happier and more proud!”

Their wedding is set for October 2024.