A Blind Date Gone Viral
Reid + Casey’s Blind Date Photoshoot Turned Second Chances
When I launched my “Blind Date with a Stranger” photo series, I never expected this kind of magic. I wanted to create a fun moment to help inspire me, and get some couples interested in an authentic connection. I spent a day making a fun marketing strategy complete with jokes about how bad online dating is here locally, and slapped on "Lets get it on- Marvin Gaye” to help keep it light hearted. A few days later, I checked my post and to my surprise, I had over 100 people reaching out wanting to get paired up. I even have a few older and wiser 65+ year old volunteers, who wanted to join in on the fun. (Should we make a golden bachelor theme spin off of the blind date photoshoot with an adorable older couple looking for their second chance at love? I feel like yes!)
It didn’t take long before I realised I was going to have to get really organized, really fast, if this was going to work. So I did what any self-respecting Type A girl would do. I made an excel sheet. I grouped everyone by age and then slowly and meticulous studied their about me sections that they sent over. I cut and pasted everyone into groups, snooped some social media pages to avoid any accidental “photoshoot with my ex” situations, and started finding pairs with similar preferences and interests. Once I narrowed it down to my top three couples, I fed their information into Chat GPT ( I’m pretty sure she’s a girl, and she named herself Marlo! Shout out to my home girl Marlo for helping make this all happen!) and asked her to analyze my pairings and help me find the best match, and most likely to have the best chemistry. And the rest is history. Below is the snippet of the outcome of Marlo’s analysis:
Once I knew I had a couple chosen, I reached out to each of them to help schedule, pick out outfits, and give them the rundown of what would be happening.
💫 Meet the Couple
Reid is an adventurous, travel-loving soul with a serious love for hiking, rafting, and a great sense of humor. Below is a screenshot of the Bio that Reid submitted when he applied:
Casey is a bold, curious, outdoorsy powerhouse, the friend who always makes weekend plans happen and is down for anything. Below is a screenshot of the Bio Casey sent in:
I’m sure you can see why they were an obvious favorite straight from the start. I paired them based on shared values, active lifestyles, and the kind of energy that feeds off connection and movement. They had so much in common, and looking back, that probably should have been an indicator that I needed to do a more thorough investigation into them somehow knowing each other. But I’m not really mad at how it turned out. Next time, we go full detective though!
Reid and Casey brought it. Every laugh, every look — the kind of easy, unforced chemistry that makes you wonder: how were they not already a couple?
And now the internet agrees. And we’re all slowly dying inside waiting to see how their love story unfolds. No pressure.
Their session has gone wildly viral, and it’s easy to see why.
🌲 The Date: Outdoors, Unscripted, and All HearT
We met at a secluded trailhead just outside Kalispell. I asked Reid to show up 15 minutes earlier than Casey so that I could get him blindfolded at the opening of the path. Then I left him standing there, flowers in hand, blindfolded in the middle of the field. ( Poor Reid had multiple bikers and dog walkers walk past him while I was grabbing Casey. I can only imagine how hilarious they found this.)
I ran back to the parking area to blindfold Casey, and then held her arm as we walked out to meet the mystery man. I placed them back to back to secure a saftey shot incase this went terribly bad. Then turned them around and introduced them.
Check out the behind the scenes video on Tik Tok: Here
Within Seconds of taking off their blindfolds, it was obvious that they knew eachother. At first I panicked, this was the only scenario I was worried about, but after a few more seconds, it became glaringly obvious that neither of them was upset about this serendipitous situation that was unfolding. Turns out they have a shared mutual friend group, and even a group chat that both of them are a part of and have interacted but only as acquaintances. (Free Photos for the first friend in the group chat, to leak the screenshots of the moment you all saw the video going viral). After the session was over, I found out through conversing with them that there have been some unrequited sparks, that neither of them acted on up until now! ( Excuse me while I go squeal about how blessed I am to get to help facilitate a love story!) Can you say fan girl!
📸 Why This Session Hit So Hard
This wasn’t just a photoshoot. It was a shared experience — unscripted, unfiltered, and full of curiosity. These two were open to the process, open to each other, and open to letting the moment lead.
That kind of authentic connection? You can’t pose that. You can only witness it
🖤 The Takeaway (and a Little Secret)
Here’s what I’ve learned from doing this project: people are craving real connection. And when you set the stage for it — even with cameras and complete strangers — something beautiful can happen.
✨ Oh, and Reid and Casey? They’re planning a second date. Let’s just say it may involve paintball and hopefully an update for all of us!
Want to See More?
Head down to the bottom of this post to see their entire gallery, which includes so many photos that weren’t part of my viral post!
And if you’re curious what it would be like to step in front of the camera with someone new — or just want your love story told in a totally different way — I’d love to hear from you.
📍 Based in Kalispell, Montana
📸 Capturing real love, real laughter, and sometimes — a spark between strangers.
-Ginny Allen
