As I’m writing this today, springtime is in full swing in the Rocky Mountains. The days are getting longer, temperatures are going up, flowers are blooming, and it won’t be long before summer is here and the lakes are thawed and brilliant glacial blue. It’s an amazing time to be in the mountains! Thinking about warmer days in the Canadian Rockies make me want to share one my favourite moments from a past summer – Jackie & Mike’s surprise Banff proposal!
Mike reached out to me earlier in the year. He was planning to propose to his girlfriend Jackie during their July trip to Banff and asked me to capture it for them. Well if there’s one thing I’m always down for, it’s a surprise Banff proposal!
He knew he wanted to pop the question at Moraine Lake. Luckily I’ve had the chance to photograph at this stunning location before. Because of just how breathtaking it is, getting to the lake has always been a bit of a challenge. In fact, it’s gotten so popular in recent years that Parks Canada decided to change the rules for accessing Moraine Lake starting with the 2023 season. I’ll have more info about that further down in this post!
We all arrived at Moraine Lake just after sunrise. Mike and I planned that I would go up the trail ahead of them and get into place. Since there’s almost always someone with a camera photographing the landscape here, I blended right in!
Jackie and Mike made their way up the Rockpile Trail to the spot we picked out. I was there ready and waiting to capture the moment of the proposal. They came up the trail and we had this stunning view all to ourselves for a few moments. Everything went off without a hitch!
The area at the top of the Rockpile Trail is one of my favourite spots. There’s a ton of variety and amazing views of the mountains around Moraine Lake, and of course that glacial blue water below!
To help keep things under wraps for their surprise Banff proposal, Mike came equipped with some gear from the Box Sock. This awesome pair of socks is designed with a pocket to hold a ring box so you can have it right on your ankle when you get down on one knee!
After coming down from the Rockpile trail, we took some time to walk around the lakeshore for some more photos.
I love getting to work the Moraine Lake Lodge canoe dock into photos whenever I can. All those colorful canoes make an awesome addition to the scene. Hopefully someday I can do some photos with a couple out on the water in one of those canoes!
I mentioned above that things have changed this year when it comes to getting to Moraine Lake. Because of just how popular the lake is and how little parking is available, Parks Canada made the decision to close Moraine Lake Road to private vehicles starting with the 2023 season. Here’s the official information page from the parks department:
https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/ab/banff/visit/les10-top10/louise
So what does this mean for anyone trying to get to Moraine Lake this summer? It means you’ve got to plan ahead! Parks Canada and a brand new company Moraine Lake Bus Company both offer shuttles to Moraine Lake and Lake Louise. The shuttles require reservations and there’s fees involved, but trust me when I say, this way is SO much better than massive backups of cars trying to get access to Moraine Lake Road with no guarantee of actually making it in.
Feel free to send me a message if you’d like some more info or advice about visiting or planning a proposal at Moraine Lake!
Mike had another awesome idea that we got to carry out. He thought it would be great to do another engagement session with me the next day Lake Louise. It gave Jackie a chance to ready for photos and have another look and location. I’m so glad I had another chance to get together with these two! Click here to see the photos from that session!
Congratulations you two! I loved getting to capture you getting engaged in the mountains!
Thinking of planning your own surprise Banff proposal or engagement session? I want to capture it!
You can see more of my work here and find out more about me here, but I would love you get to know you! Let’s talk.
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