William reached out to me about photographing his winter proposal in Banff back in the fall. He was planning a ski trip in March with his girlfriend Ashley. He knew that he wanted to propose to her on their first full day in the mountains and that they wanted it professionally photographed on film. Film photography and the Canadian Rockies are two of my biggest passions, so I was immediately on board to help make this happen for them!
I’m also incredibly excited to announce that Ashley & William’s proposal has been featured by the White Wren!
The White Wren is an incredible wedding blog and magazine, with a focus on film photography. A huge thank you to the team there for sharing these photos and their story. Make sure you go check out the feature here!
First: a quick disclaimer when it comes to walking on a frozen lake.
Always make sure things are safe before you go onto any frozen body of water! There’s a lot of factors that go into making sure the ice is safe to walk on. If you ever feel unsafe or unsure about going onto ice, don’t do it!
The Canadian Red Cross has a great resource on ice safety.
Parks Canada also has some really useful information about getting out and enjoying winter safely in Banff National Park.
The Planning
This is always one of my favorite parts about capturing a proposal! There’s so much excitement and anticipation leading up to asking someone you marry you. I really do love getting to work through things with the person popping the question. It’s part of my job to make things less stressful for them, and I’m all for it!
William and I went about figuring out the details. We decided to do the proposal at a location out in the middle of some of the stunning scenery of the national park and then meet back up in the town of Banff for an outfit change and some more photos.
The end of March in Banff is an incredible time. The lakes are still frozen and the snow has only just begun to melt in some places. While some locations aren’t easy to get to in winter, one of my favourtie spots – Lake Minnewanka – is accessible all year long. It’s a gorgeous lake framed up by the mountains and this time of year it’s covered in packed down snow that makes it easy to walk out onto the frozen water. I knew that it would be the perfect location for William to pop the question!
The Day of the Proposal!
We met up at Lake Minnewanka at 9:30AM, just as the sun was starting to make its way over the mountains behind the lake. William had the fantastic idea to tell Ashley ahead of time that he wanted to do a photo session together in Banff and had booked a film photographer for them. This took so much of the stress off of the proposal! Instead of hiding in the trees (which I’m always down for), I was able to introduce myself and walk with them down to the exact location I had in mind. It also gave Ashley a chance to be ready for photos.
Huge props to Ashley and William for braving the cold to get out early. It was well below freezing still in the morning, but they were all for giving it a go to get some great light! I made sure to bring some hand warmers, and as soon as we got out into the sun and the beautiful scenery we all forgot just how cold it was.
The 3 of us walked down to the Lake from the parking lot together. William and I figured out a signal ahead of time so that once we were in the right spot and I was ready to go, he would be ready to propose. After taking a few photos, I asked them if they had seen any wildlife so far on their trip (which was the signal!).
William pointed to a spot to get Ashley turn around to look for elk and then got down on one knee. You can see from the photos her surprise when she turned back around! Ashley absolutely said yes!
To add to all the excitement of things, that day also happened to be William’s birthday. Congratulations you two and happy birthday William!
The Engagement Session
We had an amazing time together doing more photos out on the lake. After a break for lunch and to get changed, we got back together in the town of Banff to walk around for the second half of their engagement shoot.
If a couple is up for it, I love getting to do a second location for engagement photos after the proposal. Whether it’s later that day, or the day after, it’s a great chance to get some more photos with the person you love. I’m always down for an extra session like this one – especially in a destination like the Canadian Rockies!
I never get over the variety of locations you can find just walking around the town of Banff.
If there’s a mountain background, there’s a good chance I’ll ask you to stop in the middle of an intersection. Just a heads up!
Here’s a little bit that Ashley had to say about the proposal:
“Our first ever vacation together was a ski trip to Banff. During that trip, I told William that this is where I’d like to be proposed to one day in passing. Four years later, sweet boy somehow remembered and made it a reality!! Shoutout to my friends and family for keeping this a secret for the past six months.”
Congratulations again you two! It was so incredible to be a part of your winter proposal in Banff!
All photos shot on Kodak Professional Portra 400 and TRI-X 400 films.
Film development and scanning – Dunwoody Photo.
Make sure you check out the feature over at the White Wren!
Thinking of planning your own surprise 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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