Grace & Jake reached out to me about 10 months before their wedding date. They were hoping to do an intimate elopement in Banff National Park in early October and really liked my style of photos and that I shoot on film. The Canadian Rocky Mountains are some of my favorite places in the world, so of course I was on board to help make things happen for them!
When we were talking through locations for their intimate elopement in Banff, Grace & Jake knew they wanted to do photos at Lake Louise, but were also open to going to other spots as well. Immediately I knew that I wanted to take them to a couple of my favorite stops along the Icefields Parkway – Peyto Lake and Bow Lake.
On the day of their wedding I picked Grace & Jake up before sunrise so we’d have time to get parking at Lake Louise before the lots filled up for the day. They were both complete troopers and up for getting started as early as we needed to! It was cold and cloudy when we got to Lake Louise and once again these two were up for anything.
We had a beautiful moody and romantic start at the lake with clouds hovering just above the valley. Luckily we could still see that incredible glacial blue water!
We had an amazing time walking around the lake shore and at times it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves.
Grace & Jake are high school sweethearts who have been together since the end of freshman year.
When I asked what they were excited about for their wedding, Grace had this to say:
“Jake and I decided on an elopement because it will give us the opportunity to share one of the most special moments of our lives with just each other, without the extra bells and whistles that could get in the way of what a marriage is truly about. We are so excited to say our vows with one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world surrounding us. No drama, just love and beauty.”
After Lake Louise we got back in the car to drive up the Icefields Parkway to the Peyto Lake lookout. It was still really cloudy as we were driving north, but just a few miles before we got to Peyto Lake, the clouds broke and we could start to see blue sky and the incredible peaks of the Rockies coming through as we drove along. I’ll never forget how in awe of things Grace and Jake were looking out the backseat windows. I get the exact same feelings every time I see those mountains!
We parked at Peyto Lake and walked to the lookout. They had just gotten a fresh dusting of snow that morning and things were absolutely stunning.
After spending some time taking in the incredible view, we continued on with portraits for Grace & Jake and then got back on the road to Bow Lake.
Bow Lake is absolutely a hidden gem in Banff National Park. Being further north than the very popular Moraine Lake and Lake Louise, it gets significantly fewer visitors but is equally just as breathtaking.
Not only is it easily to walk right up to the shore of Bow Lake, there’s wooden bridges and even a beautiful meadow for lot’s of variety. I love this spot!
By the time we were at the lakeshore, the weather had completely changed on us. It was now bright and sunny and even a little bit warm! We spent most of our remaining time together at Bow Lake doing portraits and having some really sweet and wonderful moments for these two awesome people.
I have to give a big shoutout to Banff Mountaintop Flowers for the beautiful work they did on Grace’s bouquet and Jake’s boutonniere.
We weren’t the only ones who loves the flowers! This bee flew right onto Grace’s bouquet and made a home for himself.
Grace and Jake decided to do both their vows and legal ceremony in private. I really appreciated how much they wanted to keep some moments just for themselves and just focus on experiencing the beautiful landscape together and documenting that in their photos.
There was one more shot that Grace and Jake wanted to get before we were done for the day, and luckily it was just down the street from their hotel in the town of Banff.
We wanted to get some photos of the two of them in the middle of the crossing of Banff Avenue. With Cascade Mountain in the background, it’s one of the most iconic views in Banff. We also lucked out to be there for the last weekend of the Banff Avenue pedestrian zone so we could take our time and not worry about cars coming through.
I had an amazing time getting to spend the day with these two and show them to some of my favorite places in Banff National Park!
Thank you both for trusting me to capture thing for you!
Wedding Dress – Aisle & Veil – https://www.aisleandveil.com @aisle_and_veil
Florals – Banff Mountain Top Flowers – https://www.
Film Lab – Dunwoody Photo – https://www.dunwoodyphoto.com @dunwoodyphoto dunwoodyphoto@gmail.com
Florals – Banff Mountain Top Flowers – https://www.
Film Lab – Dunwoody Photo – https://www.dunwoodyphoto.com @dunwoodyphoto dunwoodyphoto@gmail.com
Film photos shot on Kodak Professional Portra 400 and Portra 800 film.
Digital photos edited with the Archetype Process.
Thinking of planning your own intimate elopement in Banff National Park? 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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