Kananaskis Post-Wedding Adventure Session

Banff Elopement Photographers

Hayley & Justin

Kananaskis Post-Wedding Adventure Session

This Kananaskis post-wedding adventure session is the second part in a two-part elopement story. Hayley and Justin planned an incredible elopement day and decided to go on an epic sunrise hike to celebrate! Spitting up their day into two days allowed them to enjoy and soak in their intimate elopement day but also plan an adventure of a lifetime.

You can read all about their Banff elopement day at Storm Mountain Lodge here!

Planning a Post-Wedding Adventure Session 

As adventure elopement photographers based in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, we plan a lot of wild wedding adventures! Hayley and Justin were coming out from Ontario and were up to experience something a little different than their original wedding plans! They wanted to experience all the Banff area had to offer for their elopement day and get some amazing photos to remember it all by. After talking through their options we decided that splitting up their elopement day into two days was the best way to do this! This way they were able to relax, take their time and soak in their wedding day at Storm Mountain Lodge but also plan a crazy sunrise hike as they had always dreamed of!

Why Planning a Sunrise Hiking Adventure is Always a Good Idea!

There are a few main reasons why we always recommend getting up at a ridiculous hour to take photos at sunrise. Trust us, its always worth it! 

1. The light is amazing! As the sun rises from the east over the prairies it lights up the mountain peaks more than at sunset where there may be more obstructions from other mountain ranges in the west. As the early morning light comes over the horizon it creates softer light for portraits. If you are lucky and get a clear morning you will get some an amazing golden glow. If there are some clouds in the sky they will also light up and turn some pretty wild colours.
2. You will almost always have the whole place to yourself. If you are hiking up to somewhere for sunrise you are looking at a pretty early start. Because of this you are most likely going to be the only ones on the trail. This makes for a more intimate experience where you can feel like you are the only ones taking in this special moment. 
3. Hiking up in the dark is an amazing experience. Some of our favourite memories are hiking by moonlight under the stars. Everything is quiet and cool. There is something special about not being able to see the beauty that surrounds you until the comes up.

Hayley and Justin’s Hiking Experience

Hiking with Hayley and Justin was so much fun! Their sense of adventure and curiosity was contagious and we felt like we got to know them so well while hiking this beautiful trail. As we made our way up we could see ash flickering past our headlamps. A sign that there was smoke from a forest fire blowing in. We knew that this would create some beautiful soft light when the sun rose later that morning. As we made our way up the ridge we could see the shapes of the mountains slowly appear before us. The light began to light up the rippling clouds around us and Hayley and Justin got changed on the peak in their wedding gear! This is my favourite moment of any sunrise shoot. The excitement of first light while everything is revealing itself around you.

We had such an amazing time with these two wonderful people. Their elopement day was incredible and we are so grateful that we got to be there to create all of these memories and share all this joy with them!

This Banff Elopement was also featured on Wandering Weddings