Banff Elopement Photographers

Zahra and Matthew

Banff Hiking Elopement in Canada

What a morning this was. Hiking up high into the alpine by headlamp to watch the sunrise in one of the most beautiful locations we could dream of. These two spend their time together seeking out adventures, so it was only fitting that they planned a hiking elopement near Banff for their elopement day.

Hiking by Headlamp and a Glimpse of the Northern Lights

Our car’s all pulled into a lakeside trailhead and we strapped our headlamps on and tied up our hiking boots. Hiking in the night sounds scary to the unfamiliar but it’s our favourite! Everything is calm, cool and so peaceful. You can marvel at the stars above you knowing you have so much to look forward to when the light begins to reveal the views around you. We stopped halfway along the trail to take some night photos with the stars. To our surprise, our cameras revealed a faint glimpse of green from the northern lights! Pushing on to the ridge-line, we were stunned by the amazing views that surrounded us. We explored a little rocky outcrop in our headlamps and decided that this was the perfect spot for a first look.

A First Look at Dawn

Zahra walked out to Matt just as the horizon was starting to glow orange. It was such a beautiful moment to witness. As Z and M looked out across to the towering mountain peaks she commented on how it reminded her of one of her favourite lines from Death Cab for Cutie ‘Cause at night, the sun in retreat, Made the skyline look like crooked teeth.’

The rising sun burned the mountain peaks bright orange and we took advantage of the fleeting light with some portraits around the area.

Wandering Through Wildflowers and Ridgelines

We then hiked around through summer fields of blooming wildflowers to a lower ridgeline where Z and M would share private vows. We watched as they held each other and made promises that would last a lifetime, silhouetted against the blue lakes below them. Before hiking down we explored along the ridge some more and continued to marvel at the peaks surrounding us. 

After our hike down, we met up with Klaus their officiant. Standing on the shore of the lake we were just looking down on, he led us through the legal portion of their wedding ceremony. This was such a beautiful and intentional day to witness and document and we hope you enjoy looking through some of the images and video below.

Vendors:

Photographers: Willow and Wolf
Commissioner: Klaus Ohlhoff
Video: Sam Lobb