Wedding day is finally here!
Kananaskis Country
The day finally came! The wedding day!
The weather forecast cleared with only a minor chance of rain in the afternoon
The day before (and weeks leading up to the wedding) was a bit stressful - Jody planned a suboptimal itinerary, Moraine Lake Lodge cancelled our reservations and still hadn’t sent the parking pass, Emilia was concerned about the potential floods and making her way to Kananaskis in the morning, Jody refused to take the family to Peyto Lake because of the snowy conditions
Woke up at 4:45 AM to begin getting ready - Matt packed our bags with all of the essentials and anything we could possibly need throughout the wedding day; Liz got ready for Emilia
Emilia arrived on time and did Liz’s hair and makeup - it turned out perfectly
Matt came in to see me in the dress for the first time after purchasing it almost two years prior
We were running a little behind when Jody called and left an anxious voicemail - Highway 1 from Golden, BC had closed due to a fatal accident and she was going to be late; Emerald Lake (our first portrait location) was also out of the question
We pulled off at a turn off for Matt to get dressed near the pit toilet
We leveraged the Moraine Lake parking pass to get in when the road was closed / parking lot full and started our session; it was less awkward than we anticipated and we even found it fun (J to J)
Jody was great; she had a real eye for the lighting and landscape; she posed us as needed, but also allowed us to interact naturally
Moraine Lake had completely opened up - the snow and ice that was there days before had melted and left a milky blue color to the water
While Matt was in the bathroom, a stranger approached Liz for a selfie and she politely declined, though he was pretty persistent
It was hard to leave Moraine Lake and we were running a little behind schedule
We arrived to Bow Lake and it was busier than we had ever seen it in the past (the two times we had been there previously); Klaus and our family were there and we walked around until we found a secluded spot for our ceremony
The ceremony was short and sweet; Klaus was very candid and upbeat, Renee read about the art of marriage, Oslo donned an ivory velvet bow tie and Alec safely held onto the rings
We had a champagne toast (our options were actually sparkling wine, Prosecco and sparkling apple juice) and went through the list of family portraits
Our family left for Banff and we went on to Peyto Lake
We were nervous that Jody wouldn’t condone us hopping the fence, but she actually recommended it
The lake reflected the mountains and the entire lake was free of ice; the water color was a deep royal blue unlike the opal color we’d seen in the past
We finally made it back to Banff and arrived at The Maple Leaf in the Moose Room where our family was waiting for us and enjoying drinks and appetizers (pork belly, short rib slider, deviled egg, bruschetta, cheese board)
We were starving! We smashed the reserved appetizers and then came the toasts: Diane > Molly > Emily > Bill > Renee
We had three more courses (kale Caesar / lobster risotto > ribeye / gnocchi / salmon / duck breast > sticky toffee pudding / sorbetto / hot chocolate soufflé > maple crème brûlée)
We were exhausted at the end of the reception
We went back to the hotel and passed out immediately
It was the perfect day
“Campground”: Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge
