A lot of young couples feel pressure to hold a big wedding and invite all of their family and friends. That’s great, but often very expensive. Planning can become complex and time-consuming. For Olivia and Aaron, the solution was a simple wedding that spoke more to who they are as a couple. A Moraine Lake elopement.

Olivia and Aaron love mountain peaks, water, and exploring places they’ve never seen before. They’d been together for a few years, travelling the world and enjoying the rich experiences of an adventurous lifestyle. Now they were planning to get married. Olivia’s criteria for her wedding was straightforward: it had to be simple and it had to take place at an amazing, fresh location.

At the top of a winding mountain road, about a 15 minute drive from Lake Louise, sits beautiful Moraine Lake. Turquoise-coloured waters reflect an amazing solid wall of sharp-edged, glacier-peaked mountains. Olivia had found some photos and video online of Moraine Lake. She and Aaron decided it met all of their adventurous wedding criteria.

Early Morning Arrival at Moraine Lake

Aaron and Olivia wanted to get an early start and catch the calm air and golden early morning light in the mountains for their elopement photos and wedding video. They’d decided to get ready in Canmore and Dead Man’s Flats, further east and about a one-hour drive from Moraine Lake. Both were up early, well before the sun had risen on what would turn out to be a beautiful late-summer September morning.

They followed the Trans-Canada highway deeper into Banff National Park, toward Lake Louise, where the road to Moraine Lake begins. They’d come a long way from Sound Bend, Indiana to take advantage of the incredible scenery, and Moraine Lake didn’t disappoint! Blue skies and the still blue-green waters of the lake made for what promised to be an epic day.

A Walk Through the Forest

Moraine Lake used to be a bit of a hidden jewel in Banff National Park, but that’s no longer the case. Since getting “discovered” on social media, it has in recent years become a very popular tourist destination. On summer days it can get quite busy. The parking lot fills early and taking a shuttle bus from Lake Louise becomes mandatory, so it pays to arrive early!

Aaron and Olivia met their officiant and the videography and photography teams by Moraine Lake Lodge. From there, the wedding party walked down the lakeside trail in hopes of finding a more secluded location for the ceremony. We found the perfect spot on a small piece of rocky foreshore with the fabled mountain wall from the Valley of the Team Peaks in the background. Not even a ripple disturbed the still waters of the lake.

Breathtaking Valley of the Ten Peaks

The sun hadn’t risen above the mountains yet as the ceremony began amidst the stunning reflections from the surrounding peaks. Because Moraine Lake stands quite a bit higher in the mountains than Lake Louise, it can get quite chilly, particularly early in the day. Aaron helped Olivia warm up, then the ceremony began and the coolness of the morning was soon forgotten.

Ceremony over, it was time for a little fun and a creative photo/video session. Aaron and Olivia are an easy-going, fun couple who have shared all sorts of travel adventures. They were up for anything, and we had a great time with them happily trekking through the forest, climbing the rock pile, and paddling a canoe to explore the length of Moraine Lake. Congratulations to Olivia and Aaron!

Music | “Falling in Love” by Cody Fry, licensed through MusicBed