Nora + Jin
Banff Hiking Wedding

It is not much of a secret I have a soft spot in my heart for weddings that go above and beyond the expectations and the norm – couples that reflect on what is important to them, whether it’s celebrating with just each other, or introducing their closest to a place or activity that brought them closer. Nora and Jin touched on all of those. Meeting in college, their relationship grew while studying glacial lakes for a summer in Banff National Park. So it was here they returned to marry. With them a handful of friends and family enthusiastic to join on a 16km hike into the back country, away from the crowds, away from the iconic backdrops, a place all their own.

But with going beyond the typical comes the necessity to embrace the unexpected, and oh there was that in spades. As the day approached they received word that Parks was planning to do maintenance on the area starting on the day of their wedding – everything needed to be moved the day up. Then the smoke from forest fires throughout British Columbia and Washington rolled in, the mountains once the focal point became indistinguishable in the valleys. The air was thick, the light a shade of apocalypse, sound seemingly dampened. As their date approached we all checked the weather, hoping for rain, perhaps a shift in the winds. I checked highway cameras regularly, feeling relief when a peak would appear as a ghostly outline, then disappointment as only forest was visible. Then the day was here, the rain had not come, but the winds had picked up a touch, the smoke had lessened. While the colours were not the vibrant cool shades we are accumosted to, the mountains were there, and we set off into the forest.

So here are to couples who want to hike to marry. For those that venture onto the trails less travelled. Who pack their wedding dress in. Whose getting ready room is a cluster of larch. Who persevere through snagged dresses and cross creeks. Those that clamber up boulders overlooking moraines. Who declare ‘I fucking love it out here’.

Location | Banff National Park . Cinematography | Parfait Productions . Hair and Makeup | Simply Me in Canmore

Inspired by a hiking wedding in Banff? You may be interested in Erin and Matthew’s day where they doned hiking boots to get up and close to a waterfall.