What a day! Avalanche warning, road closure, and a winter storm in a few hours on the after wedding session day with Jessica & Ryan in Banff National Park. Let us start from the beginning.
Jessica & Ryan contacted us to have an adventure after-wedding session in stunning Athabasca Ice Cave in Columbia Icefield. We were very excited about that day as we genuinely enjoy any adventures despite the weather season. The fact that we were going to take that adventure with newlyweds made us excited even more.
Everyone who lives in the mountains knows how unpredictable the weather might be and that sometimes not everything goes as smoothly as planned. We were checking the weather forecast and road conditions at 511 Alberta every day starting a week before the session, including the morning on the day the session was supposed to take place. Everything seemed to be just perfect. We met in Lake Louise, and we all headed to our destination from there.
Once we got to the gate on Highway 93, we were surprised with road closure due to an avalanche warning. The nice lady from Banff National Park explained that the road has been closed about 30min ago and will remain closed until 5 pm the next day.
That was the moment we knew that our after-wedding adventure in Columbia Icefield would not happen that day. As experienced Banff wedding photographers and familiar with area mountain lovers, we always have a backup plan just in case. Jessica and Ryan deserved a great session with us, and we could not disappoint them. We suggested keeping driving on highway 93 North to Bow Lake and, after a short session over there, drive back to Lake Louise to continue our work.
Once we got to Bow Lake, we encountered another extreme weather condition – a winter storm. Strong wind, blowing snow, and freezing temperature did not make it easy for us and Jessica and Ryan. At this point, we would like to emphasize how brave, fearless, and cold resist they are. We are still getting cold, just by looking at some photos. They deserved hot chocolate and a warm bath.
After literally a few shots, we decided to head back to our vehicles and drive to Lake Louise. Wow! What a relief! Still winter, but the conditions were way more friendly. To avoid the crowd, we stayed on the side of the lake, and we finally had a chance to accomplish the after-wedding session, not being bothered too much by extreme winter conditions.
It was not an easy day but a great experience for us as wedding photographers, and we believe that Jessica and Ryan would not forget that day for a very long time either. We know that they had to step out of their comfort zone and experienced something they most likely did not experience before. They seemed to know that sometimes you need to make sacrifices to have great photos and priceless memory for a lifetime.
Thank you, Jessica and Ryan!
