I met Elise while working together at VIA Rail in 2018. It was a season of late trains, late nights, and late library books on my end. Neither of us went back to VIA the next season, but we kept in touch online, following each other's lives on Instagram updates and sharing memes on the platform. When her and Nicholas got engaged, I was so excited for her - they are absolutely made for each other. I was even more excited when she reached out and asked me to photograph their elopement in Jasper! We talked details in a south side Starbucks, and had the contract signed before we left.
Things had started to get a little iffy then. Edmonton's shut down started a few days after we had photographed their engagement session on Whyte Ave. And then Jasper National Park shut down, which put their April elopement on hold.
Elise texted me to tell me that Labour Day weekend would be their big day, and I packed up my little hatchback and drove out in the rain, praying for even a glimmer of sunshine. Even though the clouds didn't part, we were blessed with a beautiful rainy, misty mountain elopement with just Elise, Nicholas, both sets of parents, and the Justice of the Peace on the bank of Pyramid Lake.
If you needed proof that a global pandemic can't stand in the way of true love, this is it.
Wishing you many years of happiness to come!