Lili & Tim | Waterton Wedding | Beaumont, Alberta Wedding Photographer | Travel Edition
This whole shoot started off with this view - I had never been to Waterton before 2020. My friends and I made the trek down for a long weekend of hiking, exploring, creating art, and relaxing in the mountains. After a morning of light hiking, lots of painting and photographing, the four of us stopped at the Prince of Wales Hotel for a drink at the bar, and I fell in love with the view from the window. I knew that I had to shoot here. So, for two years, the view from the panoramic windows of the Hotel sat on my personal Pinterest board, titled "Dream wedding shoots".
Please note that throughout this post, there are links that link back to vendors, places, hotels, and the like. I am not making any profit from these links, I just truly want to share these places with you.
While this early June week was absolutely incredible, it started with my car being broken into, and the back passenger window smashed out in my underground parkade, as well as me having to vacuum the cement around my parking stall. I'm sure my building manager has that on video somewhere... After I had replaced the garbage bag window with a real window (thanks to Glass Masters on the south side of Edmonton), Sam, Kirsten, and I all piled into my car and drove down to Waterton Lakes National Park. Five hours later, we had arrived to looming rainclouds, a cool breeze off the water, and a large family of deer roaming the town site.
We checked into the Bear Mountain Motel, dropped our bags in the room, and went on a walk about town, mostly to figure out where we wanted to shoot the next day, but also to stretch our legs after the drive. We also learned that my favourite coffee place was closed while we were there, which broke my caffeine addicted heart, grabbed a bite to eat at the Pizza of Waterton, and then went back to our room to crash.
The next morning, we packed up and checked out of the motel, and then made our way to the Prince of Wales Hotel, which sits a little too perfectly on the hill overlooking Waterton. Once we parked, we met up with Lili and Tim. I had called the Hotel a few weeks prior to ask if there was a fee to photograph in the lobby with their panoramic windows, or if there were any limitations on where we were allowed to be. All they asked was that we were out of the main lobby before their High Tea service started, which we were more than capable of doing.
Once we finished in the main lobby, we made sure that we put back all the tables and chairs that we had moved - my biggest pet peeve is when people make a mess but then don't clean up after themselves - and we made our way outside.
The front doors of the Hotel are absolutely stunning with their stained glass, so I had Sam go inside again and hold a flash up to the doors, letting the light shine through into the photos. And for someone who is as obsessed with bright colours, this was such a great shot!
I still wasn't ready to leave the Hotel yet, as even though we had some great shots from inside the Hotel with Waterton Lake in the background, I knew I wanted photos outdoors. There is just something about this view that has haunted me right from the get go. I had our couple stand on the pathways behind the Hotel, and in order for me to get the shot that I wanted, I had to slide a little down the embankment. Of course, I thought I was going to plummet to my death, but that's more on my fear of heights and falling than anything else. Can confirm, did not die.
Once we wrapped at the Hotel, we drove off to Red Rock Canyon, which is only a 20 minute drive. We parked at the lower parking lot, and then made our way up to the canyon, which honestly, was quite nice, as the upper lot was already full by 10am, and the lower lot was empty. We hiked around, cracked open the Sea Change beer and toasted to the happy couple before deciding to head back into town, and grab lunch before meeting for the remainder of their photos.
If you're planning on heading out to Red Rock during the busy season, be prepared to go earlier on in the day. The upper lot fills very quickly, and there tends to be a lot of foot traffic on the trails as the day gets on. We very much lucked out; we went down right at the very start of the busy season. For us, this meant that the wind that usually rips through the valley was more of a gentle breeze, and that there wasn't as many people there as there could have been.
After lunch, we walked along the lakefront and found some locations. Once I had kneeled in enough dandelions, and almost stained my leggings, we headed to our final destination: Cameron Falls.
Something I didn't know about Cameron Falls was that if it rains enough, the water turns pink! We had Lili and Tim stand on one of the benches near the fall so that we could get the angles that we had planned out.
I know I speak for the three of us when I say that we had way too much fun with this bridal session! Thank you for having us, Lili & Tim!
- Renee, Sam, and Kirsten
Find all our vendors here:
Wedding dress designed by Michelle Bossert at Enchanted Ever After Alberta
Prairie Fairy Beer kindly provided by Beaumont's Sea Change Taproom
Book your stay with the Bear Mountain Motel or with the Prince of Wales Hotel
Parks Canada is a great resource for what to do in Waterton, but I used a lot of details from the Glacier Park Collective's website when planning my original trip to Waterton that sparked this whole session!
A great big thank you, as well, to Sam Thompson and Kirsten Hardie for coming along on this trip. I know it was short and sweet - basically getting in and out of Waterton National Park in less than 24 hours, but I truly appreciate your company and creativity.