On the morning of Ashley and Dan’s winter wedding in the Canadian Rockies, we all awoke in our cozy chalets at Emerald Lake Lodge to a winter wonderland. The surrounding mountain landscape was cloaked in a white blanket of snow, while big fluffy flakes fell incessantly from the sky. By first light, Dan was already outside shovelling out the benches he’d dug into the snowbanks for their outdoor ceremony on the frozen shores of Emerald Lake. That’s right, outdoor ceremony! Ashley and Dan were absolutely determined to have their mountain ceremony outdoors, amid the most beautiful of mountain backdrops, no matter what Mother Nature threw at them! And they would have, except for one tiny little scientific fact… water freezes and thaws at 0℃.
By the time morning preparations were under way, temperatures outside had risen to -1℃… dangerously close to the point at which everything could change! And just as we were all ready to head outside, it did. Soft, fluffy flakes turned to freezing wet pellets of icy rain. White powdery footpaths turned into icy bobsled tracks. Freshly shovelled steps turned into treacherous death traps. Dan’s solid snow benches, turned into sloppy wet mashed potatoes. And everyone’s excitement for Ashley and Dan’s outdoor ceremony, turned into fear for Ashely and Dan’s outdoor ceremony.
But nothing could stop Ashley and Dan from heading out into the freezing rain, along with their faithful wedding party, to soak up every bit of what Mother Nature had to drop on them. Amongst snow-covered mountains and forests, they shared a beautiful first-look together that seemed to melt everything else away. We were all wet and cold right through to the bone… except Ashley and Dan, who seemed impervious to it all, and totally lost in their love and excitement.
Meanwhile, to everyone’s relief, Julianne Young Weddings was working wizardry behind the scenes to create a beautiful indoor space for their ceremony. It was warm. It was dry. It was perfect. The love in that room was undeniable!
Ashley and Dan, we flew half way around the world for your wedding, and we’d do it all over again in a heart beat. Your Emerald Lake Lodge wedding was cold as fuck, but it warmed our souls. Thank you for trusting us with these memories!
