Rocky Mountain Wedding Advice and Locations

Are you dreaming of a Rocky Mountain wedding?

 

 

Truly, I think we all  dreaming of a Rocky mountain wedding a little bit. If we haven’t met yet, I am Katie Ruegg – a local Edmonton photographer. I always love the chance to get away to the mountains. My husband is from Switzerland so I feel a little spoiled from all the mountain views I get to enjoy. Combining them with a wedding or elopement always takes the cake though. Talk about combining my two favourite things.

 

 

Locations to consider for your Rocky Mountain wedding

 

North of Barrier Lake, Kananaskis has been one of my favourite locations to shoot at to date. As I mentioned above, there was such a variety of backdrops only a few minutes away. And this couple certainly brought the heat! I am still in awe of her flower crown and wavy hair. I also love Kananaskis as it is *a little* less busy than the busier tourist destinations like Canmore, Banff and Jasper. There are countless other dreamy locations in the Canadian Rocky Mountains though! A few other popular lake locations I want to mention are: Moraine Lake, Lake Louise, or Pyramid Lake.

 

 

Hiring Vendors and a Venue for your Rocky Mountain Wedding?

 

After choosing a dreamy location, you need to find a venue. In the next section, I talk more about the types of venues you can take a look at. If you are hiring a wedding planner, I recommend you hire them first so they can help you on the venue search! I talk more about which wedding vendors to hire first here – especially since we know 2021/2022 will book up fairly quickly. Shortly after booking your venue and hiring your wedding planner, you definitely want to look at hiring a photographer. You can read more about me here and my packages to see whether or not I would be a good fit. I have a few spots left for 2021.

 

 

Hotel wedding venues in the Canadian Rocky Mountains

 

One of the easiest options would be a hotel venue, because they often as many vendors “in house” (like catering!) which makes planning a bit easier. It also takes the stress out of wondering how your guests will get home (and whether you should arrange cabs or busses depending on the venue/size of wedding). Often times, they may even have a special “getting ready” room or luxurious spa for you to get ready in as well. That’s a major win in my books.

Hotel wedding venues also makes things a *bit* easier for your guests, as they likely will have to reserve a room and you may be able to negotiate a room block. Just a note – to make it even easier – consider hiring a local travel agent to help you wit this as they may be able to get you a better rate AND help guests from out of town with extra arrangements. Kind of like having a personal travel concierge that typically doesn’t cost any extra.

 

Alternative Wedding Venues in the Canadian Rocky Mountains

 

If you don’t want a hotel, there are many other options. You could consider golf courses like Silvertip Resort or somewhere like Canmore Golf and Curling Club. Similar to a gold club, you can look at ski lodge venues like Sunshine Lodge. You can also look at small restaurants that may allow a private rental like The Bison. As something completely unique, you could look at the Cornerstone Theatre. Although these are a few options, please know there are SO many and it might be with a trip (or three) to book a few venue tour before saving the date.

Another option would be an Airbnb although make sure to read the terms and conditions. As this rises in popularity, more and more homeowners are tightening the rules so that is something to be aware of. And similar to a home wedding, there is a lot of moving pieces so I strongly recommend an experienced wedding planner.

 

Take time to scout out wedding photo locations ahead of time.

 

There are so many unique and incredible photo locations in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. If you are planning an elopement or even a first look with a fair amount of time, we have a truly unique chance to take photos at many different locations. A couple of hours of photos and we can get a mixture of trees/wilderness photos, lake photos and mountain backdrops.

I always talk to wedding couples about different location options before hand and am also happy to go on a photo scouting trip ahead of time. If this is something you want to book, please don’t hesitate to reach out here. I can always use an extra excuse to plan a mini-getaway.

 

 

 

Are you planning an elopement or micro wedding in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta?

 

I would love to connect and see if I am the right fit for you to photograph your wedding day. I love the outdoors and finding beautiful and unique photo locations for my couples. We are SO lucky to be so close to such an amazing location. If you are not familiar with me yet, you can check out more of my work here, meet me here, or read more on the blog here. And in case I haven’t made it clear yet, you are choosing an amazing Alberta destination.