Megan & Tyler
Any time you book an outdoor wedding, you're at the mercy of the weather for that particular day, and I can only imagine the constant checking of the forecast that couples and their family do leading up to that big day. Thankfully, for Megan and Tyler, they had absolutely perfect weather for their wedding in Canmore, and not surprisingly to anyone who's been to Canmore, the ceremony and group photo locations offered some gorgeous mountain scenery.
The Canmore Ranch is a beautiful location for a wedding ceremony and was the perfect choice for Megan and Tyler's wedding as it was only minutes away from the bride and grooms accommodations as well as the reception venue, the Cornerstone Theatre. Despite being in Canmore, the Canmore Ranch is entirely surrounded by forest and mountains and when you're there, you feel as if you're miles away from from any town or city.
With the exception of me accidentally startling the bride and groom's dog, causing it to bark at me in the middle of the Justice of the Peace's speech, the whole ceremony went perfect! Cloud cover created an ideal temperature for everyone attending the wedding, and offered ideal lighting conditions for me and my second shooter. I know lots of people want clear blue skies and sunshine for their wedding, but as a photographer I selfishly love cloud cover as it creates beautiful soft light that I really love for taking photos.
After the ceremony it was time for group and couple photos, and in Canmore, there are some truly gorgeous locations within a very short distance to take advantage of for photos. The first location we went to was the Canmore Engine Bridge. This bridge crosses the the beautiful turquoise coloured bow river and is surrounded by mountain views. This location is a must for couple and group photos for any wedding in Canmore.
Next it was a short drive up to the Rundle Forebay Reservoir across the street from the Canmore Nordic Centre. Yet again, the views at this location are stunning. The reservoir is directly in front of a view that looks straight down a mountain range featuring the Three Sisters. Again, another must in my opinion for wedding photographers working in Canmore.
The last location we went to was just me, my second shooter, and Megan and Tyler. The Canmore Mine is a large open undeveloped field with beautiful views of the mountains on the north side of Canmore. Initially we were unsure of whether or not we had enough time to go this location, but Megan decided she'd like to go do some photos there and I'm sure glad she made that decision, as the photos we got at that location are probably my favourite photos from that day. We had the whole field to ourselves and the view of the mountains is honestly hard to walk away from. I could have stayed there all day taking photos.
The wedding reception was at the beautifully rustic Cornerstone Theatre, which stopped being a traditional theatre in 2013 and is now a very popular event venue in Canmore, and was the perfect location for Megan and Tyler's wedding reception. Megan and Tyler's accommodations were directly across the street, and the ceremony location was less than 5 minutes away. The transition from a theatre to an event venue was a brilliant decision as the remaining features of what made this venue a theatre work perfectly for a wedding venue. The head table is elevated on what used to be the main stage, giving all of the guests a clear view of the wedding party, and in turn, giving the members of the wedding party a clear view of all of the guests resulting in the everyone in the room feeling connected to the events of the evening. Up a small flight of stairs is a balcony that still functions as lighting control for the room and now doubles as a perfect location for the DJ to set up.
Overall this wedding was a great time for everyone involved, including myself. I really hope I get the chance to shoot more weddings at this venue, reception site, and these locations in Canmore.
