Fiona and Stephen came to Banff from Oxfordshire in England to exchange their vows on February 22nd. After a trip several years ago they decided to come back for their big day and enlisted the able help of Lauren Laming of Rocky Mountain Weddings to arrange the event.  Before the ceremony the ladies got ready inside the Buffalo Mountain Lodge.

The processional… and Daina was radiant – always an exciting moment for everyone – especially the groom!

Dad proffers his hand to a happy but nervous Eric.

If the weather is any evidence, Daina and Eric’s marriage is going to be a blockbuster hit. Until the morning of the Banff wedding, temperatures hovered around -20C not counting windchill. But as we headed out for photographs in the deep snow that had recently fallen, a Chinook wind boosted temperatures from -14 to +2C in 45 minutes.

Perfect light for photographs – soft and ephemeral!

The Rockies were magical with new snow everywhere.

Best wishes Daina & Eric!!!!!

Patricia Compton braved the snowy weather to officiate the vows – “…we originally thought about a beach wedding” said Johnathan, but happily they changed their minds in favour of the magic of Lake Louise in winter.

Bride and Groom with mom and dad.

One of the best things about my job is the people I get to meet. They come from all over the world and I meet them on the happiest day of their lives. Here Catherine and Johnathan pose with best man Chris and maid of honour (and sister) Ellie.

It took a while for everyone, family and friends, to get organized, so plans stretched over a long period, however the couple placed themselves in the capable hands of Lauren and Alexine at Rocky Mountain Weddingswho were able to pull everything together for an experience they will never forget.

The day was nippy but love kept everyone warm out on the lakeshore as Cyndy and Craig exchanged vows with Robin White officiating and glamorous wife Karen witnessing.

Hailing from Ontario Cyndy and Craig had summer vacationed at Lake Louise some years before, vowing that when the time was right, they would return there to say “I do”. Coming back at the winter solstice they were awarded with fresh snow and although cloudy, the day was relatively warm.

When everyone felt ‘just cold enough’ we moved inside the Chateau to make warmer portraits.

Rendezvous in Heritage Hall.

Cyndy and Craig swore when they came back to get married they would meet under the bear!

Best wishes Cyndy and Craig.

This my first blog! Heady stuff even for someone with a background in communications. My excuse has been that I have been too busy  - but here we go with Terri & Bryan’s big day – June 3rd 2009:

Weather in the Rockies can be fickle so outdoor weddings always need to have a Plan B. Luckily for Terri Bowie and Bryan Blanchard of Red Deer Alberta,  they had Rocky Mountain Weddings from Canmore planning  their event. So when a week of warm sunny days turned to SNOW the night before their big day they had an out – or in this case, an”in” – Lauren and Karen of RMW had the Angus Room standing by at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.

It wasn’t outdoors, but the ambience of the FBSH was a great second choice on this unseasonably cool Spring day.

Flower girl Victoria provided competition for the bride and kept everyone smiling during the ceremony:

Following the ceremony and with all the family photography taken care of we made some portraits in some of my favourite locations in the hotel with the wedding party.

Finally with the weather cleared up we did get outside where we found some beautiful light in a fresh spring Rocky Mountain afternoon.

All in all the day worked out well on all fronts.   Congratulations Terri & Bryan!