A few years ago I reached out to Manning Park Resort to see if they were interested in setting up an elopement package for couples. They were on board and we started planning!!

Todd and Julie were the first ones on the calendar for the elopements and I was so excited! I met them for coffee a few weeks ago and a quick coffee date turned into a 2 hour coffee date. I LOVE these two! We hit it off right away and I was so excited to be a part of their day.

With it being the first elopement, I wasn’t sure what to expect and how it would go. It BLEW me away! Manning went above and beyond anything I imagined, the bouquet done by the amazing Wild Rabbit Florals was phenomenal and Todd and Julie couldn’t stop smiling all day long.

Todd and Julie more than anything else, just wanted to get married. They had a dream for their wedding day. A dream that involved simplicity, the outdoors and their absolute closest friends and family surrounding them. They wanted to slow their day down. To enjoy every last moment as they started the adventure of marriage together.

Their morning involved champagne, laughter and tears and getting ready together. Todd had a drink in his hand when I met him in the foyer of the hotel and he was beaming. Julie couldn’t keep the grin off her face and both of them looked so relaxed. Sun shone through the window of their room as they collected their details to get ready for their ceremony. Todd popped shirtless out of the bathroom to make jokes, and Julie told us how she was excited to wear the shoes she had bought a few months ago but hadn’t had the chance to wear much yet.

We drove out to Lightning Lake for their ceremony and I was so excited. I’ve spent 24 years camping there but never seen the lake frozen or the mountains with that much snow on them. It was stunning! Their 13 closest relatives and friends sat eagerly awaiting their arrival and there were cheers as they stepped out of the car! They walked towards their guests making jokes and just shining with happiness!

After their “I do’s” we photographed family hugs and teary hugs and kisses. Their families headed back to the resort, and Todd and Julie explored the park for their photos!! I know that park like my own backyard so it was so fun to show them my favourite spots!! I couldn’t believe how different they looked!! We ended in the field of “human size trees” as Julie kept calling them, as the sun went down and I literally had to sigh deeply so many times. The smell of that park is so sentimental to me and I loved getting to share it with Todd and Julie!

I left them at the resort as they sat down for a long table candle lit dinner with everyone and they looked so overwhelmingly peaceful and happy!

A HUGE thank you to Manning Park for their amazing work, for Wild Rabbit Florals for the bouquet, to Ashleigh my  second shooter…it was our first wedding together and she rocked it, and to Todd and Julie!! Thank you so much for choosing all of us for your day and for taking a leap of faith and being the first elopement!!

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