James + Alex / Proposal at Lake Minnewanka, Banff Alberta / Edmonton Photographer

James + Alex / Proposal
Banff, AB

First, I want to start off by saying a huge thank you to James for trusting me to capture such a special moment for you and Alex. I know how much you wanted this to be perfect for her and I truly hope that it was everything you had envisioned and more.

James reached out to me back in December of 2018 to set this up….. yup, he had been planning this romantic setting for the love of his life since before 2018 came to a close. The two of them were set to stop in Banff after visiting BC all the way from Australia. They are traveling around Canada and the US for about a month. They have been to places like LA, Whistler, Golden, NYC and of course, Banff. So when he asked me capture the proposal I was so humbled; especially because James is an avid photographer himself!

After months of planning location changes and time changes (due to weather) the day was finally upon us! I had my friend Kayla come along to help and pretend I was talking photos of her instead of trying to eye up Alex and James. We really wanted it to be a surprise for Alex and because the spots at Lake Minnewanka are quite open we thought it was best to just pretend we were tourists!

Funniest parts of the proposal 

1. I had Kayla on look out duty and we decided on the code word Watermelon so when we saw the two we could say the code word to warn one another. When I was posing Kayla for some photos, she suddenly blurted out ” watermelon watermelon” and we both froze in excitement  knowing it was GAME ON.
2. James knew to go where Kayla was standing and then she would walk away when he got closer. He really wanted those mountain views so we had come earlier to hunt out the perfect spot. The couple walked up and likely as James was getting ready to propose a group of tourists walked up behind; leaving him and Alex surrounded. Desperately not trying to make Alex aware of the situation and James looking over at me like ” what do I do” I decided to move Kayla to another rocky area and proclaim, YES KAYLA THIS IS SUCH A NICE SPOT. Hoping James would get the hint to walk over there instead. He did and that’s where he ended up proposing to Alex!

After he proposed and she said YES, I came up to the newly engaged couple and introduced myself with Kayla. James had asked me to purchase champagne and florals for Alex, I had the talented ladies of Fabloomosity create a bouquet just for her that was inspired by Canadian foliage! We did a little mini shoot which was full with many laughs, happy tears and pure FUN. It was truly such a special moment to be a part of!

Thank you thank you thank for choosing me and allowing me into such a special moment for you guys! I am so happy for you both and wish you all the love and happiness in the world! I hope to see you again and you know you have a place to stay next time you are in Canada!

your girl,

Carissa