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As I sit looking out my little window in Golden, BC at the crisp blue skies and majestic mountains layered with fresh dumps of snow , it is hard to believe that most of our 2017 weddings were encompassed in pink smokey haze from all the wild fires in the BC interior.
After returning in April (in somewhat of a dream like state) from our sunny, Bohemian style, San Diego wedding in California, surrounded by palm trees and azure coastal water, we had no idea that the majority of the rest of our weddings that summer would be so ‘hazy’.
We had a number of weddings at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort this past year and a few at surrounding venues including Island Lake Lodge in Fernie , Revelstoke Mountain Resort, Nakusp and Invermere. All had their share of smoke. It was quite serious, many cities and towns were on evacuation alerts.
For most photographers this could present a challenge (and it did), with smoke filled skies blocking the glorious mountains at times, not to mention the lack of fresh air to breath. We definitely had our work cut out for us. All of our couples that come to Golden and the surrounding areas to get married are definitely coming for the mountain view. The smoke even managed to find us as high as kicking Horse Mountain Resorts’ Eagles Eye. All of our couples were amazing though , and did not seem even a little phased by the impending smoke, in fact they embraced it with us.
We soon realized that this smokiness could add a really interesting element to work with. We found that the pink haze it created can make for a dreamy back drop, and even if sometimes the mountains were out of sight, it could still give the feeling of vast space and would cast our couples in a very complimentary light, giving quite a whimsical and romantic feel. If we had cloud, it was often just beautiful and so moody, they would just seem to roll in and give so much drama to our couples stories.
For Rob and Ashleighs wedding at Heather Mountain Lodge we were so close to the fires, we had choppers flying around putting out flames, all the while trying to keep the venue and all their guests safe so that they could make their day happen without having to evacuate. Just look at that light. We have seen some of the most incredible sunsets this past summer.
We hope this year we see far less fires in our precious province of BC, but we will work with whatever comes our way. Change and unexpected obstacles make for inspiration and force creative changes. We welcome the 2018 wedding season as we start it off here in March at Kicking Horse Mountain resort. It may be blue and crisp like today, it may be a full on blizzard . This unpredictable weather we have here in the mountains is what keeps things interesting and keeps the passion alive.
Lois and Noa xo
