Proposals are some of my favorite, while also most stressful, things to shoot. There’s a lot of pressure on both yourself and the one proposing, and often a lot of anxiety and hope to get everything perfect. With such a special moment going to happen, it’s for sure not going to want to get missed!

When I first received Trevor’s inquiry for his proposal to his fiancé Jenna, I knew we were on a somewhat short timeline to make sure the moment worked out perfectly for them, as they were flying in to Alberta and exploring our Canadian Rockies in a mere two weeks. While it might sound like a lot of time, as someone who hadn’t previously been here, the pressure to choose a perfect location was on!

After hopping on a video call, we talked about multiple options that he could consider for the proposal, and he wanted to make sure that he got it just right, and that his soon to be fiancé Jenna was not going to have any idea that it was going to happen. After hearing about everything he was looking for in a location, after we hopped off the call, I put together a location list of several of the spots I thought would be best for him to sift through.

He landed on Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park, a breathtaking blue beauty surrounded in a valley of mountains. 

After another couple of calls and emails, we went over the exact plan, hoping that everything went perfectly, from how we would “meet”, to the proposal, to hopping on to the Spirit Lake Boat Cruise, and capturing their entire adventure.

The day went off without a hitch!

I brought my husband along to help go with the idea that we were just another couple hanging out at Maligne Lake, and at our designated time, were situated on the shore of the lake at the precise point I had sent GPS coordinates to Trevor for, with description of landmarks. We stood there pretending to take selfies of ourselves, when Trevor and his (at the time girlfriend) Jenna, came over to us and asked if they could take some pics of us in exchange for some of them. Of course, we were happy to oblige!

After taking a few pics on their phones, I offered to take a few with my camera, which I could email over to them later. I snapped a couple, gave Trevor the prompt we had decided to go with, and that’s how the proposal happened!

Of course, Jenna was in complete shock, completely caught off guard, but very exuberantly said yes!

I always think it’s super important to give newly engaged couples some time to themselves right after a proposal to drink it all in before going in to the rest of the engagement shoot, so that’s what we did.

Our boat was ready to depart not long after, and we boarded it, heading out to Spirit Island. Jenna and Trevor were able to relax and enjoy the boat ride as I tried to get some sneaky shots.

When we docked by Spirit Island, we attempted to beat the crowd and head up to the lookout first, before heading down the shore, where Trevor wanted to propose again! Of course this time wasn’t a surprise, but he had originally wanted to propose at Spirit Island, but the logistics of it weren’t working well, so he had proposed before the boat tour instead.

The landing at Spirit Island is rather short, so we made the most of our time there, and headed back, before I took Jenna and Trevor to a couple of other spots that also make Maligne Lake magical, and perfect for a mountain engagement shoot.

Overall, it was a perfect day, and as per the 5 Star Google review they left me, they couldn’t have been more thrilled!

Thank you Trevor and Jenna for trusting me to be your surprise proposal photographer in Jasper National Park, and I wish you both a life of absolute happiness and success!

Looking to propose in Jasper National Park?

While the park is massive and choosing a spot can be overwhelming, I help all of my couples plan and pick their location, and help their proposal go off without a hitch. Ready to see if I can help, and capture this amazing part of your love story for you?