Outdoor Wedding Venues & Locations in Banff National Park
When thinking about an outdoor wedding ceremony in Banff there’s so many options to choose from. Everything from plateau viewpoints for over 100 guests to discrete backcountry lakes for your intimate elopement...Banff has it all. Continue reading to find out more about some baseline regulations for getting married in Banff National Park and some of our popular outdoor venue options.
Regulations for Weddings in Banff National Park
It’s no surprise that the landscape and beautiful scenery in Banff National Park are a popular choice for wedding ceremonies and elopements. When you’re within the boundaries of the park and wanting to use an outdoor public space for your ceremony, it’s important to be mindful of the conditions and regulations in place. In a nutshell, you must limit the number of participants attending an elopement or outdoor standing ceremony to a maximum of 20 people. Also, we feel it’s super important to understand that all activities and events within Banff National Park are subject to the Canada National Park Act. Essentially this aims to conserve the national resources of the park while providing opportunities for visitors to connect with nature. You can totally understand then that when you plan for your wedding in Banff, it’s more about respecting not just the outdoor spaces, but other visitors and making sure you don’t leave a negative impact on the environment. Finally, you must complete a wedding ceremony application form for Banff National Park so they know where you’ll be and when you’ll be there.
There are of course ways to get married with more than 20 guests with a designated outdoor venue site, or of course an indoor venue. Continue reading to find out more.
Getting Married Outdoors Within the Town of Banff
If you plan to have more than 20 guests and want to reserve a designated area, you can book one of these 3 sites in the Town of Banff.
Tunnel Mountain Reservoir: Capacity 150 guests max. We love this ceremony location as it has some of the best uninterrupted mountain views for your special day. It’s a real show stopper, especially for wedding guests who haven’t had the chance to visit Banff before. There is no power or shelter and the area has limited parking available.
Central Park Gazebo: Capacity 200 guests max. This offers a beautiful Gazebo for your ceremony, in the heart of downtown Banff. Expect some onlookers on the outskirts of the park during busy Summer days. That said, this is a fantastic venue for guests to be able to walk from their hotel in downtown Banff and enjoy the atmosphere along the way.
The Fenlands Meadow: Capacity 300 max. This is a more intimate ceremony space, surrounded by forest and fenland. There’s plenty of parking for guests and you can arrange for an indoor weather alternative at an extra cost.
We’d like mention one more venue in this category, although technically it’s outside the Town of Banff Boundaries, it’s close to town and a beautiful space to hold your outdoor ceremony in Banff National Park.
The Banff Gondola and Sky Bistro
This is a perfect venue to blend your outdoor ceremony, amazing views and the delicious dining experience, indoors at The Sky Bistro. You and your guests get to enjoy the gondola experience, not to mention panoramic views over the mountains for your ceremony through to your first dance together. We think this is an amazing place to get married for wedding parties that have never been to Banff before as the elevated views are stunning and not something you get to see everyday!
Getting Married Outdoors in Banff National Park Outside of the Town of Banff
Once you step outside the boundaries of the Town of Banff there’s a whole host of incredible places to look at to get married or elope outdoors in Banff National Park. These popular locations are easily accessible by road and provide a beautiful backdrop for your outdoor ceremony.
Lake Louise
Lake Louise is such a great space to blend accessibility and adventure. The backdrop can be woodland and forest, the Chateau and of course, the incredible Victoria Glacier. Whilst there are indoor options with the Chateau Lake Louise, we love that you can hold an intimate ceremony next to the turquoise waters without needing to book the Fairmont. This will leave you without an indoor option, but for the adventurous, that won’t matter.
Moraine Lake
Where do we begin with Moraine Lake? Perhaps one of the most sought after views in Canada. Wedding or no wedding, there’s a reason it’s popular and this comes with it’s own pros and cons. When considering Moraine Lake as your wedding or elopement location, you need to have some very realistic expectations set. The road is seasonally closed between mid-October to late May/early June (snow conditions dependent) and when open, it is busy. There are some slightly quieter areas at the lake, which having a local photography team like us for can be useful as we know our way around. You will likely be somewhat on display whilst getting married so if intimacy is your thing we suggest going elsewhere. That said, the view of the lake and the Ten Peaks is breathtaking no matter how many times you’ve been. Finally, you’ll need to consider the mobility of your wedding party and officiant. There are options for standing at the lakeshore which won’t require much “adventuring” but if you want those classic views over the lake then you’ll have a 15-20min uphill walk on a packed rock and gravel trail with some rustic rocky steps along the way. Of course, with these outdoor options, there is no backup indoor space for turbulent weather.
Lake Minnewanka
We feel that Minnewanka provides a nice variety of options for you and your wedding plans. The lakeshore allows for clear, uninterrupted views of Mount Inglismaldie (one of our personal favorites in Banff), whilst providing some more intimate areas in the forest for contrast. It’s easy to access by road with family friendly walking trails around the lake. You will need to be mindful that if you want your ceremony on the shore of the lake then your wedding party will need to be able to walk on uneven, sometimes slightly rocky or rooty ground. This area is accessible year around and suitable for Winter ceremonies too.
Bow Lake
This beautiful lake sits firmly in one of our favorite places to visit. It’s a little further afield and is relatively quiet compared to some of the lakes that are closer to the Town of Banff. Bow Lake is accessible year around and provides all kinds of magic for the camera. There is a spacious car park, along with pit toilets for those in need and has familiy friendly walking around the shoreline of the lake, close-by.
Peyto Lake
We would say that Peyto Lake is bordering on being a little less accesible for your wedding party. There is some very light hiking involved (more of a walk) but it is uphill and is already approx 500m more above sea level compared to Banff so may not be for everyone. The views are spectacular but in some respects slightly limited in terms of photographic variety compared to other places. That said, it’s still pretty amazing!
Two Jack Lake
Another firm favorite in our eyes for the world of landscape photography. Often overlooked by visitors who favor visiting one of the neighbouring lakes in Banff, this gem is easily accessible and provides incredible views of the Northern aspect of Mt. Rundle.
Backcountry Hiking Weddings and Camping Elopements in Banff National Park
On paper, Banff National Park spans over 6000kms squared...it’s massive and one of Canada’s largest national parks. It’s no surprise then that there are too many places to list for your adventurous celebrations. One of our areas of real expertise lies in our knowledge of the trails, the way the valleys connect and how the light interacts with the landscapes out here. If you are looking for a camping or hiking elopement then we’d love to hear from you to help you plan your day(s) to make the best of it. We can help you with sunrise hiking elopements, multi day camping weddings and everything in between. Want to know if your favorite hike is better at sunrise vs sunset? How about if there’s wildflowers in the landscape? Or if you’ll get glacier views from your chosen summit? These are details we’re interested in. We can help you hand pick the perfect location.
Camping regstrations open for different areas at different times of years. We have all these dates mapped out and can help you with your bookings too. If you do have the luxury of a flexible schedule then looking at midweek days always helps increase your chances of booking your campsite, particularly if your date isn’t the most important element of your day.
Heli-weddings in Banff National Park
We chose to elope to a remote, heli-accessed peak in New Zealand so this is definitely up our alley. There’s a few expectations to set with heli-weddings and elopements so we’ll cut to the chase. If you want to stay in Banff or Lake Louise and elope in a heli then technically, this heli trip will be done outside of the national park so you’ll have to drive to the heli-base. There’s a few flight operators that provide packages and there’s pros and cons to each. This will be factors like landing location choices, time on the ground, drive time to the base etc. At face value, you need to be accepting of the idea that the weather could change your landing spot or even cancel your flight so you need a solid plan B. Finally, pricing will depend on the actual time you spend flying but as a baseline you can ballpark $2500 + gst (CAD) to get yourselves, your officiant and your photography team in the air (excluding their individual service costs). Again, the price depends on the company, the flight path etc but treat this as a starting point.
Hopefully this gives you a decent overview of some of the possibilities for your outdoor ceremony space in Banff National Park. There are lots of indoor venues and even some that blend indoor and out for the best of both worlds! That said, if you want to exchange vows out in nature, the peace and quiet and some of the best views on the planet then we’re confident that you will find your perfect choice in Banff National Park. If you need some help deciding, or some inspiration from our local expertise of backcountry locations then don’t hesitate to get in touch to explore the possibilities.
Kahli & Leo
Wild Alpine Image Co.