Grand Teton Canoeing Engagement
This session is featured in the Jackson, Wyoming Wedding Planning Guide by the publisher Rocky Mountain Bride.
We’re photographing Chase & Karina’s wedding later this year at Canyon Run Ranch outside of Dayton, Ohio. During one of our preliminary phone calls, they expressed interest in a destination adventure engagement session. They both love the outdoors and nature, so what better way to have the best of both worlds for their photos?—A wedding near home with the ones they love AND an epic adventure to capture their love in a place that they hold so dear. In fact, in 2019, Chase proposed to Karina in Grand Teton National Park on the shores of Jackson Lake. It was fortuitous that we were going to be in Jackson Hole in June for some weddings/elopements. It didn’t take any convincing, without hesitation they booked a session with us and their tickets to the Wild West.
After some social media “stalking,” It didn’t take long for us to realize just how adventurous they both are. So when planning out their engagement picture locations, incorporating this facet of their personalities was a must.
Ever since we first laid eyes on Leigh Lake, we knew we wanted to canoe here, and it became a bucket list session location. We presented the idea to them, and they were on board.
Dornan’s Adventure Sports in Moose, WY made renting canoes so easy. They’re able to mount them atop almost any type of car (for reference, we both rented midsize cars), but only one per vehicle. To get to Leigh lake, we had to use the String Lake portage, canoe the entire length of String Lake, port at the other end, and then carry the canoes down a short path to the Leigh Lake portage. Canoeing across String Lake is so peaceful. It’s a relatively shallow lake, so it’s possible to see to the very bottom, making it seem as though one is floating on glass. On Leigh Lake however, there is a dramatic change in the water depth—we couldn’t see to the bottom at all. It’s incredible that a glacier lake can be so deep. Being early June, the recent snow melt had also raised the lake level significantly. So even the little island we paddled to was nearly submerged.
Canoe Portage on Leigh Lake
To start their session, Chase & Karina ported on a little, no name rock island while we stayed in our canoe for some distance shots. Later we joined them, hopping from rock to rock to avoid getting our boots soaked (later that week, we purchased Keen water shoes like Chase & Karina’s as were were heading to Taggart Lake for an Elopement; should have done this earlier!).
It was Midday (we canoed between 3-5pm), so there were concerns that it’d be a bit bright for photos, but after shooting a few, it was evident that timing was beautiful. The high sun glistened and glittered on the lake surface, and the blue colors really came through (sunset would have made the water look darker and warmer). Being able to have dramatic mountains backdrops from nearly every angle also gave reassurance that this lake was the perfect choice; out of the many mountain lakes in the Grand Tetons, we’re confident this one gave us the most variety and the best light.
Not only was the lighting and location absolutely gorgeous, finally meeting these two and getting to know them while paddling made this one of our best adventures yet!
Later, Chase & Karina changed and we continued our session with them in other locations in the park. However, since we spent so much time with them, we decided to spilt this session into two blog posts. The canoeing portion was so special to us, that we believe it deserves its own post.
We hope you enjoy the rest of these stunning images!