How to get Married on Public Land at Abraham Lake, Nordegg, Alberta.
Many couples dream of a fairytale wedding in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains, and to most that means either Banff or Jasper. Unsurprisingly, the cost of holding a wedding in a world class international tourist destination can escalate pretty quickly. But, there are other options, and you can have it all! The subject of today’s blog is the Abraham Lake area of David Thompson Country, where the azure blue glacial lake meets stunning waterfalls, all framed by peaks which rival it’s illustrious western neighbour.
Where is Abraham Lake and What is Public Land?
Abraham Lake is situated in Central Alberta, Canada, on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. The David Thompson highway winds all the way from the town of Rocky Mountain House, through the picturesque mountain hamlet of Nordegg, to the border of Banff National Park. Despite Abraham Lake area’s natural beauty, it is still relatively off the international tourist trail and is way less crowded than the National Park just up the road during the warmer months. Abraham Lake itself is accessible from the highway which runs almost the entire 32km of the lake. Along the way there are numerous places where the lake shoreline can be accessed which make for dreamy locations for an intimate Wedding or Elopement.
A Public Land Use Zone (PLUZ) is an area of land which has been designated for public use, with conditions. There are 18 such area’s in Alberta, each with their own set of rules for managing recreational activity while considering other land uses.
Most of the Abraham Lake area falls within the Kiska/Wilson PLUZ. Details of all the PLUZ’s which make up the Bighorn Backcountry can be found here. Alongside the official Alberta Government resources, Explore Nordegg is an excellent source of information, compiled by a knowledgable team and is our first stop when planning a Wedding or Elopement in the region.
Location Scouting for your Wedding or Elopement at Abraham Lake
Okay so here’s the good news and possibly the reason you found this blog as you already know this!
i) You do not need a specific license for holding a ceremony on public land, in the Kiska/Wilson PLUZ at the time of publishing. (The only license you do need is the standard Alberta Marriage License).
ii) It’s totally free! If you or guests are camping overnight on Public Land you would need the Public Lands Camping Pass, which is $20 per camper.
When it comes to the specific spots, there is no substitute for going for a drive on a sunny day and exploring the area’s along the lake which appeal most to you. There are a number of suitable spots depending on the size of ceremony you intend on hosting. There are some wide-open areas of lake shore in the summer months where you could easily host 100+ guests.
The caveat here is obviously this is public land and people are free to random camp in your preferred area, so if you are planning a larger ceremony it’s wise to make sure you can secure the spot a few days before the wedding and make sure you have viable back-up options. Some of our favourite spots along the lake for you to explore are Preachers Point, Windy Point, Abraham Slabs and Abraham Cove- these are some of the more popular camping spots along the lake and all have amazing views across the lake. Hidden amongst these more popular locations are numerous dirt roads and less accessible spots just waiting to be explored and perfect for adventurous intimate weddings and elopements.
Hiring an awesome wedding or elopement photographer (hi!) or planner who is knowledgeable in the local area can help take a load-off when you are planning. The gallery below shows an early September ceremony at Abraham Cove Campsite, photographed by Peak & Prairie.
Your Story is Important.
Before we continue, just a quick note about Elopement Photography and the conception that a couple of hours photography is enough, which we would like to challenge!
It’s your big day. Maybe the happiest day of your life. The day you are literally unlocking memories that will stay with you for the rest of your days. You’re marrying your soulmate. Document the damn thing! Let your kids and their kids see your wedding album, show them how happy you made each other. Just because you’re having an Elopement or Intimate wedding does not mean 1 or 2 hours coverage is all you get!
You still deserve those getting ready pictures.
You deserve to see the look on their face while they waited to see you in that dress.
You get to remember how the glow of the campfire danced in their eyes, while you cuddled up under a blanket and sipped wine, when the day was almost done.
A dream over too soon, don’t let it be forgotten!
So you got Married at Abraham Lake! Woop! What’s Next?
Glad you asked!! Let’s look at a few scenarios of how a timeline based around a ceremony by the lake could look. There are so many different ways you could plan your day, but they mostly revolve around three things:
i) your budget
ii) your wedding size
iii) your ceremony time
So let’s just talk ceremony timing a for a minute. The early mid-afternoon ceremony is traditionally what people do BUT- you are not throwing a traditional wedding! How about a sunset ceremony? Huh? Your photographer votes sunset ceremony, the photos will be just beautiful. Emotional moments in great light, it’s our fuel, man! Obviously you might not get great light. And the sun does drop behind the mountains a little before sunset, but you generally do get a lovely soft, subdued light even if you don’t have the golden rays. Then, sometimes, you get a velvety pink light which envelopes everything around you for a few minutes. We love to make sure our couples have this time aside on their big day as it’s generally the time when the most beautiful and memorable photos from your day are made. the ones you just wanna print big and
Another option is a late afternoon ceremony, followed by a helicopter flight and a breathtaking bride and groom sunset session. We’ve flown with the good folks at Rockies Heli Canada before and they are excellent. They are on the southern end of Abraham Lake, closer to the Banff border, and have been offering flights throughout their little slice of paradise for over 20 years. They can whisk you off into the Alpine and to the best sunset spots, the stunning peaks of Banff as your backdrop. You can even say ‘i do’ on top of a mountain- perfect if you are eloping just the two of you- what’s more, it’s surprisingly not break-the-bank expensive- at the time of writing it was under $400 per person. The below gallery shows a heli-elopement where we couldn’t get up into the alpine as there was too much snow- but in all fairness it was January!! Our couple had already tied the knot at a registry a few weeks earlier. Read all about our adventure with them here.
A final amazing location for photos we would like to mention is Crescent Falls. This stunning two-tier falls is about a 20 minute drive from the lake, up a winding gravel mountain road just west of Nordegg and is a really perfect spot to get pictures taken. Unfortunately the lower falls (where the really epic shots are made) is presently closed, but we hope it will reopen in the not-too-distant future. Be sure to stop at the lookout over the ravine on the way up to the falls, for spectacular views of the Ram river winding through the valley below.
Where to Stay in the Nordegg & Abraham Lake Area?
As we mentioned at the top of the blog, one of the main draws of the area is that it doesn’t attract the crowds of Banff and Jasper, so we are going to pay for that by way of less choice of accommodation. However, the relative popularity for such a small mountain town can mean summer accommodation in Nordegg books up quickly and can be expensive. Lot’s of visitors to the area are camping in trailers or motorhomes, but there are also some good options if you are looking for a romantic stay in a cabin after your lakeside ceremony.
A quick look at Airbnb can give you a good idea of offerings and price, but a cabin we have visited ourselves and can personally recommend is Natures Getaway Nordegg. Tanya & Jerry have 3 cozy mountain cabins tucked away just outside of the town of Nordegg, backing onto crown land with views of the surrounding mountains. They even host intimate weddings in the beautiful garden, making it a really lovely option for an intimate wedding for under 20 people.
We Would Love to Hear from You!
Thanks for getting this far! If you have eloped in the area we would love to hear you experience in the comments! If you are planning an intimate wedding or elopement in the Nordegg, Abraham Lake area we want to hear from you! Fill in our contact form and we will reach out to you- we would love to hear about your plans and see if we are a good fit as your elopement photographers.
And we made it this far without mentioning the world-famous ice bubbles!
