HOW DID I GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO PHOTOGRAPH BRANDYWINE FALLS?

Photographing Emilio + Michelle’s Whistler engagement photos at Brandywine Falls was an actual dream come true. I am still swooning over these images and I’m pretty sure I will be for .. ever! I was in Whistler for an elopement in August and it just happened to work out to photograph these babes in the same weekend before I headed to the ferry home. It was my first time to Whistler (well I was once when I was 5 and I don’t remember it haha) and wow. I fell in love with it just like I figured I would. I definitely want to spend more time up there!! Something about the ski/surf/bike towns I love so so much, like Tofino, Banff, and now Whistler. Maybe that’s a sign..?!

MEET EMILIO & MICHELLE

Ugh. How freaking stunning are they?! I met Michelle at the Cabin Fever Retreat workshop a couple of years ago in Halfmoon Bay, BC. It was hosted by The McLachlans, Victoria Black, and Stacie Carr. It was a trip I don’t think I’ll ever forget. Michelle + I have kept in touch over the years and I just adore her so so much! They recently got their actual engagement photos done by Victoria and they are sooooo beautiful. And as for Emilio, it was my first time meeting him and he was like THE nicest guy ever!! I am so happy for these two! OH AND they brought BENNIE, their adorable pup - if you know me, you know I am a sucker for doggos. Always always always bring your dog to your session PLZ!

HOW TO GET TO BRANDYWINE FALLS?

Sooo.. we kind of wung this. Wung.. is that even a word? It is for me. I was determined to get to the bottom of that waterfall even though I had no idea how to. There’s that adventurous streak in me.. again. It was a gorgeous summer morning and we arrived around 9AM to be sure to get a parking spot (trust me you will want to do this because by the time we got back to our vehicles 4 hours later, people were lined up for our parking spots!!).

We started on the main trail across the railroad tracks to the lookout point where you can overlook the falls and the mountain view. Once you get to the lookout point, there’s a fence on the left. Walk past it as the fence ends there and you will see a faint rail along the bluffs. Keep following this - stay close to the bluff side. You will think you’re lost and you will find your self at what looks like a drop off. The rocks go down quite a ways and yes.. you have to scale these. It looks scarier than it is. You will notice a path on the rocks down the mountain - keep following this trail into the trees. From here, I made note of what my surroundings were. I notice a large tree that was shaped a certain way, so I knew to look for it on my way back up.

There is sort of a path that you follow, but the best thing I did was keep track of markers during the hike. It does not hurt to even physically put markers up so you know your way back. I also tried to think of the direction of where the water was flowing when we started the hike. We kept to the right most of the hike and when it took us to the bottom where the river was, I knew we were close! You will hear the river in the distance until you reach it. We saw piled up rocks that we used as our marker back to the trail since it was quite grown in. From here, we just followed the river up to the falls. We realized afterwards that there was a little trail instead of risking getting your feet wet haha. This trail takes you straight to the falls and BAM! It was a moment just like the first time I walked up to Lake Louise + Moraine Lake. It literally took my breath away, my eyes filled with happy tears. I appreciate the beauty of this country so so much. We are so lucky.

I know that it can be dangerous under such a powerful waterfall, so we did not get too too close. Just enough to make for some EPIC photos (keep scrolling!!). The closer we got, the more mist hit us. Getting there in the morning, the light was just coming over the mountains, and we were surprised with a gorgeous rainbow! Oh how I could go on about this dream session forever. Thank you times a million Emilio and Michelle for adventuring with me and it was SO nice catching up. The whole trip took us about 4 hours and I would do it again in a heart beat!