I always said we’d elope. Having been around weddings since I worked in restaurants in my teens, I’ve seen a whole bunch of celebrations.

I wanted absolute freedom in having a day that was just ours. One filled with love, treats, mountain views and giggles galore.

So, we picked an island in the Pacific where we shared a lot of fun memories and decided to go for it.

I agonized over how we could have a small wedding without making sacrifices. Silly me for waiting to be married until a pandemic arrived.

We went through so many iterations of what a small celebration would look like. How many people could be on our guest list and where could we have the ceremony WE want. With the implications of the limited freedom to gather, how to celebrate safely and if we could, would it still be what we wanted?

What does it mean to Elope?

Choosing to get married in an elopement-style of wedding means enjoying an intimate, laidback way to celebrate your lives together. Doing so in a way that honours your playfulness, creativity, joy and appreciation for one another. 

We had an incredible engagement party after being together for a decade, so I didn’t feel like we needed a big wedding.

Do we have a lot of people in our lives we care about? Absolutely! I wanted to be able to truly connect with each person present on my wedding day, not so much of a fleeting hi/bye as a let’s cozy up by a fire and chat.

2020 threw a GINORMOUS curveball to the entire world. And, in this little corner of the planet, two videographers decided to seal the deal.

If you’ve been to Vancouver island and the PNW, you know the opportunities to explore outdoors are endless. But, maybe, you might not know where to start – small weddings, adventure elopements and traveling celebrations can be done entirely on your terms. How cool is that?

P.s. Llamas are welcome guests if you find yourself in the Cowichan Valley.

Here’s what we did instead of having a big wedding:

1) Booked a helicopter to have a first look in a place that felt super special to us

2) Ate dinner at a fancy restaurant the night before our first look.

3) Chose our ceremony location based on what it felt like to be there along with the view

4) Picked up a vegan chocolate cake, organic raspberries and fresh-plucked rosemary

5) Chose two very close friends as our witnesses and shared vows overlooking the Gulf Islands on a misty October afternoon

It was important for us to have an element of adventure and when we first got engaged, it was overwhelming. Having been together for 10 years we chose to host a part in celebration!

The fun part is everyone thought we were getting married right then and there, and the tension was palatable. All we wanted was to treat our friends and family to a delicious evening (2 weeks before Christmas!) in a way that felt authentic to us.

So, if any of this is making you think hmmm,… I want this for my wedding day, this is entirely your call to make. And, if you’re still searching for ideas of how to get married, especially if you’re thinking of an adventure elopement – we have plenty of ideas to share!

Imagine creating a day filled with your favourite things, a day you dream of with the goal to allow you to be totally present on the day you get married. It’s curating an experience beyond the norm, centred on who you are as a couple, your connection to each other curated amidst an environment that brings joy and serenity to your decision to get married. 

Elopement Myths

1. Eloping is boring

2. Eloping means excluding the people you care about

3. Eloping is for cheapskates

4. Eloping is less fun

5. Eloping needs to be quick/fast

Even if you decide to get married in small-scale celebration now doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate with your loved ones in creative ways.

Eloping in your hometown can be super special if you allow your imagination to run wild. Rather than thinking about what you’re not able to do, consider what is possible. And lean into it.

Example Elopement timelines:

4 hours in Victoria, BC

• 3pm finish getting ready in your vacation rental

• 4pm meet for a first look by the water or in the forest

• 5pm head to a private spot overlooking the ocean to share your vows

• 6pm finish the day at Sherwood as a married pair, joining your best friends on the patio for dinner + bubbles!

Full Day in Victoria BC

• 11am start the day with brunch at the beach

• 12pm start getting ready in your home or vacation rental

• 1pm meet for a first look + capture the scenery

• 2pm travel for a picnic snack + treat together (drive-thru ice cream/midday brew?)

• 3pm Take a harbour ferry to your ceremony location

• 4pm get married outdoors overlooking the city

• 7pm finish the night at your favourite restaurant

• 8pm watch the sunset across the water, followed by dancing and cozy hangs as a married couple

Vancouver Island has an unbelievable amount of places to explore and beautiful landscapes. We’ve filmed at a handful of them and can’t wait to explore more.

The access to city centres and ease of travel makes the island an ideal place for eloping or hosting a wedding. You can experience the sun, surf and snow all in one day and still kick your feet up in front of the fire at the end of the day.

Why it’s awesome: You can venture to a remote location by helicopter (like we did!) or hike up a mountain to share your vows.

Savvy tip: If your date is flexible, you’ll have much more success securing the place/photographer/videographer you want. This is one of the perks of having a small wedding.

Choose HOW you want to get married and where you want to have a celebratory dinner. This might look like pizza on the beach or hot-tubbing at your airbnb while popping bubbly. Curious to see more? Check out Jordan & Zach’s Jordan River & Mystic Beach Elopement video here

 

Are you a fan of cozy layers, hot chocolate and cozying up by the fire after a trek outdoors?

Same here! We find embracing the chilly temps and simply getting outside is just so refreshing.

Wintertime exploring has it’s perks including your choice of accommodations, smaller crowds and plenty of creative adventures. If you get just as excited about wearing rainproof boots and bright jackets, you’re in good company here.

2020 started with some awesome local travel, hitting up the mountains every two weeks.

To give ourselves a boost of confidence in the backcountry, we signed up for The Great Escape in Squamish while we visited with our talented friend and published author, Cait Flanders.

Having embarked on a few snowshoe adventures over the last few years on Mt. Washington, Whistler and Nederland, Colorado, there are some of our top choices that make for an fun experience.

On one of these treks, we stumbled upon Frozen Dead Guy days after snowshoeing around El Dorado in Colorado a few winters back. Imagine Rifflandia meets an ice skating rink filled with Food carts, and this sums up the festival pretty well.

Last February, we joined in on a backcountry survival class where we learned 5 ways to get an injured person out of the wilderness with only the gear on your back. We learned the value of having a trip plan (including how to use webbing to pull someone out of the bush if they were injured + 4 other ways to carry someone out of the backcountry if needed).

It was fascinating! I now look at my Gore-tex jacket and MEC pack with an entirely new affinity. We were taught how to fashion a makeshift stretcher using 3-4 inch branches and a ski jacket.

Knowing winter weather can change quickly we feel much more equipped to handle ourselves in the event of trouble on the mountain with the insight learned from this 2 hour course.

Leaders of the workshop requested brave volunteers who could demo the validity of the setup. One brave soul even allowed another participant to drag him on the floor using only nylon webbing as a pulley.

We couldn’t help but be reminded of the overarching theme of experience over stuff. How being in a position to help your fellow trekker with the key items to have on your person can mean the difference of a casual adventure day and a much more intense rescue scenario.

Discovering the multi-use advantages of ski poles, the versatility of the straps on your pack and making use of warming blankets has heightened our awareness of venturing into the backcountry confidently and safely.

We can’t speak highly enough of the people who shared their first-hand knowledge along with the appreciation we felt afterwards. Trusting we could be capable of rescuing someone in the backcountry adds another layer of competence and excitement into the trip plan.

Amazing BC Winter Destinations

• Mt. Washington Alpine Resort

• Whistler and Squamish

• Mt Cain, Vancouver Island

• Strathcona Park, Campbell River BC

• The Cowichan Valley

• Golden BC, especially Kicking Horse Resort

When it comes to making the most of winter adventuring, a little extra trip prep makes a world of difference.

If you’re new to winter sports, start with groomed, well laid out trails at local mountain resorts like Mount Washington or Whistler.

Ahead of embarking on any backcountry exploring, we recommend exploring paper maps or referring to an app like AllTrails to get a sense for the topography and orient yourself to the area before you head out.

After snowboarding for many years and feeling the thrill, we’re all about strapping on our snowshoes to experience the beauty of the wild.

The adventure brand, MSR has a detailed breakdown and Winter Pack List here along with a summary of snowshoeing safely. We are not experts, but here are a few items we’ve found to be valuable to have on hand for a winter snowshoe.

Winter is incredible for colourful skies and remarkable sunsets, which makes it a beautiful time of year to get married for these reasons:

1. Snowy landscapes offer beautiful scenery and lighting for better photo and video captures

2. You can layer with beautiful blankets and scarves — no need to freeze your buns!

3. Enjoying snow-centred activities like snowshoeing, skiing and boarding

4. Helicoptering to a glacier atop a mountain

5. Snowshoeing to a warming hut like Elfin Lakes (once it’s open again!)

If you are thinking of getting married in the mountains, we believe you can create a once-in-a-lifetime memory. How amazing would it be to snowshoe to a viewpoint, share your vows and wrap up the day with a fondue by the fire?

When designing your plans, consider inviting a few snow-loving friends or family members who can double as day-of helpers. Aside from helping make your day memorable, they can help by making sure you are hydrated and have everything you need.

As photo/videographers we’re happy to port your bouquet, bring some extra goodies and help with direction along with location scouting beforehand. carry rings, vows, set up champagne or snacks for a post-ceremony treat in front of the fire at your Airbnb.)

Local hiking blogs are an amazing resource for sharing insight on snowy trails and suggestions for finding routes that match with your skill level.

Winter Snowshoe Pack List:

• waterproof jacket/pants

• toque/ear warmers/buff

• gloves and pocket hand warmers

• wicking base layers

• extra warm clothing/socks

• hiking boots/snowboarding boots

• warm, synthetic or wool blend socks. We love our Darn Toughs!

• headlamp

• whistle

• avalanche beacon

• emergency blanket

• 2L of water per person

• hot chocolate packs

• energy bars, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and Noble Jerky (the teriyaki flavour is YUMMY)

• our favourite addition - a snow-happy dog (like Raven, the VHS foster dog featured we had in 2020)

It’s important to recognize we all play a part in taking care of these breathtaking locations by following Leave No Trace principles and planning ahead to minimize our impact. We are so lucky to have nature so wildly available and the onus is on us to ensure it’s available to explore for years to come.

We’d love to hear about your favourite winter activities and places to visit in B.C. And, if you’re thinking of infusing more adventure into your elopement plans we’ve got plenty of ideas to share for making your dream day a reality!

You can read about how to plan an elopement and explore more of our films here. Happy Adventuring!

— Bre & Grady

Here’s a few ways a guy + a gal with a few extra cameras can give you the tools to make the most of your day:

1. We can help you discover a location and plan your elopement in a way you’re excited about

Struggling to figure out where/how to get married? Having filmed more than a handful of weddings, we can offer quite a few suggestions, especially if you’re just dipping your toes into the world of planning your wedding or elopement. 2020 is the year of adapting, becoming resilient and growing more creative, especially when it comes to planning a wedding.

If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you haven’t planned a full-on wedding before, unless you have a thing for wearing matching dresses + planning. Even then, there’s a good chance you haven’t been to 50+ weddings. We have and are more than happy to help!

2. Videographers can offer suggestions for timing and assist with setting the tone for your day

A wedding video tends to be one of the last things couples think about. You book your venue, your photographer, your caterer and then you’re spent. Literally! There are SO many ways to spend money on a wedding and having a video from the day you get married may feel like a luxury. We are so much more than camera operators. Sharing timing ideas, offering tips for locations for photos and even sourcing AirBnb’s for you to stay at — we want you to tap into our wealth of knowledge.

3. A videographer can boost creativity with fellow vendors and advocate for capturing your day more candidly

You can tell when someone feels awkward, stressed or just uncomfortable. This is the opposite of how you deserve to feel on the day you get married. We’ll encourage movement, connection with your partner and just plain fun. You deserve a day filled with good food, great friends and a whole lot of love.

Gone are the days of mammoth cameras with a massive mic and florescent lights ruining the mood. Our cameras are subtle, often smaller than a photographers and designed to capture moments on the move. We are designed to move (one of the key reasons Grady wears stretchy pants) and be observant, seeking out the little interactions that will matter to you. And future you.

4. A video gives you the gift of reliving moments that matter

Video offers another perspective to share with everyone who matters to you. The people you choose to capture your day will be with you all day and it’s pretty important that you like them. They need to know what you’re looking for, have to be willing to work cohesively and have the understanding of the kind of experience you want, so that it’s one that will make you feel good.

With COVID-19 sticking around for the the foreseeable future, it may be a long time before you can have the kind of reception or celebration with the 50+ people in your life you care most deeply about. Video captures what a wedding is all about — you and your favourite people celebrating in one place.

5. You deserve to feel your wedding day with more than a single frame.

Sound, emotion and words bring memories to life. When people talk about their wedding day going by fast, this is what they mean. Imagine the look on your face when you hear words straight from the heart of the person you love most. Imagine hands grasping your back with a giant hug and then holding your face in their hands as they look on lovingly. These fleeting moments make us human and are captured so beautifully with movement and sound.

Bonus!

We’re a lot of fun to have around. Totally dorky, love-junkies who adore dogs, food + good times! You’re probably going to have an awesome wedding regardless, but if you think there’s a small chance any one of the above perks are worthwhile, we’d love to hear from you.

Wondering whether it’s worth it to include a videography team in your day?

Our approach as videographers is to guide, prompt and suggest ways of being together that encourage you to feel connected and present with each other. Oh, and we’re totally here for the snort-laughs, too.

A really good film captures movement and tiny details that showcase people as they are, connecting you to how the day felt. Our job is to find out the deep connection a couple shares in their relationship, giving them a way to highlight this for years to come. We fully believe a talented photographer and videography team will give you an even more amazing experience.

You want videographers who will take care of and be there to support you! This is one of the ways we show up and bring a little extra pizzazz. We connect ourselves with environment, capturing what extends this moment in time without making you feel like you need to be anywhere else.

What video can capture, is something that’s hard to describe — it has to be felt. A laugh, the emotion felt in a voice and the subtle in-between moments. It’s beyond seeing something happen, it’s being fully immersed in all the senses of the experience.

Video can literally take you right back to being in that moment. There’s an artistic side to creating a film, which makes videography subjective. There’s a key difference between a transaction and an experience. A talented videographer gives you the guidance and support to make the most of yours!

Maybe you’re not the kind of couple who wants a video of themselves — together — celebrating the commitment you’re making, and that’s totally okay. Thanks for being here and exploring the possibilities!

If you’re just dipping your toes into the world of planning your wedding or elopement you’re in luck! 2020 has become the year of adapting, becoming resilient and growing more creative, especially when it comes to creating a really beautiful way to celebrate getting married.

We’re storytellers and the cameras are our essential tools to connecting you back to this day.

— Bre & Grady