Elope in the Forest with the Vow Cabin

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Updated January 2023

Kyle Joinson Photography

Psssttt!  Yes you!  Are you nature folks?  Does sun sparkling through a forest canopy feel more like you than overhead lights in a hotel ballroom?  Want something small that feels natural and real?  Want to really enjoy getting married without the fuss and hassle of planning all the details?  Want to invite your family along but keep them out of the organizing?  (ha ha)

The Vow Cabin has become the favourite package of couples who want a wedding experience that is relaxed, natural, sustainable, personal…and a little adventurous.

This marks Year 4 for this wonderful package and it just keeps getting better every year. Trust me on that.

The team includes the best of the best on Vancouver Island.   Caitlin, our exceptional organizer has come up with a few different packages:

  • You can come by yourselves, or bring up to 8 witnesses.
  • Or you can bring up to 20 people and have a wee celebration in the forest.

Because the space is so large and so private, it feels like your own private getaway.  In actual fact, you share the day with up to 2 other couples, but it simply doesn’t feel that way.  And that makes the package waaaayyy more affordable. 

So, if you don’t have time to plan, but you still want to get married in a meaningful friendly way, maybe check out The Vow Cabin.  Some 2023 dates are full…but there are still good open dates on their website.

Modern Metaphysical Minister/Celebrant and Wedding Officiant, Vancouver Island. Including Victoria, Duncan, Nanaimo, Parksville, Courtenay, Comox Valley and Campbell River.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ways to Elope on Vancouver Island

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There are lots of elopement packages out there, but what I do is very different…I help you celebrate your partnership fully, whole-heartedly and actively. (Although chocolates on the pillow are a nice touch too…:) 

Out in Nature

There’s something very profound about getting married on an endless beach, the peak of a mountain, amid giant trees who have seen countless cycles of life unfold in their presence. It reminds us how big and beautiful this universe is. This life is. How fortunate we are to be in it.

Since the beginning of time, many of the elements of nature have been used in ceremony in countless ways. that make perfect sense.  (We’re not talking about dancing around in the forest draped in vines, but if you’re really into that, I’ll give it my best shot…:)

in Cathrdral Grover, a bruide appreciated the tall trees and a groom appreciates the bride

 Chelsea Dawn Photography

 

Have an Adventure

Has your life so far been an adventure?  Is running away and doing something completely different your cup of tea?  A helicopter elopement?  Scaling a waterfall?  Feeding your bouquet to a bevvy of  adoring baby goats?  Getting married in a lavender field?  Or on a bunjee jump? (I’ll stay on land for that one and use my PA..:)

Or maybe you’re open to adventure. Below, after 11 years and 2 kids together, B&D said “surprise us!”  So we did…both ceremony and setting!

Lupin Falls_in Strathcona Park_a couple elopes at their wedding ceremony_image by Chelsea Dawn

 Chelsea Dawn Photography.

 

Do what you are

Is there something that personifies your partnership? Something that feels right and true to you?  It will likely come out while we are brainstorming your ceremony. Trust me…:)

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N&K like to walk in nature, so we did a walking ceremony.  Since a wedding ceremony has 3 steps,  we did each step in a different location.  “It was truly magical. It was everything we imagined it could be…. exactly what we set out to achieve in the beginning.”

 

Modernize your Traditions

There many be centuries old traditions in your family that want to be honoured but don’t seem to fit a modern elopement on the West Coast. We can make them fit you perfectly.

We blended Northern and Southern Hindo traditions in a modern west coast way.  Unforgettable images by Tulle and Tweed Photography.

 

The Perfect Day

What did you do on your first date?  Your first anniversary?  Are there any rituals that are yours and yours alone?  What’s something you’ve always wanted to do together? What might your most perfect day include? Could include a ceremony in it?

Part of the Air Force in Europe, Ivo asked if their witnesses be Air Force folks? Voila, ex-CFB Commander couple (showed up in uniform and even took pics) started a new friendship over a wonderful afternoon.

 

Have  a Handfasting

The original elopement, centuries ago, was often a handfasting ceremony. If you are eloping now and having a large party next year, check out this post.

Elyse Anna Photography

Modern Metaphysical Minister/Celebrant and Wedding Officiant, Vancouver Island. Including Victoria, Duncan, Nanaimo, Parksville, Courtenay, Comox Valley and Campbell River.

 

 

Carrie and Tony: Elopement Adventure

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Carrie Tony blog 2For many couples, elopement = “nice vacation/package deal with a rubber stamp attached.”  But not Carrie and Tony. A  couple of earth scientists/professors, they were coming from another part of the world and wanted to marry each other in an old growth forest.

While The Carmanah Valley would be unforgettable, their wedding dinner would likely have been a freeze dried pouch. Then I remembered Meares Island, and their elopement adventure began.

We took a water taxi to the island, wandered the rickety trail, and then found the perfect spot at the 1200 year-old “The Tree of Life”.  “After a thousand years, who better than these Douglas Firs to bear witness to your marriage ceremony?”

Tony’s family had sent their blessings, which were a total surprise to him. And the ceremony, deeply personal, had a few more surprises, but what happens in the forest, remains in the forest..:)Carrie Tony 4

This was the first wedding ceremony that the water taxi folks recalled on this protected island. Once the secret got out, the dock was full of well-wishers upon our return.

And then we went to the Wick to toast a couple of adventuring scientists with a round of Dark and Stormies…:)