Introduction
So you’ve decided to have an adventure elopement in BC, amazing! This opens up so many doors and possibilities for your wedding day. But when it comes to actually planning your elopement, that’s when things can become overwhelming. Don’t worry, we’ve got you. We’ve compiled a list of the top 6 ideas for an adventure elopement in BC.
We help couples elope all over the world. We combine our love and knowledge of photo and video, with our love of travel, planning and experience travelling across the word. For both business and pleasure. We’ve created a guide to what we think are the best activities for an adventure elopement here in British Columbia, the pacific playground. This isn’t an elopement location guide, if you’re looking for somewhere to get married in Canada you can check out these two resources we’ve created below.
Top 5 places to elope on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia
Where to get married instead of Banff
Why have an adventure elopement?
Put simply, because it’s your big day, so you can do what you want! Why limit yourself to what everyone else does, do things your own way. Have meaningful experiences and a wedding day that makes people say “wow!”. That’s what we believe.
Your wedding day should be a reflection of you, your love for eachother and what you love to do together. That’s what we did for our wedding day. And honestly? It was the best decision we ever made, when we look back at our wedding film and our photos, we are transported right back to how it felt.
Helicopter Elopements
We absolutely love this idea. What better way to see the amazing lakes, fjords, forests and mountains of British Columbia than from the air? We’d recommend Heli Weddings up in Whistler. The drive up to Whistler from Vancouver runs at around an hour and 40 minutes under moderate traffic conditions. There’s also a bus that runs up there regularly if you don’t drive.
Tips for a Helicopter Elopement
Choosing the right season for your wedding look is very important, the area around Metro Vancouver does experience all four seasons, less so than the interior and the rest of Canada. But you’ll notice this especially on the tops of the mountains.
Do you want the whole area covered in snow? Your best time is December to the beginning of March.
Do you want snow capped mountains but vibrant cherry blossoms and emerging plants? Then go for middle March to the beginning of June.
In our opinion visually, summer isn’t the best month to have a helicopter elopement, there’s other reasons to choose summer, so this is a balancing act. Summer is end of June through to mid September.
The best time for us for a helicopter elopement is hands down fall. You’ll get the most beautiful burnt orange leaves across the landscape, this is from the beginning of October through to the end of November. We’ve found especially in the Whistler region, the best time for the balance between snow capped mountains and the orange autumn leaves is the sweet spot of the end of October to mid November. Note that this is slightly earlier for the interior of the provence.
Sunshine Coast Boat Tour
Enjoy the water of British Columbia’s rugged coast. You might even see a few different Whales, how awesome does that sound? There are also a wide variety of options when it comes to boating, you can go with a Sailboat, a power boat, boats you can sleep in. The possibilities are endless! This is an awesome option for an unconventional elopement in BC. We’d recommend going with Desolation Sound Boat Rentals.
If you’re looking for something a little more bougie, you can check out Ahoy BC Luxury Yacht Charter. They have some amazing boats that will
Hire a private chef in Whistler
This can be so romantic, head up into the mountains of Canada’s most famous ski resort town of Whistler. In the middle of winter and have a private chef cook you a three course meal together. You can set the tone however you want with candles, a fire, decor. The possibilities are endless, and Whistler has so many amazing options for accommodation with excellent views of the mountains and turquoise lakes. if you don’t believe us, click here.
We’re Tom and Emily. Your photo & Video elopement team! We encourage, help, explain and guide you through this whole process. We absolutely love travel and unique experiences!
Stargazing
If you love looking at our galaxy, you’ve come to the right place. British Columbia has an abundance of areas with no light pollution, this is one of our personal favourites for elopement ideas. Who doesn’t love a stargazing elopement? You could even plan to try and get a glimpse of the northern lights. Which frequent the provence each year. Generally speaking for this one, the further away from population centres you go the better. Which is surprisingly not too far from Metro Vancouver. Saltspring Island off the coast of Vancouver Island is a great option. Though you’ll need to take the ferry.
You can also use this handy tool to help find spots without light pollution. You can always ask your photographer for their recommendations as well. If you really want amazing views and absolutely no light pollution (for the best photos). You’ll have to drive around 2 hours north of Vancouver up past Whistler and Pemberton, to Joffre Lakes Provincial Park, the hike is quite a long one to the top, so we’d recommend camping to get the shot. But it is possible to take some photos at the trailhead of the hike, it’s just the best views are near the top.
Astro Wedding Elopement Photography Tips
You’ll want to head to your spot well before dark, to make sure you get the location you want, the view you see and what the camera will see. Will be two different things. Make sure you bring some warm clothes as it can get cold out there, even in the summer or in the desert.
Make sure you use this dark spot finder to pick somewhere with less light pollution, away from population centres. One of the biggest tips I can give is to choose the right time of year. Keeping an eye on the Lunar calendar is also a good idea. As the moon will overpower the night sky and you’ll lose out on seeing all of the stars. Look out for weather patterns closer to the time, especially for clouds. And Autumn through to Spring are going to be the best time for seeing stars. But you can also look up more specific location information for the best time to see the Milky Way.
If you love looking at our galaxy, you’ve come to the right place. British Columbia has an abundance of areas with no light pollution, this is one of our personal favourites for elopement ideas. Who doesn’t love a stargazing elopement? You could even plan to try and get a glimpse of the northern lights. Which frequent the provence each year. Generally speaking for this one, the further away from population centres you go the better.
Live Music
So for this one, we don’t mean live music as in attending a concert, though you could do that. We are suggesting you hire someone and bring them along to your elopement location, have them sing a coupe of songs either at the ceremony itself, or for your first dance. There is nothing we love more than the sun setting on an amazing day, listening to some live music out in the mountains with a unique, experience driven couple sharing their love. And we get to capture that! The best thing about this is you can absolutely choose the style and singer that fits your style as a couple. This can really bring the day to life and take it to that next level. If you’re thinking about eloping in Vancouver or the Okanangan, we’d recommend Nikita Afonso.
Unique Airbnb’s
You can sort of combine this idea with the last, as they work really well together. Whenever our couples book with us, we help with all of this. We help find Airbnb’s and unique stays for our couples that fit all of their needs. Hotels work for certain kinds of elopements and weddings, but we are all about checking our Airbnb and local bnb websites first. If you want a really good example of a property where this really works, click here.
Having somewhere you two can have quality time together, ideally with an awesome view and maybe even a hot tub, is what we’d recommend. You can also have your actual ceremony up there as well! From a legal standpoint, you can absolutely get married at an Airbnb in British Columbia.
Tips for getting married at an Airbnb in BC
You’ll want to make sure the Airbnb property allows weddings, let them know all the details and be as thorough as you can.
See how accessible the property is, if you’re having guests at your elopement, do they need to hike to get there or drive up a gravel road?
Check for amenities nearby, do they have a town nearby? Any cool activities, you can check out more of our resources for specific locations here. Or on Airbnb’s website they also have local activities in the area you are looking into.
Be respectful both to the property and the land. We are big believers in leave no trace. We absolutely love this country and all of its natural beauty and wildlife, so just make sure if you are having all the awesome ideas like sparklers, confetti etc. Make sure you clean it all up and don’t leave anything behind.
Use Airbnb’s filters. Airbnb has come a long way from the good old days when me and Emily would use it for travelling around Europe. There are all kinds of filters which help you find what you are looking for. Some of our favourites are:
- Unique stays
- Lakeview
- Mountain view
Conclusion
British Columbia is one of the best places in the world to Elope. We have some of the most unique and amazing landscapes in the world right here. From the snow capped peaks of the Canadian Rocky Mountains to the Sunshine Coast. With all the most amazing activities.
If you have any questions on eloping in British Columbia or are looking for a photo & film team to celebrate your day with and see what an elopement can be. You can take a look at our work here. Or fill out our contact form below for a chat.
