By: WPIC Regional Representative Ashlie Metcalf WPICC, DWC of Harmony Wedding & Event Coordination
Earlier in September, I had my debut as the Wedding Planners Institute of Canada’s Vancouver regional representative. I had just moved from Ontario to Squamish and couldn’t wait to show off the Sea to Sky Gondola, one of Squamish’s spectacular wedding venues, to my WPIC Alumni.
The event started off with a site tour lead by the Sea to Sky Gondola‘s sales manager Anne McKenzie. After a quick view of what the basecamp had to offer, we took the 10-minute gondola ride to the Summit Lodge. The ride itself offers a unique viewing experience of the Stawamas Chief, one of North America’s largest granite monoliths. Once reaching the Summit Lodge, we departed the gondolas and crossed the 100 metre Sky Pilot Suspension Bridge to view one of the many picturesque ceremony locations.
The main ceremony location is situated on a 5000 square foot viewing platform at the Summit Lodge. This location offers 270˚ of spectacular views including the Howe Sound, the coastal mountain ranges, and our famous Sky Pilot mountain peak. This area catches the light beautifully and the colours of the ocean are out of this world!
After the site tour, we spent some time chatting with each other in the gorgeous sunshine with food and drink provided by the catering staff at the gondola. The flatbread was amazing and the Caesar was one of the best I’ve ever had.
As a WPIC regional representative, one of our goals is to provide our alumni with opportunities for networking while also including an educational component.
When I was considering ideas for the event that included both of these aspects, the prime thought was to include Squamish First Nations, as their culture is so prominent and meaningful to our area. Squamish itself means “Mother of the wind” and there are many prominent historical and cultural landmarks in and around our home.
I was able to reach out to Squamish Nation and invite Cultural Advisor and Shaker Church Minister Eugene Harry as a guest speaker to educate us on the special ritualistic wedding ceremonies of the Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish peoples). Eugene was amazing and he taught us how much the community plays such a significant role in marriages and left us with many words of wisdom. In closing, Eugene performed a ceremonial eagle feather blessing on all of the wedding planners that attended! It was an incredible experience.
This event also gave us the opportunity to meet with some of the local wedding vendors in Squamish including Lilly Peterson, a photographer from Sky Rock Creative who captured photos of the event and Erin from A Fox In The Flowers who provided the flowers for our centrepiece.
No event would be complete without swag bags. The bags provided included items from The Wedding Planners Institute of Canada, Abbey Lane Farms, and The Cultural Wedding Planner.
I am looking forward to hosting more of these events and meeting the wonderful WPIC of the West Coast.
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