A Guide to Local Wedding Vendors
Central Vancouver Island Weddings
This page is part of the Folklore Weddings Vendor Collective a coast-wide collaboration connecting couples with trusted local creatives, venues, and artisans across Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. The vendors featured here reflect the region’s balance of craft and community, from photographers and florists to planners, musicians, and culinary teams who draw inspiration from the land and sea around them.
Whether you’re planning a beach ceremony in Parksville, a vineyard dinner in the Cowichan Valley, or a cozy forest gathering near Port Alberni, the Central Island offers the perfect blend of accessibility and natural beauty.
If you’re exploring other areas, we’ve also created the following guides:
Together, these pages form the Folklore Weddings Vendor Collective, a growing regional network built to support local wedding creatives and help couples discover the most inspiring people and places across coastal British Columbia.
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Vendors who want to be listed, please reach out to us here.
Central Vancouver Island weddings are deeply rooted in rustic farmland, coastal culture, and community connection.
Kimberley Kufaas
Updated on April 30th - 2026
Based on the northern reaches of Vancouver Island, Kimberley Kufaas is a wedding, portrait, and landscape photographer inspired by the raw beauty of the West Coast. Her work moves between sweeping natural backdrops and intimate human stories, capturing celebrations that feel grounded in place and emotion. Whether documenting an elopement by the ocean, a ceremony tucked within ancient forests, or the quiet details that tell the story of a day, Kimberley’s imagery reflects both her deep love for nature and her eye for authentic connection.
Photography + Video
Kimberley Kufaas
Folklore Wedding Company is a multi-artist wedding media collective drawn from across Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, offering photography and videography for celebrations across Tofino, Ucluelet, and Bamfield. Couples can mix and match from digital, 35mm film, and tintype photography alongside cinematic videography, creating a cohesive media package where photo and video are built to work together from the start rather than sourced separately. For couples who want their day documented with real creative intention and a team that knows how to move together through wild weather, changing light, and the particular rhythm of a coastal celebration, Folklore is a natural fit.
Photography + Video
Folklore Wedding Company
folklore Photography
folklore videoographey
Stephanie Artuso is a skilled photographer based on Gabriola Island and a valued member of the Folklore Wedding Company team. She brings a deeply artistic approach to documenting weddings, focusing on real emotion, meaningful connection, and the subtle beauty of each moment. With an eye for detail and a calm, intuitive presence, Stephanie helps couples feel comfortable, seen, and confident in front of the camera. As part of the Folklore Wedding Company collective, she works seamlessly with other creatives to craft cohesive and compelling photo and video storytelling that captures the full spirit of your celebration.
Photography + Video
Stephanie Artuso
Solstice Farm
Solstice Farm is a family-run hobby farm and wedding venue in Port Alberni, nestled at the foot of the Beaufort Mountains, with a serene apple orchard that leads to a private ceremony field for celebrations that feel relaxed and nature-rooted. For weddings, they offer a farm-style setup with a 40×60 event tent, wooden tables and chairs, benches for ceremony seating, a dance floor, bar area, and solar-lit paths. designed to make the day flow smoothly from ceremony to dinner and dancing.
Wedding Venues
Brannen Lake Estates
Brannen Lake Estates is a nature-set wedding venue just outside Nanaimo offering three distinct ceremony sites: the Lakeside Lovestory, an intimate micro-wedding spot beside the lake with a willow tree focal point and private dock; Fields of Forever, an open orchard grass setting with hand-built wooden benches and lake views for up to 120 guests; and Find Us in the Forest, a magical heritage tree canopy site for up to 40. For elopements and intimate winter weddings, the Runaway Barn draped in rain lights from floor to ceiling accommodates up to 12 guests year-round, making Brannen Lake one of the most versatile and quietly beautiful wedding properties on central Vancouver Island.
Wedding Venues
Flower Beds Farm
Flower Beds Farm is an 18-acre working flower farm and wedding venue on the periphery of Qualicum Beach, owned and operated by Jess and Taylor, where couples get full exclusive access to the property for a full weekend celebration. Ceremonies take place among rows of seasonal blooms, receptions unfold under a white marquee tent in the grassy field, and when night falls the party moves to the Tree Fort Stage in a cedar grove for dancing until midnight and silent disco beyond.
Wedding Venues
Elicea
Andrews
Rivers and Roads
Rivers and Roads is a newly opened forest wedding and events venue along the Nanaimo River, founded by Rahael Yohannes and built thoughtfully from on-site and salvaged materials on forty acres of temperate rainforest with over a kilometre of riverfront. Beneath riverside maples, live-edge Douglas fir bench seating welcomes ceremonies, while handcrafted cedar tables for up to sixty rest in a cedar grove covered by a Bedouin stretch tent, with Chinook salmon, moss-covered caves, and sword ferns framing a setting that shifts with every season. Just fifteen minutes south of Nanaimo with easy ferry and airport access, it’s now taking bookings for June 2026 onward.
Wedding Venues
Noisy Acres Garden Estates
Tucked into the quiet Yellow Point countryside between Ladysmith and Nanaimo, Noisy Acres Garden Estates is a family-run outdoor wedding venue with seven acres of landscaped gardens, pathways, ponds, and waterfalls that create a genuinely lush and romantic setting. The property features a large post-and-beam pavilion, grape arbour ceremony site, gazebos, fire pit, and full bar services, with in-house coordination included to keep the day running smoothly. With over a decade of hosting weddings and a warm, hands-on family team that couples consistently rave about, it's one of mid-Island's most beloved garden wedding destinations.
Wedding Venues
Grow Wild Retreats
Grow Wild Retreats is a 4th-generation family farm on 106 acres on the west side of Shawnigan Lake, offering an off-grid, nature-immersed setting for wedding weekends that feel grounded and spacious. Couples can host a small number of weddings each year on the property, with forest trails, open fields, and a private lake that make it easy to shape a celebration around the land itself. Alongside weddings, they’re also known for their Off-Grid Wellness BnB and retreat experiences, which speaks to the calm, restoration-forward vibe couples and guests feel the moment they arrive.
Wedding Venues
Shannon Farms
Shannon Farms offers a summer wedding venue in the Alberni Valley near Port Alberni, set at the base of the Beaufort Mountain Range with wide open field views and West Coast forest all around. Their wedding package is built around The Cabin and the surrounding grounds, with space for up to 100 guests and a multi-day, weekend-style setup that includes four nights of accommodation (Thursday–Monday). Ceremony and portraits can happen across the cabin grounds and adjacent fields, with a shop/barn reception option plus an outdoor area strung with lights, and included essentials like fir harvest tables, cross-back chairs, and an on-site washroom facility.
Wedding Venues
Keating Farm
Keating Farm is a heritage farm wedding venue in the Cowichan Valley, offering a private, storybook setting with multiple ceremony and reception spaces across the property. Couples can host ceremonies in open fields with valley views, tucked into the orchard among mature nut trees, or indoors in the timber hay barn or farmhouse great hall. It’s designed as a full weekend-style experience, with the farm reserved for you and your guests, plus on-site accommodations in converted agricultural buildings.
Wedding Venues
Avellana Orchards
Avellana Orchards (pronounced “Ah-veh-YAH-nah”) is a family-run wedding venue on a 65-acre farm in Nanaimo, framed by a hazelnut orchard and wide open farmland views. The property is designed for celebrations that feel relaxed and grounded in nature, with a clean, modern-rustic look and plenty of space for guests to spread out across the grounds. For weddings, the farm’s signature feature is the timber-frame pavilionideal for an open-air reception setup with long harvest tables, string lights, and an easy flow for cocktail hour and dancing.
Wedding Venues
McLean Mill National Historic Site
McLean Mill is a rustic, forest-wrapped wedding venue in Port Alberni’s Alberni Valley, set within a preserved historic sawmill site where old buildings, timber structures, and woodland paths create a setting that feels both tucked-away and full of story. Their wedding options centre around McLean Hall, the courtyard, and terraced outdoor areas, with packages that support ceremonies on the historic grounds and receptions inside the hall with outdoor seating available in the courtyard. They note typical wedding capacity around 90–100 guests indoors, making it a strong fit for couples who want a West Coast venue with real character.
Wedding Venues
Devee Photography
Providence Farm
Providence Farm is a nature-based, therapeutic working farm and registered charity in the Cowichan Valley, offering a warm, countryside setting for weddings and gatherings across 400 acres at the base of Mt. Tzouhalem. Their event areas include gardens and farm outbuildings, with a summer pavilion that can host up to 200 guests, making it a great fit for classic, garden, rustic, or vintage-inspired celebrations.
Wedding Venues
Florists
Roo Floral is a garden-forward wedding florist based in Parksville, founded by Miranda, who grows many of her own flowers and sources the rest from local growers to keep every arrangement rooted in the season and the region. Her approach is patient, collaborative, and deeply attentive, brides consistently describe her as the kind of florist who really listens, delivers something more beautiful than they imagined, and makes the whole process feel calm and joyful. From lush bridal bouquets to large-scale hanging floral installations, Miranda brings an artful touch to weddings across Vancouver Island.
Roo Floral
Florists
The Flower Guys is a fresh addition to downtown Duncan, opened by business partners Scott Hayes and Kenyon Fairs at 121 Station Street with a European-market style approach that invites customers to pick their own stems or collaborate on something custom. They create unique floral designs for weddings and events alongside a curated selection of tropical and indoor plants, bringing a distinctly city-forward creative energy to the Cowichan Valley. For couples looking for a florist with a fresh perspective and genuine enthusiasm for the craft, The Flower Guys is a standout new option in the region.
The Flower Guys
Florists
Evoke Floral is a full-service florist and wedding floral studio based in Parksville on Vancouver Island, creating bright, romantic arrangements and wedding flowers with a focus on locally sourced, island-grown seasonal flowers and sustainable practices. Led by a certified floral designer with over 20 years in horticulture, the studio offers bespoke bouquets, event florals, elopement flower packages, and weekly and corporate subscriptions, with delivery routes that cover Parksville, Qualicum Beach, Nanaimo, and the wider Vancouver Island region.
Evoke Floral
Florists
Whiffle & Hum Farm Co. is a small-scale flower farm and design studio in the Cowichan Valley, growing seasonal field flowers and creating hand-tied bouquets, custom arrangements, and subscriptions that bring farm-grown colour into homes and workplaces. Founded by flower farmer Lee Anne, the farm offers market-style bouquets, corporate and home bouquet subscriptions, workshops, and gift cards, with flowers available through their own shop, at the Duncan Farmers’ Market, and as a pickup point for Cow-op orders, making it easy for locals to enjoy fresh, whimsy-filled blooms all season long.
Whiffle & Hum Farm Co.
Florists
Preserved Petals is a Nanaimo-based modern flower preservation studio founded by Alicia, a wedding enthusiast and artist who transforms cherished wedding bouquets into lasting pieces of art. After couples pick their products and share design preferences, she carefully dries and preserves their flowers, then creates custom keepsakes that capture the romance, emotion, and magic of the day, turning once-fresh bouquets into framed displays and art pieces meant to be admired for years to come.
Preserved Petals
Mensch Kitchen & Catering is a Vancouver Island catering team creating custom wedding menus that feel personal, generous, and rooted in local ingredients. They’re set up for a wide range of wedding styles, from plated dinners and family-style feasts to canapés, grazing, and food stations, with a planning process designed to keep things clear and calm from inquiry through execution. Their approach is grounded in ethical sourcing and relationships with Island farmers and producers, with sustainability woven into how they build menus and run events.
Mensch Kitchen & Catering
Vancouver Island Event Catering is a full-service wedding and event catering team serving celebrations across the Island and beyond. They work with couples to design a menu that fits the day, and can cater everything from rehearsal dinners and bridal showers to reception meals, with options like brunch, hot and cold buffets, and sit-down dinners. They also offer support with the broader event logistics and coordination so the food service feels smooth from start to finish.
Vancouver Islandevent Catering
West Coast Street Saloon is a family-run, Cowichan Valley–based mobile bartending team offering full-service wedding bars anywhere on Vancouver Island, bringing the setup, the mixes, the cocktail know-how, and the staffing so couples can focus on the celebration. Their packages range from “just the bartenders” for venues that already have a bar, to full mobile bar setups with non-alcoholic mixers, signature cocktail options, garnishes, drinkware, and planning support like menu consults and alcohol shopping lists.
West Coast Street Saloon
The Fridge Light Studio is a boutique catering studio rooted in the slow-charm of farm-to-table cooking and personalized event menus. According to their website, they build custom, full-service food experiences for weddings and gatherings across Vancouver Island. Whether hosting a few loved ones or feeding a hundred guests, they specialise in menus that reflect your taste, style, and any dietary needs with bold flavours, seasonal ingredients and refined presentation. With a blend of rustic elegance and creative flair, The Fridge Light turns food into a meaningful part of the celebration.
The Fridge Light Studio
Planners + Commissioners
Folklore Wedding Company curates intimate Vancouver Island elopements and micro weddings that feel deeply connected to place, bringing together their planning team, regional photographers, and trusted local vendors for a smooth, well-supported experience. Planning support includes location scouting, permits, ferry and travel guidance, coordination with flowers and officiants, timelines, and the details that make the day feel effortless. They also help shape the experiences around your celebration, think cultural tours, hot springs visits, spa days, nature walks, and coastal adventures, so your time on the Islands feels like a full wedding journey.
Folklore Wedding Company.
Sydney
Woodward
Planners + Commissioners
Vancouver Island Elopements is an all-inclusive elopement planning + photography service led by Elyse Cornish, created for couples who want a day that feels calm, personal, and fully taken care of. They help shape the whole experience, from location ideas across Vancouver Island (beaches, forests, and mountain backdrops) to coordinating trusted local vendors like officiants, florals, and hair + makeup, so you can show up, be present, and leave with a gallery that feels like you.
Vancouver Island Elopements
Planners + Commissioners
Deanna Balcarras is a certified life-cycle celebrant based in Qualicum Beach, crafting personalized wedding ceremonies, elopements, and celebrations of life that are as unique as the people they honour. As a celebrant rather than a civil officiant or religious minister, she brings a deeper collaborative approach, listening carefully to a couple's story and writing a ceremony that reflects exactly who they are, whether that means something spiritual, secular, playful, or profoundly intimate. She is open to all couples and welcomes all traditions, beliefs, and backgrounds.
Deanna Balcarras
Planners + Commissioners
Shaping Memories is a certified wedding and event planning company based in Nanaimo, led by Braeja and Trina with over eleven years of experience coordinating celebrations across Vancouver Island and beyond. They offer a full range of services from day-of coordination and full planning to draping and design, elopements, proposals, and a virtual wedding advisor program for couples who want to plan independently with professional guidance. Proudly LGBTQIA+ inclusive and genuinely warm in the way they work, this is a team that wants couples to feel like guests at their own wedding.
Shaping Memories Event Planning
Planners + Commissioners
Spread across 69 acres of rolling farmland between Nanaimo and Ladysmith, Empress Acres is a working organic farm and rustic wedding venue that genuinely earns the word picturesque. The property features daisy-filled meadows, lily pad ponds, mature fir groves, and a large pole barn with soaring ceilings and opening side walls that transforms beautifully for both ceremonies and receptions. Owners Marlene and Peter bring a warmth and hands-on care to every booking, and with excellent access to multiple ferry terminals and the Nanaimo Airport, it's a quietly spectacular destination for couples traveling from anywhere on the coast.
Empress Acres
Wedding Jewelry & Accessories.
The AYLA View is a Nanaimo-based design and print studio led by Ayla Peña, specializing in fine art wedding calligraphy, sustainable invitation design, and letterpress stationery for couples who want their paper goods to feel intentional and heirloom-worthy. Her style blends modern romance with old-world details, creating suites that can include save-the-dates and invitation sets, plus day-of pieces like menus, seating charts, place cards, and signage, always designed to match the tone of the full wedding weekend. Working from Vancouver Island while serving clients locally and worldwide.
The AYLA View
Wedding Jewelry & Accessories.
Blackbird Jewellers is a Nanaimo studio led by goldsmith Anna Duncan, specializing in bespoke engagement rings and wedding bands that feel distinctly personal, with each piece designed and made by hand at the bench. Their work also includes expert repairs, restorations, and a meaningful “reforge” option that transforms old gold, silver, broken pieces, or heirlooms into a new ring or keepsake, perfect for couples wanting their wedding jewelry to carry history forward in a fresh form.
Blackbird Jewellers
Decor & Rentals
Timeless Party Rentals is a Vancouver Island wedding and special event rental company based in Parksville / Errington, offering a wide range of décor, equipment, and custom props to help couples create a cohesive setup without sourcing from multiple places. Their catalogue spans everything from statement backdrops and arches to tables, chairs, linens, and styling details, with many pieces built in-house and the option to customize when you’re looking for something specific. They deliver across the Island and note a service area that runs from Campbell River to Victoria and beyond.
Timeless Party Rentals
Decor & Rentals
Black & White Event Rentals is a long-standing Vancouver Island rental company (operating since 1991) known for the big, practical pieces that make outdoor weddings run smoothly, tents (including sailcloth, marquee, and frame styles), tables and chairs, dance floors, lighting, heaters, and even executive washroom trailers. They deliver across Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, reaching everywhere from Victoria and Sidney up to Campbell River, Port Hardy, Port McNeill, and west to Tofino and Ucluelet, making them a strong option for weddings that need solid logistics in remote or weather-prone spots.
Black & White Event Rentals
Hayley
Zumkeller
Decor & Rentals
Triple T Party Rentals is a Nanaimo-based event rental company that’s been serving Vancouver Island weddings and gatherings for over 30 years, offering the core pieces that make a celebration feel polished and easy. Their catalogue includes tents and accessories, tables and chairs, linens, dinnerware and glassware, bar and serving pieces, plus wedding décor items like arches and styling details, so couples can keep rentals streamlined with one team. They offer delivery or self pick-up, and note their delivery area is generally Qualicum to Duncan, with pricing and logistics quoted based on the size of the order and distance.
Triple T Party Rentals
Decor & Rentals
Special Occasions is a Cowichan Valley–based tent and party rental company in Duncan, offering the core pieces that make Vancouver Island weddings feel smooth and well set up, event tents (including frame and marquee styles), tables and chairs (with options like Chiavari chairs and harvest/farm tables), linens, dishware, and a solid selection of wedding décor items like arches and lighting. They’re built for both indoor and outdoor celebrations, with experienced tent technicians who handle setup in a wide range of locations and conditions, and they also offer delivery across Southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.
Special Occasions Tent & Party Rentals
Makeup + Dress + Wellness
Brandee is a bridal hair stylist and extension specialist with over a decade of experience who recently relocated to the coast of Vancouver Island, bringing her expertise in modern updos, Hollywood waves, and seamless extensions to couples across the region. She works closely with each bride from the trial through the wedding morning, keeping the getting-ready timeline running smoothly while making sure every member of the party feels genuinely beautiful. With extension rentals available for the day and a warm, unhurried approach that brides consistently describe as calm and professional.
Hair by Bfriee
Makeup + Dress + Wellness
Blythe Beauty is a bridal hair, makeup, and cosmetic tattooing studio based in Port Alberni, led by Kate, a UK-trained artist with roots in film and television makeup dating back to 2006. She offers bespoke bridal hair and makeup for weddings and destination events across Vancouver Island, with lashes included in all makeup services, alongside cosmetic tattooing specializing in natural, delicate brows using microblading and nano techniques. For brides who want a single trusted artist to handle both their wedding day look and their semi-permanent beauty routine, Kate brings a calm, personal approach to both.
Blythe Beauty
Corissa
Fir
Makeup + Dress + Wellness
Botanica Bridal is a boutique wedding dress studio nestled in Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island, offering personalized bridal consultations in an intimate setting. Their collection features exquisite gowns from designers like Rue de Seine, Grace Loves Lace, White April and Willow & Winter—styles that range from refined minimalism to romantic bohemian flair. With a focus on thoughtful service and authentic connection, Botanica helps each bride find a gown that reflects her individuality and story while celebrating the beauty of island wedding moments.
Botanica Bridal
Makeup + Welness
Based in Nanaimo, Enhance Beauty is led by Rachel, a certified makeup artist & hairstylist trained at Blanche MacDonald, with over 13 years of experience on Vancouver Island. Their wedding-day services are centred around the idea of enhancing natural beauty (rather than masking it), offering bridal makeup and hair packages (including trials, lashes, and touch-up bags), along with guest styling and on-site travel options
Enhance Beauty
Music
With nearly a decade performing at weddings and events across Victoria, Noah knows how to read a room and how to make it sing. His solo sets are laid-back and soulful: acoustic-driven, mellow, and folky, with a repertoire that spans Zach Brown to Leon Bridges to Elton John. Whether it's walking down the aisle or sipping cocktails at golden hour, Noah's solo performance sets exactly the right mood. Then there's Noah and the Flood, Victoria and the Cowichan Valley's go-to party band. High energy, high fun, and armed with a set list that bounces from feel-good pop anthems to mid-2000s pop punk to timeless folk and R&B, this band knows how to get every generation on their feet and keep them there.
Noah Edwards / Noah and The Flood (Full Band)
- Travel and access: if your venue requires a ferry or remote road, ensure guest and vendor arrival times align, car rentals or shuttles are booked, and parking is handled
- Vendor travel and fees: remote venues may mean extra travel or accommodation costs for vendors
- Accommodation and guest lodging: many venues outside larger centres require you to block rooms and guide guests to local lodging
- Terrain and site conditions: beach sand, forest paths, moss-covered ground and uneven terrain all affect footwear, setup and mobility for guests
- Backup plan for weather and light: dense forests and coastal locations can mean early light loss or unexpected weather.
Some useful questions:
“Have you worked at our chosen venue (in Cowichan, Parksville, Qualicum or nearby) before?”
“What’s your plan if weather changes our outdoor setting?”
“How familiar are you with local access, parking and guest accommodation in this region?”
“What nearby lodging would you recommend for guests or crew?”
Q: What size wedding works well in this region and how do we decide between an elopement, a micro-wedding or a larger celebration?
- Evaluate guest travel and logistics: fewer guests often simplify access and coordination
- Match your venue and vision: if you’re choosing a dramatic beach or forest clearing, you might opt for smaller scale to maximize the experience
- Consider budget: smaller guest counts allow more flexibility or more investment per guest
- Consider guest comfort: remote sites may lack large infrastructure (parking, restrooms, accommodations) so larger guest counts require extra planning
- Build in extra time for vendor arrival, set-up and guest travel, especially for remote venues
- Create a weather contingency plan (indoor or covered area, alternate ceremony spot)
- Recommend guests and vendors pack accordingly (layers, shoes for varied terrain, rain gear)
- Provide guests with detailed logistics (how to get to the venue, parking/ferry info, accommodation suggestions, what to bring)
- Visit the venue in person if you can, or request a detailed walkthrough or photos if you’re planning remotely
Common pitfalls:
- Under-estimating travel or terrain challenges (ferrying guests/vendors, rough roads, uneven ground)
- Assuming summer equals perfect weather or full light—forest sites and coastal zones can lose light early or have cloudy conditions
- Not coordinating guest accommodation or nearby transport, guests may struggle if left to figure it out
- Overlooking vendor travel/planning fees or incidental costs (remote setup might require additional rental gear)
- Not fully communicating guest instructions (what to bring, terrain, arrival times, route) which can cause stress on the day