Salt Spring Island Elopements & Wedding Planning

Yes. Folklore Weddings began by focusing on elopements and micro weddings, and that intimate approach is still a big part of who we are. Over time, we’ve expanded to also offer planning and coordination for full-size weddings. Whether you’re gathering a handful of loved ones or celebrating with a few hundred guests, our team can support you with thoughtful, detail-driven planning. We tailor our approach to the scale of your day. For elopements and micro weddings, our curated packages come with the essentials already chosen: officiant, florals and photography. For larger weddings, we offer full-service planning and coordination, handling everything from vendor sourcing to timeline management so you can focus on enjoying the celebration.

In two steps. First you book your planner and photographer with Folklore: one agreement, and a retainer that holds your date. Then your planner brings you two or three options for each of your other vendors (officiant, florals, hair and makeup, cake or catering), with prices, checks each one is free on your date, and books the ones you choose. From then on your planner handles every conversation with those vendors, builds the timeline and runs the day. We book this way because, a year or more out, nobody can promise that a particular florist will be free on your date, and we would rather you choose between a few we trust than be handed one.

Your agreement with Folklore books your planner and your photographer, and it is the one you sign to book us. Each vendor you choose in step two confirms with you in its own agreement and is paid directly, so you see exactly what each part of the day costs. Your planner arranges every one of them and is your one point of contact for all of them, before the day and on it.

Our planning services are flexible, but typically include: • Venue research and recommendations • Vendor coordination (florists, caterers, musicians, rentals, etc.) • Timeline creation and management • Ceremony and reception design guidance • Day-of coordination to keep everything on track For smaller weddings, our packages often include officiants, flowers, cake, photography and even celebratory touches like picnics or champagne toasts. Your planner and photographer are booked with Folklore, and your planner books the other vendors with you in a second step. For larger weddings, we scale up to manage multiple vendors, complex timelines, and all the behind-the-scenes logistics. We also have strong local connections on Salt Spring Island, meaning we can recommend trusted venues and vendors who align with your style and budget.

Absolutely. We see our packages as starting points, not one-size-fits-all solutions. You can add services, remove elements, or adjust the scale to match your vision. For example, you might want to include videography with your elopement, swap a bouquet for a floral arch, or extend coordination hours for a full weekend wedding. In some cases, custom packages may involve an additional planning fee to cover the extra coordination time required. We’ll always be upfront about any additional costs, and we’ll make sure you know exactly what’s included before moving forward. The goal is still to create a planning experience that feels personal, not cookie-cutter.

We collaborate with a number of select venue partners, and you can explore their profiles right here on our website. Working with these venues allows us to offer a more streamlined experience, we know the spaces, the logistics, and the on-site teams, which makes planning smoother for everyone. That said, we’re also happy to work with other venues that you may already have in mind. Every space has its own personality, and we love the chance to adapt our planning to new environments. One thing to note: some venues provide or require their own in-house planners or coordinators. In those cases, it may make more sense to work with Folklore for our media offerings, photography, videography, and our Portrait Booth, while letting the venue’s team manage the planning side. Either way, we’ll clarify the structure early on so you know exactly how our services will fit into your chosen venue.

At this moment, our planning services are only available on Salt Spring Island. This is where our strongest relationships with venues and vendors are, and where we can offer couples the most seamless, stress-free experience. That said, we are actively looking to expand into other communities across Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, and beyond in the future. As we grow, our goal is to bring the same level of thoughtful planning and local expertise to other regions of British Columbia. For now, Salt Spring is where we focus all of our planning energy, while our media offerings, photography, videography, and Portrait Booth, are available more broadly.

For full-size weddings and micro weddings, it’s best to book 12–18 months in advance, since venues and top vendors often fill quickly. Having that extra lead time also gives us more space to design and refine the details of your day. Elopements are the exception, these can sometimes be planned with just a few weeks’ notice. That said, it’s always helpful to plan further in advance when possible, since more lead time means more flexibility with venues, vendors, and dates. Please note that elopements are only available on weekdays, as our weekends are reserved for full-size weddings and media bookings.

No. Our elopement packages are only offered on weekdays. Because our team & venue and vendors partners are often fully booked, we dedicate weekdays to elopements to ensure couples receive our full attention and support. The one exception is our Providence Sailing Elopement that is available any day of the week. This also means you’ll enjoy a more relaxed experience, vendors and venues tend to have greater availability on weekdays, and popular spots on Salt Spring Island are quieter, giving you a more private and intimate celebration.

Our planning team is deeply connected to the West Coast wedding community. We know the venues, the weather patterns, the ferries, the hidden coves, and the creative vendors that make this region special. This means we can anticipate challenges, design thoughtful logistics, and bring forward creative ideas that truly fit your setting. Beyond logistics, we bring an artistic sensibility to planning. Because we’re also photographers and videographers, we understand how timelines, lighting, and design details will translate into your photos and films. That perspective allows us to build weddings that not only run smoothly but also look and feel incredible. Most importantly, we believe planning should reduce stress, not add to it. Our role is to hold the details so you can focus on being present, whether you’re sharing vows with just the two of you on a cliffside, or dancing all night at a full-scale celebration.

There are two planners on our team, and the other one steps in. Your vendors, your timeline and every message are already in your Folklore portal, so nothing has to be explained twice and your vendors still have one person coordinating them. The same goes for your photographer: another member of our creative team takes their place.

The figures on our packages are estimated totals for the whole day, based on the base costs of our core vendor team, and each card shows how they divide. Step 1 is your planner and photographer, booked with Folklore on one agreement. Step 2 is your other vendors, whose prices are confirmed when your planner books them, so the final total may be more, or in some cases less, than the estimate. Custom packages may carry an additional planning fee. Our planners work with each couple to create a clear, personalized proposal that reflects their vision and priorities.

Not at all. While many couples choose to work with our in-house media team because we know our partner venues intimately and have a seamless working relationship between planning and media, we are always happy to collaborate with outside creatives. The benefit of keeping everything under the Folklore umbrella is efficiency and consistency, our planners and photographers are already aligned on timelines, lighting, and location logistics, but if you have another photographer or filmmaker in mind, we’ll gladly integrate them into your wedding plan.