Wedding Planners’ Retreat at Rockwater Secret Cove Resort

Recently, a few of my fellow wedding planner friends and I were invited to attend a retreat at the swanky Rockwater Secret Cove Resort on the Sunshine Coast. I’ve been wanting to visit Rockwater for years, so needless to say my RSVP was swift and enthusiastic! I took Sabrina along with me for a bit of pampering. The last time we set sail together on Howe Sound, I worked her fingers to the bone at a wedding on Gambier Island, so it was nice to be able to take her on this amazing “glamping” trip as a belated reward! 

An excited bunch of planners set sail from Horseshoe Bay and about an hour and a half later, we walked into the lobby at Rockwater and were greeted by Rhian Williams, the venue’s wonderful onsite Wedding Specialist. (Side note: When you meet someone for the first time and they are pouring you a glass of bubbly, you know it’s going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.) After a delicious welcome reception, Rhian took us on a tour of the resort and there were many ooohs and aaahs as we collectively imagined the beauty of a wedding in this stunning waterfront venue. The fine folks from Gibsons Party Rental had set up a tent for us on the Green, so our imaginations didn’t have to do too much work. We loved their chandeliers!

Here are some handy facts for folks considering a wedding at Rockwater:

• Rockwater can serve up to 140 guests, with scrumptious food highlighting the best of West Coast cuisine and tailored to your preferences.
• In cozy cabins, lodge rooms, and luxury tenthouse suites, 109 lucky guests can spend the night at Rockwater (there are many excellent B&Bs nearby if your guest list exceeds this limit).
• You’ll pay a setup fee of $3.99 per guest; aside from this, there are no rental fees for the use of Rockwater’s ceremony and reception spaces, and tables, chairs, basic linens, and dinnerware are all included in this price.
• For weddings with more than 60 guests, you’ll need to rent a reception tent for the oceanside Green, as the Lodge can only accommodate smaller groups.

After getting the scoop on the wedding packages at Rockwater, it was time to check in to our rooms and enjoy the very Zen atmosphere of the resort. Sabrina and I walked with great anticipation along the forest boardwalk to Tenthouse 60, located right down at beach level, with waves gently lapping below the deck that gave us an unobstructed 180-degree panoramic view of the Malaspina Strait… right from our bed!

Since we had a bit of free time before dinner, there was really no other choice but to fill the tub with bubbles, turn on the jets, pour some wine, don our bathing suits, and commiserate about what a rough work day we were having. After a few hours of sheer relaxation, we headed back to the Lodge for a delicious dinner and found a table adorably decked out in cheerful spring colours, with lovely floral arrangements made by Kathryn from Flower Lantern in Davis Bay. Velvety carrot soup followed by fresh, moist halibut, with creme brulee for dessert: why can’t I eat this way all the time!? While we enjoyed our dessert and chatted with new friends, Rhian got a little trivia competition going, based on all we had learned about Rockwater that day. My competitive self is happy to say that I took home a prize—as if the whole day hadn’t been reward enough!

As much as we were having a lovely time, Sabrina and I couldn’t resist turning in for the night rather early. Knowing that that cozy tenthouse—with its heated floors, fireplace, jet tub, and king-size bed with the softest linens—was waiting for us just a few steps away, we sneaked out, got in our PJ’s and had the calmest slumber party of all time.

In the morning, I was woken by the gentle sounds of the waves outside our tent. I got out of bed while Sabrina slept, made myself a cup of coffee, and headed out to the deck to breathe in the fresh ocean air. Packing our bags to check out that morning was so bittersweet! We wondered if they’d notice if we just didn’t leave at all… The blow was softened somewhat by the absolutely amazing Crabcake Eggs Benedict I enjoyed for brunch, and by the fact that the sun had decided to grace us all with its presence, and we knew it would be a lovely drive back down the coast to Vancouver.

There’s no question that we’ll be visiting Rockwater again, and we would LOVE to be able to plan some weddings there! If you’re interested in learning more about weddings at Rockwater, call Revel Events and we’ll be ecstatic to help you make your magnificent coastal nuptials happen!

Snapshots from Tenthouse 60!

Your Proposal Story

With one week left until Valentine’s Day, I’m willing to bet there are rings burning the holes in the pockets of more than a few smitten Vancouverites. So, you’ve got the ring, you’re planning to pop the question on February 14… but how?

Here are a few tips for the about-to-be-engaged:

Your proposal is part of your love story… and it’s up to you to make it a romantic one.

Once you announce your engagement, people will want to hear all about the proposal. “How did you propose?” is a question you’ll answer many times over the ensuing weeks and months, and the story of your proposal won’t lose its impact after you’re married. As a teenager, I asked my mom, “how did Dad propose to you?”  Theirs is an adorable tale of a young man so nervous—sweating in the dead of a Saskatchewan winter, making repeated trips to the washroom to try to steady his nerves—that his girlfriend suspected he might have food poisoning. They have been married 45 years and every once in a while someone still asks, “how did he propose?”

So, when planning your proposal, ask yourself what story you want to be telling for decades to come.

Romance isn’t expensive.

If you’re on a tight budget, it can be tempting to throw up your hands and tell yourself that you can’t afford a spectacular proposal. I’m here to tell you that this is so very not true!

By far the most romantic proposal story I heard last year was one of an ingenious suitor making the most of Vancouver’s natural charms. With the help of a few friends, he found a secluded stretch of beach, and scavenged the driftwood required for a 15-foot-high question:

He added a white tablecloth in the sand, with a candlelit dinner, et voila: proposal perfection!

The moral of the story is: creativity, resourcefulness, and a touch of whimsy can go just as far as deep pockets can.

If you’re stuck, call in an expert.

If you are at a loss as to how you can wow your beloved with a proposal story that will leave romantic folks swooning, don’t hesitate to enlist some help!

Your soon-to-be-fiancee’s best friends are likely to be privy to key details about the kind of proposal she (or he!) will love. At the same time, they are equally great sources of information about what not to do. Perhaps they’ve heard her say, for example, “I hope he doesn’t propose in public!” or, just the opposite, “It would be so amazing to be proposed to on television!” If her best friends can keep a secret, give yourself a leg up by finding out what kind of proposal she dreams of adding to your love story.

If her best friends CAN’T keep a secret, or if you want her to be the very first to know, Revel Events does proposal planning, and I never shy away from a tight deadline. Call me!