Shifting gears

feature: Shifting gears

COUPLES FIND FREEDOM IN ELOPEMENT DURING THE PANDEMIC

by: KEILI BARTLETT

As the pandemic sent many betrothed couples scrambling to adjust their plans, it was “serendipity” for the Whistler Elopement Company, their in-house photographer Pascale Gadbois said.

In 2019, also known as the last year before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rachel Lythe carved out the new venture from her existing business, Sea to Sky Celebrations Company. She was already offering the service, and decided to make it official. The timing couldn’t have been better.

“It really saved us in a lot of ways,” Lythe said, as their clients rebooked their big weddings as smaller affairs. “It’s one of those industries that you have to be on top of. You have to notice trends change over time, you always have to adapt.”

Just the two of us

While some couples waited for gathering restrictions to lift, many decided to embrace the opportunity to pare plans down to just the “I dos.” Gadbois said elopements have been on the rise in the past seven or so years, and the pandemic only pushed the option further to the forefront.

“It really is the biggest shift in the last two years. It’s not new, but it’s definitely kind of just taking on a life of its own now,” Gadbois said.

“This was not about hiding or getting married in secret or a quick, last-minute thing. I mean, we’ve got elopements that book a year in advance,” Gadbois said, adding that the company is booking about two per week these days. 2022 is predicted to be a record-breaking year for the wedding industry in British Columbia, according to Hellosafe.ca, a website that compares Canadian insurance companies. In its overview of how the pandemic has affected nuptials in the province, the site says many pandemicpostponed ceremonies are likely to finally take place this year, bringing the number of marriages up to an estimated 31,645.

Revenues could reach an unprecedented $900 million. These numbers are in stark contrast to the provincial industry’s financial loss in recent years, calculated to be more than $158 million.

These days Logan Swayze is not just a Whistler-based wedding photographer, but often a ceremony witness. Since 2018, elopements have accounted for more than half of his business, and are steadily increasing. When most of his shoots in between February and June of 2020 were cancelled, 63 per cent of his clients chose to elope. In 2021, that number climbed to 71 per cent.

The days are a lot slower, and the couples more relaxed, Swayze said. There’s more time for exploration rather than sticking to a rigid schedule.

“On a big wedding day, they get those few minutes alone to take photos. But then the rest of the day is dealing with parents and relatives and wedding parties and everything else. So they don’t have as much time together,” he said. “They have more time with other people, which is great but with elopements, they get to spend a lot more time just with the two of them, planning the day as they would like to see it as a couple.”

That’s not to say all traditions have been thrown out the door. The “first look” has become a much more intimate moment without guests craning to see the walk down the aisle. (Videographers and photographers can also capture that moment to be shared in real-time or later with virtual guests.)

There’s still a time and place for big weddings, Gadbois said, especially for cultural traditions. “But I think because of COVID, it kind of forced people to reassess their whole values and beliefs.”

The sky is not the limit

Whistler has long been a source of accessible adventure, and the answer for many engaged couples looking for a less traditional, but elevated, celebration.

Without the need for a venue to fit their guests, venues now fit the couple. From helicopter flights to remote glaciers, couples skiing down a mountain in their finest to a 4x4 rendezvous, people are getting married in more diverse locations than ever before, thanks to the ease (and comparably smaller price tag). Whistler has something adventurous for everyone, Gadbois said, which you can still follow up with the luxury of a high-end accommodations and hot tub. Some couples opt to roll their celebrations and honeymoon into one.

Leila and Jared DeLong initially planned a New Brunswick wedding to celebrate with their East Coast families, but after planning and replanning around pandemic measures, they shifted gears to something “as grand as how we felt for each other,” Leila said. Whistler was a natural fit, with breathtaking views and experienced vendors. With the help of the Whistler Elopement Company, the couple took 4x4 Jeep Wranglers, courtesy of Canadian Wilderness Adventures, from Four Seasons to what felt like the “top of the world.”

“We’re able to just kind of live in the moment and enjoy our surroundings and our experience,” Jared said. “You focus on the purpose of the day, which is the marriage and the commitment to each other, and not have all these other competing interests and stresses that come with a big wedding.”

“I don’t know if I’m the first bride in history, but it was the most relaxing day, I swear,” Leila said. “There was not one ounce of stress.”

They spent most of the day together before departing in separate cars, and reuniting for that first look on a mountaintop as the clouds parted and the sun set.

photography:

Pascale Gadbois

My name is Pascale and I am the eye, the smile and the joie de vivre behind Gadbois Photography. I am a lover of life but more importantly a lover of love. I capture every kind of love because what I know to be true is that love is love. I believe that life flies by and my superpower is my ability to freeze a moment in time forever. I am a storyteller.

GADBOISPHOTOGRAPHY.CA

vendors:

Photographer Gadbois Photography

Wedding Planner The Whistler Elopement Company

Celebrant Whistler Wedding Celebrant, Linda McGaw

Hair and Makeup Janis Bekkering

Flowers Senka Floral

4x4 Adventure

Canadian Wilderness Adventure Their advice to other couples is to “take a leap of faith” and do what feels right for their relationship as they enter their next chapter of life together. The DeLongs also recommend hiring help to ensure the day goes off without (or, rather, with) a hitch.

An elopement once may have conjured thoughts of Las Vegas, getaway cars and hasty courthouse weddings, but now is more likely to be a well-captured and curated celebration of love. And it’s establishing a trend that Lythe said she expects to see stick around.

“It doesn’t have any of those connotations anymore,” Lythe said.

At the end of the day, Gadbois said, it’s about two people in love.