I’m a relatively equal mix of city girl and lover of all things woodsy and rustic. In my ideal world, I’d have a fabulous Vancouver home and a Gulf Island cabin, and a lovely little boat to take me between the two whenever the mood struck. The reality is, I live in the most expensive city in North America, and wedding planning is a job that’s high in passion but low in profit. Instead of despairing of my inability to live the dream, I’ve taken to finding ways to approximate it. This requires a few simple substitutions, and the suspension of disbelief. Last week, it looked a little something like this:
My East Van rental apartment = my fabulous Vancouver home
BC Ferries’ Queen of Nanaimo = my lovely little boat
Bodega Ridge, cabin #7 = my Gulf Island cabin
Bodega Ridge is a peaceful retreat on the North end of Galiano Island. It has seven 3-bedroom cabins, each with a full kitchen and bathroom, wood-burning stove (plus electric heat for the city folk!), and nice big decks to relax on. You can rent a single cabin for a little island getaway like mine, or you can do a full buyout of Bodega Ridge and host an event in this amazing space.
The 22-acre property of Bodega Ridge is a brilliant place to gather friends and family for a wedding. I can’t imagine a lovelier spot to say “I Do” than on this ridge overlooking the islands of the Trincomali Channel:
Ceremony spot at Bodega Ridge
While many “rustic” wedding spots require a lot of work to become functional event spaces, Bodega Ridge has, on-site, all of the tables, event seating rental included, chairs, linens, and food service items you’d need to serve dinner for up to 120 guests under their own marquee tent. For more intimate groups or winter weddings, there is a lovely dining room in the lodge that can accommodate up to 70 dinner guests. Bodega Ridge chefs custom-design each menu, sourcing as many items as possible from a neighbouring organic farm.
Colours and textures of Galiano
Guests can be accommodated overnight in the cabins at Bodega Ridge, and in nearby Bed and Breakfasts. Instead of a single wedding day celebration, couples can spend the whole weekend with their family and friends, kayaking, hiking, golfing, cycling, fishing, horseback riding, or just sitting on the deck of their beautiful cabin with a cocktail in hand and their favourite people by their side.
Another reason to visit Bodega Ridge is its proprietor, Jesse Keefer, who is super friendly and incredibly knowledgeable about Galiano Island. He’s the perfect resource for information about what to do while you’re on the island, and while you’re at Bodega Ridge he’s working tirelessly to make sure that all of your needs are accommodated. We truly felt spoiled by Jesse’s hospitality!
Mystery sidekicks on the crushed shell beach of Montague Harbour
Who is this “we”, you ask? In a future post I’ll tell you all about my “working vacation” at Bodega Ridge. HINT: the photos will be much, much nicer than the Instagrams in this post!
[…] I hinted in my last post I Fell In Love With Bodega Ridge that my April visit to Galiano was not simply for pleasure, but included a little bit of (pleasing) […]