Wedding season has kicked off in the South Okanagan and trends are pointing towards couples choosing to opt for smaller guest lists in favour of making it a weekend event full of personal touches.
With inflation hitting the pocketbooks of brides and grooms-to-be, vendors and venues in the valley have said decisions on where to splurge have been top of mind.
The 2023 wedding season had those in the industry fully booked and over-booked after a post-pandemic shift in demand had venues, photographers, planners and officiants working overtime to fulfill their clients' plans.
This year, venues are booked up and optimistic about a boost in tourism thanks to many of their wedding day bookings planning out multi-day activities.
Fewer guests, more time
The Penticton Lakeside Resort and Conference Centre has several weddings on the books for 2024, and along with nearby Summerland venue Oak Estate Winery, has noticed that couples are choosing to extend their celebrations.
"They're making it more of a weekend or a week trip, which is really nice. We're seeing some post-wedding brunches, and we're starting to get a couple more rehearsal dinners and a couple of events and activities the day before the wedding and then the day after," said Lakeside Resort wedding and special events coordinator Sarah Welke.
"We're getting a little bit more involved than just the seven hours for the wedding."
Oak Estate Winery, which has a focus specifically on wedding and speciality events, was setting up for their first wedding of the season on Thursday, and has 40 more on the books for this summer.
"We're known as the destination wedding centre. So being able to have everybody come in and fly in and have a place to stay and really just kick back and relax and make a vacation out of it," said owner Alysha West.
This means weddings are not just on the typical Saturday or Sunday either. The venues report that couples are choosing to celebrate on Thursdays and Fridays or even on Monday.
Sondra Richardson, who is a certified celebrant and marriage officiant, said she noticed couples plan for wine tours, cycling tours or a golf trip as a part of their weekend.
"Something that's really fun, that way that they can explore all that area and not just have a one-stop one day adventure," she said.
More budget for meaning
Richardson said her couples are choosing more involved experiences, incorporating meaningful elements and personalized touches.
"My couples, they're definitely more leaning towards an experience in ceremony. So therefore, that's where they put that onus, maybe fewer flowers, but it's being very strategic on what is most important to them. And then going backwards from there, which I think is great," she said.
West said Oak Estate has seen smaller number of attendees at their weddings but more glamorous setups.
"Inflation has actually impacted the amount of people. The more people that you have, the more expensive that it gets when you're talking about seating and menu items and things like that. So smaller numbers, it looks like the average wedding is about 65 to 80 people," she said.
"Some of the weddings that are happening here this summer, the designs just blow me away. A lot of vision boards and photo booths and things like that, lots of floral design to really sort of uplift and make it beautiful."
Richardson said that she is booked solid for 2024, and in that she's seen a lot of elopements still, but the average guest count sits in mid range between 40 to 50 people.
"Couples can go around and visit with everybody and have a full experience of the day or even a weekend experience with them, and show them all the wonderful things about the Okanagan and make it more of a destination type of experience," she added.
The Lakeside Resort has a bit of a mix of everything, Welke said, with the smallest wedding sitting between 10 to 20 people all the way up to 300.
"We're starting to see a few more smaller weddings, but we're still getting the big size weddings."
Shoulder season bookings
Venues are starting to see couples seek dates outside the traditional summer months.
"We had our first one in March and then we are consistently busy throughout until the end of September, beginning of October," Welke said.
"We're also starting to see inquiries and bookings and weddings happening in the shoulder seasons. So May, June, September, October. Summer naturally fills out, which is nice and then people are starting to also tag on extra days."
Richardson noted that mid-week dates are definitely more popular for elopements and smaller intimate gatherings, but the shoulder season has expanded. She has dates booked in April, October, and a couple into November.
"People are just, I think, branching out a little bit more and being a little bit more true to themselves, as far as experiencing the colours of a season or maybe some people are snowboarders, so they want to go and get married at the top of a hill, really being true to themselves," she added.
Welke said with inquires for 2025, many are looking at the shoulder seasons, especially with access to the beach, the park or a ballroom for options.
Swapping traditions for personal flair
West said Oak Estate hasn't seen a garter toss at a wedding in three years.
"A lot of people have taken away those old traditions, and now are sort of moved into more relating to the bride and groom and creating a story and a more intimate setting with them," she said.
"The big elaborate cakes have now kind of gone away and it's more like cupcakes and donuts and desserts. And just a small cake for cutting if they're on the more traditional side."
Richardson is seeing couples choosing to enter and exit in a different way.
"So instead of that traditional walk down the aisle paired or what have you, or with parents, women are [saying], 'I'm an individual, I'm gonna walk myself down the aisle, and kiss my parents before I go and sit down with my partner,' that kind of thing," she said.
Colours are also being incorporated in new ways this year, in Richardson's experience.
"People are coming into oranges and fuchsia and really beautiful bright yellows and making it more of a celebratory vibe," Richardson said.
"That said that can be in flowers and decor. [For] wedding parties I'm seeing a lot of black and white. White bridesmaids and groomsmen in all black, that kind of thing, a really neutral palette and then breaking out in colour [elsewhere], which is great."
Coming from afar
"We've got a few couples that are local, such as Kelowna or Penticton or Osoyoos but the majority of our couples come from all over," West said, of the Oak Estate bookings.
"We have New York, Scottsdale, Switzerland, Germany, Ukraine, and then a lot from Alberta."
Welke said the Lakeside is seeing many coming from Alberta as well as the Lower Mainland.
"The inquiries commonly are not from locals, which I would love to see more locals here. I think it's a great spot and we do have so much to offer with being so close to the downtown core, and then like breweries, wineries, all of the different things, which again, makes it more of a destination for folks, which is appealing to kind of help the community of Penticton overall."
