By Emma Mccormick & Marley Poniedzielnik
Emma and Marley are full-time wedding planners from Victoria BC. Together with a team of professionals, they run The Good Party — an award-winning creative planning, styling and production company that was recently named one of Canada’s Top Wedding Planners by Weddingbells Magazine.
It’s no secret that we love Vancouver Island and that planning weddings here on the island are our favourite thing. Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of being involved in weddings right up and down this gorgeous piece of west coast heaven and while we are always talking about the collective “West Coast” the central east coast of our beautiful island is a real show stopper. Last year our team worked on a beautiful wedding in Qualicum Beach, and since then we’ve been on the hunt for more couples who want to share this piece of West Coast paradise with their friends and family as they tie the knot.
In the middle of January, we had the opportunity to visit our friends at The Beach Club Resort in Parksville. Parksville is located on the east coast of Vancouver Island about two hours north of Victoria and thirty minutes north of Nanaimo. Despite the cold weather and snow in the forecast, our team of lead planners and a few other members of our creative team spent 36 hours in Parksville together and we’ve been dreaming of planning the ultimate beach wedding ever since! Keep reading to learn all about The Beach Club Resort and get the scoop on why we love this resort (and The Beach Club team!) so much.
Parksville, British Columbia is known for its long sandy beaches where the tide goes so far out you can walk for a kilometre before touching water. It’s an adorable seaside town full of bustling local boutiques, fun activities for all seasons, and is also a stunning location to host a wedding! We are always on the hunt for central, easily accessible spots to suggest to our destination clients. Parksville’s easy drive from the nearby ferry terminals and quick connections to Vancouver make it a great option for clients coming from off the island, or even out of province, who are looking for a spot to get away with friends and family for an intimate weekend celebration.
Having not yet had the opportunity to plan a wedding at The Beach Club, we were eager to get the scoop from the team about what makes this property unique! They did not disappoint and instead of just telling us about everything the Beach Club has to offer, we had the opportunity to experience the property first-hand.
Upon arrival, we were greeted by their awesome team, led by General Manager, Lisa McCormick, and were toured around the property. The hotel is located right on Parksville Beach and sits above the Parksville oceanfront boardwalk, literally steps away from the endless beach and calm waters this area is known for.
There’s a heated indoor pool at beach level with floor to ceiling windows, an oceanfront restaurant with one of the most popular sun-drenched patios in the area, and a spa full of all the necessary offerings for wedding clients to be truly pampered!
The stunning guest rooms, ranging from studios to Penthouse suites with full kitchens, were full of beautiful finishings and it didn’t take us long to make ourselves at home! There’s a kitchen, laundry, and fireplace – basically everything you need to move in forever!
After Lisa and Stacey, who joined us from the Bellstar team in Calgary, gave us the rundown of the property, we had a chance to do a little exploring and checked a couple of items off our local things to-d0 bucket list suggested by the resort’s front desk team. It involved cheese, beer, and beer cheese (seriously!). We are currently working on another post featuring a few more details about great things to do in Qualicum and Parksville area because there’s just so many fun spots to check out, such as Mount Arrowsmith Brewing Company and Little Qualicum Cheeseworks!
In the evening, we had the chance to enjoy signature cocktails (think fruity martinis and whiskey sours featuring Vancouver Island products) in the resort’s own Pacific Prime Restaurant. The Pacific Prime team, lead by manager, BJ, set us up with an incredible meal inspired by the Chef’s seasonal catering menu and everyone agreed that the attention to detail and delicious meal was a highlight of the trip. We loved how much thought went into the menu and our vegan and vegetarian team members were well taken care of with their own customized version of the main menu. This is always a good sign for weddings when there are many different palettes to take into consideration and usually a spreadsheet full of dietary restrictions and allergies to fulfill.
On Monday, after a beautiful breakfast, complete with a Caesar Bar (note for future cocktail hours here!), we geared up for a busy day and got right down to the nitty-gritty of the resort’s offerings and how everything works for wedding clients.
For clients looking for an effortless and efficient planning experience, the resort’s in-house wedding and event manager, Linda Burley, has a handle on all the details. Even with a dusting of January snow on the ground, it was impossible not to see the potential of the ceremony spot on the lawn with Linda’s descriptions and enthusiasm. It’s hard to name many other spots on the island where couples can say their vows right above a beach like this.
It didn’t take us long to spot the potential of the Pacific Prime Restaurant’s massive stone patio and we were thrilled to learn this spot is also available for wedding groups who can meet the seasonal buy-out pricing. Anouk, Dakota, and Kara pulled out our tape measure to confirm what options we could offer clients interested in tenting. There’s lots of room for a variety of tents here, but personally, I am already dreaming of a beachfront dinner under a clear top tent. Our friends at Black & White Party Rentals are a short drive away, add in some of their harvest tables and cross back chairs, and a tented reception in this spot would be jaw-dropping.
Linda also walked us through the resort’s ballroom, complete with a spacious private patio with ocean views. This is a popular spot for cocktail hour! The resort has a well-rounded assortment of inclusions with their wedding package and when there’s something not available on-site, Linda works closely with local vendors to bring in items like chairs, lighting, draping, and linens to transform the space.
Sara, Carley, and Kody had a similar idea and their look board for the effortlessly cool west coast beach wedding we are all already planning in our heads can be found here!
Our trip finished with the ultimate winter west coast experience – water sports in the snow! We are pretty sure the staff and resort guests thought we were crazy, and that we wouldn’t actually go through with it, but they don’t know the gals of the Good Party! We wet-suited up (gotta stay warm!) and headed out on the resort’s complimentary paddleboards and kayaks.
It was so magical. The water was calm, the snow was gently falling, and everything was quiet. It was so peaceful. The only company we had were a dozen seals checking us out! We all said that if it was this enjoyable in 2-degree weather, it would be absolutely perfect in the summer months! Really whose guests wouldn’t want to hit the beach for an adventure like that the morning of the wedding!
We were so lucky to get to know the staff team and property of The Beach Club Resort. Everyone was so kind, the views were stunning, and there are activities for everyone (in or out of the water!) no matter what the season. Any couple would be lucky to get married at The Beach Club – it’s a little piece of paradise on Vancouver Island!
