Camp Fircom

Getting married at Camp Fircom begins with leaving the mainland behind.

On Gambier Island in Howe Sound, the camp sits surrounded by forest, ocean and mountains, close enough to Vancouver to reach without an enormous journey but far enough away that arriving feels like the beginning of an adventure.

This is not simply somewhere to hold a ceremony.

It is somewhere to bring everyone for the weekend.

Fircom has between 160 and 170 beds across accommodation ranging from rustic camp-style options to more comfortable rooms, allowing an entire wedding community to form on the island before anyone walks down an aisle.

And there are several very different places where that aisle can lead.

For larger weddings, the Main Field opens toward Howe Sound and the North Shore mountains, giving celebrations of around 120 to 160 people a spectacular natural backdrop.

For something smaller, a path winds through the forest toward the Outdoor Chapel.

Two enormous old-growth cedars mark the entrance to the clearing, where up to 80 people can gather beneath the trees.

Smaller still, The Benches sit above Howe Sound on a terraced bluff, creating an intimate ceremony setting for around 50 people or fewer.

And if rain arrives, the Pavilion offers a beautiful covered ceremony space with cedar interiors and views on every side.

Then everyone comes back together.

The Dining Hall seats up to 160 beneath wooden beams, skylights and wraparound windows looking toward forest and ocean. Dinner is prepared by Fircom's own kitchen, while the adjoining Breezeway becomes a wonderfully relaxed place for cocktails, music and dancing beside its large outdoor fireplace.

But some of the best parts may happen before any of that.

Guests can canoe.

Kayak.

Walk through old-growth forest.

Spend time beside Halkett Bay.

People who may have only met briefly before the wedding suddenly have an entire island weekend to become friends.

Then the ceremony happens and all those separate little adventures become one shared memory.

The island grows darker.

The fireplace glows.

Music carries through the Breezeway and eventually everyone heads back to their beds knowing they will wake up together tomorrow.

For couples who want their wedding to feel like an experience their guests actually lived rather than an event they simply attended, Camp Fircom gives them an island, a forest and an entire weekend to make it happen.