Planning a destination wedding? Concerned about long distance obstacles creating enough stress to transform the blushing bride into Bridezilla-and the handsome groom into Mr. Hyde? Fret not. Make it easy on yourself, and consider BC's Okanagan area for a nuptial retreat.

YOU AND YOUR WEDDING GUESTS WILL ENJOY the unique and varied options the Okanagan offers. There's a little something there for everyone on your guest list. You'll likely want to spend your honeymoon in the area after your friends and family take their leave, but not before they too take in the lush valley, the forests, mountains, lakes, and fabulous weather during the summer months.

Couples from all over North America are discovering the Okanagan to combine a unique wedding with a fun, inexpensive resort vacation for themselves and their guests. The recreational opportunities alone are vast; clean lakes with the best in water sports, excellent golf courses, award winning wineries, casinos, fruit orchards, and all that blissful sunshine. 2000 hours of sunshine annually to be exact, with the Okanagan boasting an average temperature of 27 degrees Celsius in the summer, and hovering around freezing in the winter. Not too shabby.

Getting there is easy. Kelowna has the only international airport in the southern BC interior. Kelowna International has just undergone a major upgrade and expansion. Most flights into Kelowna offer direct service from many major cities.

Driving is relatively painless as well, with four hours on the road from Vancouver, about six hours from Calgary, and five hours from Seattle. Many of your guests will likely appreciate this way of meeting in the middle as being affordable and fun, meaning that most of your guests will RSVP that they'd just loooove to attend, rather than, "Sorry, Hawaii's a little too rich for my blood."

Now the planning. Just how difficult is it to put together your wedding from a location like, say, Vancouver, and just how do you find the services and resources you need? How do you manage all of the details from a distance?

Kelowna is all set and ready to go when it comes to out-of-town wedding preparation. Ceremony and reception facilities, wedding planners, photographers, florists, caterers, and accommodation for your guests...everything you need is available and importantly, reliable. Living on the edge is not where you want to be when planning your wedding.

Photography
The Okanagan is home to some of the best wedding photographers in the province. Glenn Durrell, a local photojournalist who also shoots weddings, was recently featured in Canadian Geographic Magazine. As well, he was honoured with Fuji Film Canada's Grand Prize award as best wedding photographer in Canada for 2003. "Kelowna is really becoming a destination for weddings," Durrell said, and mentioned he's photographed couples from Europe, Asia, New Zealand and the United States. "I think the Okanagan's growing popularity has a lot to do with the amazing weather and the amazing landscapes-from vineyards to fields to lakes." Toll free 1 888-599-7599 or 250 764-4884 http://www.glendurrell.com/

Michael and Suzanne Hintringer are a team of photographers that offer couples a "Love Portrait Session." This service, complimentary with any of their wedding photography packages, is a half-hour photo session prior to the wedding that captures you both in your most relaxed mood. "Half of our weddings from last year were with out-of-town couples from Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver, Utah, and Seattle. We help our clients with their planning as well, and offer a complimentary "wedding coordinating" service to help them find florists, cake makers, hair stylists and makeup artists, even accommodations," says Suzanne. Toll Free: 1 877-868-8527 or 250 868-8527 http://www.michaelhintringer.com/

Photography locations
The Lavender Herb Farm has eight acres of the pretty purple bloom, and many photographers have shot weddings there as the fields overlook vineyards, orchards and Okanagan Lake. Try infusing Champagne with lavender stems, or try some of their 20 lavender products available in the shop.
250 764-7795 or http://www.okanaganlavender.com/

Wedding location facilities
Most of Kelowna's estate wineries are open to and available for weddings, although they do vary on whether or not you can hold your reception there as well. Some of the prettiest and most wedding-friendly are Gray Monk, Cedar Creek, Hainle, and Summerhill estate wineries. Cedar Creek Estate Winery held about ten wedding ceremonies there last year, some with wine tasting receptions, but not for a sit down dinner.

The Teahouse Restaurant and Hainle Vineyards combine to offer weddings in the centre of one of the oldest apple orchards in the valley. Lovely view of the valley from its outside deck.

Summerhill Estate Winery's Stephen Cipes claims that the desert region of the Okanagan valley is ideal for grapes used for his sparkling wine. Cipes Brut has outsold all French Champagnes in B.C. since 1996. The restaurant attached to the wine shop is ideal for wedding receptions.

Golf Clubs
Kelowna's Predator's Ridge, Gallagher's Canyon, or the Bear at the Okanagan Golf Club may suit your fancy as an ideal wedding location. Check out http://www.golfbc.com/ for more info on wedding packages.

Wedding Planners
Delia Miskuski, owner of L'Amoure Bridal Boutique in Kelowna, has produced the largest bridal fair in the Okanagan valley for a few years now. The next show is set for January 25, 2005, at the Grand Hotel in Kelowna. Since last year's show exhibited 80 wedding related services, you might want to attend this year prior to planning your 2005 wedding. http://www.lamorebridal.com/, 250 717-5673

Silver Pumpkin Consulting and Design is co-owned by Jan Pfuetzner and partner Michelle Hussey. "The valley is a masterpiece of natural design," say the wedding planning duo. "We offer a total event package, and a stylized, personal approach to clients. For long distance wedding planning, we recommend setting up a website to keep your guests informed." 250 212-2824 http://www.thesilverpumpkin.com/

Cakes
Dawna Elias, owner of Kelowna's Cake Art explains why she thinks her business is booming. " I found there was a demand for higher end, modern style wedding cakes which is what I specialize in. People come from all over to get married here, so I feel they should be able to have really great cakes and not have to settle for something mediocre." How about a three and a half foot tall castle cake? Elias has done it. 250 869-5099 http://www.cakeart.ca/



Florists
Creations by Mom and Me is owned by Patty Custaloe and her mother, Edithe Ross. 14 yrs in the business has them presently heading a staff of 14, and last year they designed the flowers for over 200 weddings in Kelowna, 30 percent of which were for out-of-town couples. "The wineries and hotels have been very supportive with referrals to us as have the wedding planners who deal with out-of-towners," says Custaloe. "However, we are very one-on-one with our brides, and our toll free number makes it easy to discuss ideas, then we can email photos and send an estimate."
Toll free 1 800-665-7715.http://MomandMeFlowers.com/



Special Effects
A dove release is something many couples think is lovely after their wedding ceremony, but I often wondered what happens to those little white birds that mate for life, after they have been set free. Janice Sich, owner Lovey Dovey assured me, "the birds fly back home to their loft and to some delicious dove delicacies. It would be cruel and expensive if they didn't! Our birds are well fed, conditioned athletes, and flying long distances poses no problem for them."
1 866-862-5059 or 250 862-5059 http://www.loveydovey.net/

Invitations
Designer Amanda Hehr, a Calgary import with a background in interior and graphic design, owns Armada Page Invitations. "I think that my interest in creating custom wedding invitations came after I was about to be married and found very few options out there that were unique and memorable. I found mostly large outdated books from the States that took four to six weeks to order." 250 868-0307