The Ultimate Surprise Picnic for Conrad's Birthday!
We are all about experiences these days and if 2020 has taught us anything, it’s to enjoy the small things and be grateful for each other. I wanted to do something fun and intimate for Conrad’s 34th Birthday that included Zoe (our dog) and not our 16 month old son Quinn haha. We needed some adult time! ;)
I called Alana, owner of The Vancouver Island Picnic Company, to see what her picnics were all about! I had this vision of a nature based picnic in a secluded spot with just Conrad, Zoe and me. Alana knew just the spot! Being in October, I was nervous to book an outdoor event but she has everything to make sure we were comfortable rain or shine!
We picked a date, time and dove into details! I could customize anything to make sure it was as eco-conscious as possible as that is their focus too. The food was my main concern as I didn’t want take out containers that couldn’t be recycled. Alana went the extra mile and reached out to the restaurants to make sure their boxes and containers were certified recyclable and she even brought her own container into the cupcake shop so we didn’t have plastic containers! Alana has the whole set up from dinnerware to blankets, reuse reuse reuse! What an awesome business model!
The Vancouver Island Picnic Company focuses on local companies only. We enjoyed a beautiful cheese plate from The Farmer’s Daughter, Pasta from Porto Osteria, local wine from Deep Cove Winery, fair trade certified chocolate from Rogers Chocolate and cupcakes from Ooh La La Cupcakes. We brought our own containers to take all the left over food home so it wouldn’t go to waste. The Falcon dinnerware and some of the cozy throws & blankets were from Salt Shop on Fort St.
We got in the car and starting driving to the destination, Conrad didn’t know what we we’re doing until 15 minutes away. I told him it was a picnic that someone sets up for us, and, “oh by the way there’s a 15 minute photo shoot!” ;)
We parked on a dead end street and walked down to this small Beach in North Saanich with views of Mill Bay & Salt Spring Island. We both had never been to this beach so it was extra special and exciting. As we walked around the corner we saw the most beautiful set up on the beach under this tree with candles, blankets & pillows. It was even more magical in real life compared to her beautiful Instagram account!
You can add a 15 minute photoshoot right at the beginning of your picnics with Cassidy from Nunn Other Photography. She captured the magical setting so we could remember this special celebration for ever! Cassidy was such a wonderful and easy going photographer. We popped a little champagne and then we had the beach to ourselves.
Ahh… 2 hours just to be present with each other and take in the view. We cozied up into the blankets and just talked, sipped local wine, laughed and listened to nature. We watched a sea lion pass through that sounded like a whale, it was beautiful. When you just sit in nature with no distraction and truly just listen, you hear so many sounds. It was so peaceful and reminded us to do this more often!
The two hours were up and it was time to leave. Alana texted me to say she was there to pack up. You literally show up and leave when the time is up and you don’t even see her. She’s the picnic fairy!
It was truly a wonderful experience we still talk about. We highly recommend for anyone thinking about doing it or giving as a gift. It’s a perfect low impact celebration for any occasion and you sure feel pampered. Thank you Alana!
Cheers to the next celebration!
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