Gigantic, multi-tiered wedding cakes, ostentatious floral displays, obscenely expensive wedding dresses and choreographed first dances had, in recent years, become the hallmark of wedding ceremonies and it seemed, for a time, that the trend would continue to expand into even greater hedonistic excess.

But those elaborate weddings have come with a hefty price tag. According to the Global Wedding Report, the average cost of one of those celebrations in Canada in 2023 was $30,000 to $50,000.

But recently, things appear to be changing. For one thing, following the COVID epidemic, and in the age of elevated inflation, the number of weddings happening in Canada and the United States have seen a significant decline.

And even for those who are getting married, it seems as though there鈥檚 has been a general decline in the importance of big weddings.

Enter Vancouver Island's J鈥檒ene Bradley.

Bradley, who spent much of her life working as a registered nurse, has recently completed her training to become a Certified Life Cycle Celebrant.

With that qualification in hand, and finding herself qualified to conduct weddings, Bradley decided it was a chance to give something back.

鈥淢y kids just got married and it was crazy expensive,鈥� said Bradley. 鈥淚 decided that I鈥檇 provide an option and came up with the idea of holding pop-up weddings here on the beach in Sidney. I put up some posters and invited people to come down here today and get married at no cost.鈥�

So it happened that, in the early afternoon on June 15, several couples, with  their marriage licenses in hand-arrived at Tulista Park in the Victoria suburb of Sidney where Bradley had set up a small location on the shore to conduct her simple wedding ceremony.

Linda Pellow and Blaine Rust were one of the many couples who took advantage of the opportunity.

鈥淭his is perfect. There鈥檚 no fuss and no muss,鈥� said Pellow. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been together for 35 years and, although we never thought that it mattered whether we formalized the marriage, it seems that for things like survivorship rights, in B.C. it seems that it does matter.鈥�

The couple laughed when asked their age, acknowledging that they had been together for decades.

鈥淲e were living in Ontario and had some mutual friends,鈥� said Pellow. 鈥淥ne day the phone in my studio rang and I answered and asked who it was calling. I鈥檒l never forget what Blaine answered. He said, 鈥榯his is a voice out of your future鈥�.鈥�

Pellow was smitten.

鈥淲e went on a first date and鈥� well, here we are, 35 years later.鈥�

In total, seven couples took advantage of the opportunity to get married on the beach, and they represented a wide variety of ages and circumstances.

鈥淭hey ranged in age from their 20鈥檚 to their 70鈥檚,鈥� said Bradley. 鈥淥ne couple came with their two children, another with both sets of parents and some came on their own.鈥�

And while several couples arrived in casual attire, some opted for a more formal approach, complete with bouquets of flowers and, in one case, a tiara.

Bradley is unsure whether she鈥檒l be repeating the pop-up wedding concept.

鈥淚 really don鈥檛 know. I suppose it鈥檚 a possibility,鈥� she said.

Until then Bradley will continue to offer customized life celebrations for the people of Sidney, including end of life ceremonies, baby welcoming, weddings and more.

鈥滻 fear that we鈥檝e lost a lot of the celebrations in our society. We鈥檝e become social media people but we鈥檙e really no all that social. I hope to help change that,鈥� she said.

For more information on Bradley鈥檚 services, visit jlene.com.