January 11, 2008

Victoria, BC – The Butchart Gardens today unveiled its first wedding season by inviting media and tourism industry leaders to be the guests at a make-believe wedding ceremony on January 29th. The wedding will be held in the Spring Prelude indoor garden with a reception following in The Dining Room Restaurant.

The annual wedding season coincides with The Gardens’ Spring Prelude season of January 15th through to March 31st. The company is making its special indoor garden of spring flowers, blossoming shrubs and trees, water features and pathways available for wedding photographs and ceremonies.

In making the announcement today Robin Clarke, owner of The Butchart Gardens said “We have been asked by many people over the years to hold weddings in our garden, and we feel that at this time of year one could not find a more beautiful indoor venue offering such an intimate location of great beauty. Areas of our outdoor gardens will also be available for wedding photographs during this time.” 

The Gardens offers wedding packages for ceremonies of up to sixty people. Options include wedding photographs alone, a ceremony and reception, or a reception or dinner in The Dining Room Restaurant. All packages include indoor and outdoor photo rights. For those choosing to have a ceremony, a two-hour rehearsal time is also included.
 
Visitors are astonished each year by the indoor garden. Days after the Christmas decorations are removed staff takes only seven days to convert the Blue Poppy Restaurant into a dazzling spring-like display. Beds of daffodils and tulips, with flowering cherries, witch hazel, viburnum and water features fill the stone-flagged Blue Poppy conservatory with all the joys of spring.

The Butchart Gardens was created in 1904 by Jennie Butchart out of her husband’s worked-out limestone quarry site, welcoming close to one million visitors from around the world each year, and it has been designated a National Historic Site. The 22 hectare (55 acre) year round gardens are located 20 km (13 miles) north of the city of Victoria, British Columbia, on the Saanich Peninsula. Visitors can reach southern Vancouver Island by ferry from Tsawwassen on the British Columbia mainland or from the United States ferry terminals in Anacortes and Port Angeles, Washington; by hydrofoil from Seattle; or by plane to Victoria International Airport or Victoria harbour.

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Media Contact:
Graham Bell
Public Relations
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