Planners’ Supper Club: Keating Farm

A couple of weeks ago, we had the opportunity to work with some wonderful Cowichan Valley based wedding vendors to showcase one of Vancouver Island’s newest wedding and event venues, Keating Farm. This event was the second Planners’ Supper Club we have organized and, like the first one in April of 2019, we had the same goal of showcasing a venue and team of vendors to some of the island’s wedding planning teams.

This year has been tough on so many industries, including the wedding industry, and we know first hand what a ride it’s been for our fellow wedding planners so it was lovely to enjoy an evening where we could be together (at a distance, of course!) and have a little bit of fun!

The planning for this event began in March when our lead planner, Carley, went for her first site visit at Keating Farm. She immediately fell in love with the beautiful property and started working with Keating Farm owner, Rebecca, to plan this lovely evening to showcase the farm as well as some wonderful local vendors. Check out the fun below, which has been beautifully captured by our talented friend, Sabrina of Sabrina Patrice Photography.

The Venue

Keating farm is a new venue in Duncan and it is the perfect spot for your dreamy farm wedding! This 27 acre property has so many wonderful spaces for both your ceremony and reception.

The historical farmhouse, that was originally built in the 1800’s, has been artfully and carefully updated while still maintaining it’s vintage charm. With a large fireplace and beautiful sconces, the Great Hall it is an elegant option for long table dinners. Owners, Rebecca and George, have completely transformed this property over the last five years and recently were recognized for their incredible work and passion with an award for heritage conversation by Heritage BC.

If you are looking for more of a rustic look there is an orchard, a barn, and a giant field (imagine with a big beautiful tent!). You might have some wedding crashers though as Marmalade the cat likes to check out the party. There’s also sheep who love visitors, chickens, and turkeys!

We enjoyed a full tour of the property at the beginning of the night and heard about all the history and the work that went into restoring the house. Rebecca and George have put so much into making Keating Farm an incredible venue that we can’t wait to have the opportunity to work at!

The Set-Up

When originally planning this event, we were picturing a long table dinner in the grand hall! Well, that idea changed very quickly and we pivoted (our favourite COVID word) our plans in order to keep everything safe for everyone.

We decided on an elegant, yet bohemian, picnic set up in the orchard. We wanted it to feel colourful, summery, and comfortable for everyone. Each team was surrounded by poufs, pillows, rugs, all provided by Party Mood. Bud vases from Night Song Farm, which is located just around the corner from Keating Farm, were filled with gorgeous little floral arrangements to make each picnic area feel truly special.

The Food

As guests arrived they were welcomed with a glass of Valley Cider. After exploring the expansive property, everyone worked up an appetite so Farm’s Gate Food & Catering was there to treat us with beautifully crafted individual picnic boxes.

As everyone settled into their picnic bubbles, Michael and Daniel Shipley from Farm’s Gate Food & Catering talked to us about their passion for creating good food using local ingredients. For the picnic boxes, they used many ingredients provided by Keating Farm.

The night ended with gelato from Gondola Gelato Truck. Albi is the owner of the vintage Ford that he has transformed into a gelato truck! He makes all of his gelato by hand and takes his truck all over lower Vancouver Island, he can even stop by your event!

The event industry has been through so much this year and this night really felt like a time to reconnect with our wedding planning community, support local vendors, and dream about future events together. A huge thank you to the incredible vendors who treated us to such a lovely evening!