July 11, 2026 • BY Jessica McKeil

A Quiet Engagement

How We Made Our Rings on the Most Romantic Island in BC

“Did you see my message? It’s a ring making weekend workshop on Galiano.”

And with that, we went from talking about getting married “one day” to making it official. This was us getting engaged.

Clearly, my husband and I are decidedly low-key people who don’t like to make much of a fuss about our relationship. When we finally did tie the knot, the ceremony consisted of two witnesses, an officiant, and a park bench.

But, in our own way, we wanted to make whatever we were doing feel special. For us, that meant heading to Galiano for an introduction into goldsmithing and a very special weekend crafting our own wedding bands.

As it turned out, Galiano is the perfect island for exactly this kind of romantic adventure.

A woman standing in a field of tall dry grass, wearing a mustard yellow button-up shirt over a black top and blue jeans.

Photo by Stasia Garraway.

A scenic coastal landscape with deep blue water in the foreground, a rocky shoreline lined with dark green trees on the left, and distant mountains under a pale blue sky.

A Moment to Romanticize Galiano in Spring

When we headed there in May, it was well before the summer crowds arrived. We spent two nights on the island. One night camping, with the crystal-clear Montague Harbour as the backdrop, and a second hosted by local jeweler Andrea Russell, in her secluded forested artist haven.

We found ourselves with endless empty beaches to explore and plenty of availability at Montague Harbour Marine Park campground. Galiano Island blessed us with spectacularly sunny days and cool nights that kept us cuddled up and cozy.

And while spring is still considered the slower season for this island, it felt anything but sleepy. By the time we made our way there in May, most local businesses were reopening after a well-deserved seasonal break, and we felt a definite buzz everywhere we went.

A hammered gold ring with a textured, organic surface finish, displayed on a plain light gray background.

On Making Something Special with Our Hands

When conversations about marriage came up between my partner and I, they always came down to not wanting to make a big deal out of it.

So, when Andrea’s social post popped up announcing a private weekend at her island escape, learning the art of goldsmithing, it felt like the right balance between making this moment feel special but without the usual wedding fuss.

Learning to make our own rings from scratch, with our own hands, turned out to be the perfect alternative to a traditional engagement. It felt like the most us thing we could have done.

Our private workshop host and teacher, Andrea, is living what, for many, is the artist's dream on Galiano. Tucked into an adorable cabin surrounded by tall evergreens, she crafts one-of-a-kind contemporary pieces from precious metals (work you can find in galleries in Victoria and in group shows across the region).

Early Saturday morning, she welcomed us into her small, off-grid cabin just out of sight from the main house. After unpacking, she then opened the doors to her home and studio, where our lessons began.

We spent the entire first day learning the fundamentals of goldsmithing. We took a simple piece of gold, manipulated it in a small forge, and then, slowly, one tiny millimeter at a time, hammered it into shape. Even for total newbies like us, we could see something beautiful start to form.

It goes without saying that Andrea is an incredibly kind and patient teacher. As she was quick to point out, the cleaner and more polished the design, the more effort it takes to get there. We naturally gravitated toward hammered and worn designs, so we didn’t need to stress about perfection.

With plenty of breaks to spend moments basking in the springtime sun and thoughtfully considering our next move, our rings slowly became, well, rings.

The next morning, after a leisurely coffee looking out over the forest, we headed back into the studio to make the final refinements and polish up our work.

Honourable Mentions from Our Weekend

Of course, we did explore more of Galiano than just the inside of Andrea’s studio. There was the night spent under the stars in Montague Harbour, but also a few more honourable mentions that I’ll always recommend for any romantic trips to Galiano Island:

The Surprise Dinner at Lola’s at Bodega Ridge

We'd been keeping an eye on Bodega Ridge's social media all weekend, half-hoping. When the post confirmed thatLola’s was open that Saturday evening, we didn't hesitate. I’d been waiting for the stars to align for us to catch one of their special pop-up weekends.

Their menu reads like a love letter to Southeast Asia, but one that draws on ingredients from the land and sea of the Salish Sea region. A few of the dishes that really stood out were Tito's fried chicken and slow-cooked beef kulma, rich with coconut and spice.

But it's the bright, crispy rice and pomelo salad, popping with lemongrass and galangal, that became my core food memory. I’ll be thinking about this dish for the rest of my life.

A Pebble Beach Meander

On our last afternoon before catching the ferry home, we made our way down to Pebble Beach. This is one of the most famous beaches on the island, but you wouldn’t know it. It’s never crowded, and in the slow season, you may be the only people picking your way across the tide line.

We hiked around the Pebble Beach loop, which travels through a beautiful mix of mature Coastal Douglas-fir forest, and over a kilometer of rocky shoreline. There's driftwood everywhere, in every shape and size, tidepools during low tide, and of course, the colourful ocean-rounded pebbles that give this beach its name.

If this weekend spent with my partner taught me anything, it’s that Galiano is quite possibly the most romantic island in the Southern Gulf Islands. Its landscape naturally ensures plenty of intimacy and an endless array of cute, cozy cabins. And when you're ready to come up for air, Galiano has arguably the best food waiting for you.