Lana’s Week 1-2 Action Checklist

Priority-ordered. Lana is in Queenstown, NZ. Aaron’s evening = Lana’s afternoon (6-9 PM PST = 3-6 PM NZST next day). All can be done remotely.

Week 1: Legal & Licensing Foundations

Call BC Vital Statistics (30 min)
- Phone: 250-952-2681
- Email: VSRELREG@gov.bc.ca
- Key questions to ask:
  1. “Can a New Zealand citizen who visits BC seasonally on an IEC Working Holiday Visa register as a Religious Representative through CIMM?”
  2. “Is there a provision under Section 3(2) of the BC Marriage Act for temporary registration of visiting religious representatives? How long can the temporary period be?”
  3. “Does the registrant need to reside in BC year-round, or is seasonal residency with a BC address sufficient?”
  4. “What is the current processing time for new Religious Representative registration?”
- Take notes on exactly what they say — this determines the officiant strategy
Research CIMM training options (1 hour)
- Academy of Inner Wisdom — ~$990 CAD, self-paced, can start from NZ
  - academyofinnerwisdom.com
  - Check if they offer online/distance training
- Canadian School of Wedding Officiants — ~$2,897 CAD, 8-week live cohort
  - Check next cohort start date
- Total CIMM costs: Training + $100 ordination + $300/yr CIMM dues + processing fees = ~$1,400-3,400 total

Apply for IEC Working Holiday Visa (2 hours)
- NZ citizens eligible up to age 35
- 23 months duration
- Self-employment/freelance explicitly permitted
- Cost: ~$365 CAD
- No job offer required
- Processing time varies — apply early
- Tax note: Stay under 183 days in Canada (May-Sep = ~153 days) to avoid Canadian tax residency
- GST: Register if revenue exceeds $30,000 CAD
Review Adventure Weddings website copy (1 hour)
- Read through the copy at:
  - overnight-runs/2026-03-08-1911/findings/18-website-copy.md
- Note anything that doesn’t match your voice or how you work
- Flag factual errors (especially about the photographer-officiant workflow — does the description match how you actually do it?)

Begin developing ceremony scripts (2 hours)
- Draft 3-5 ceremony script templates:
  1. Classic romantic — warm, personal, emotional
  2. Adventure-forward — references to the landscape, the climb, the shared experience
  3. Minimal/modern — short, direct, unfussy
  4. Cultural blend — incorporating elements from different traditions
  5. Vow-focused — ceremony structured entirely around the couple’s own words
- Each script should be 10-18 minutes
- Mark the deliberate transition points where you switch between speaking and photographing

Review 3 blog posts written tonight (30 min)
- How to Elope in Squamish — check accuracy of all claims
- Best Elopement Locations — does Aaron’s location knowledge match?
- Rock Climbing Elopement — does this accurately describe how it would work?
- Note any corrections needed
Review client questionnaires (30 min)
- Read through the intake questionnaire at:
  - overnight-runs/2026-03-08-1911/findings/17-client-experience-documents.md
- Does the question flow match how you actually work with couples?
- Any questions missing or unnecessary?
Instagram content planning (1 hour)
- Review social media strategy at:
  - overnight-runs/2026-03-08-1911/findings/23-social-media-strategy.md
- Start drafting first 10 posts for the Squamish launch announcement
- Can use existing NZ elopement photos with Squamish-related captions
- Key message: “We’re bringing adventure elopements to Squamish, BC”
- Single most powerful content: “I photograph AND officiate your ceremony”

Video call with Aaron (1 hour — use the 6-9 PM PST / 3-6 PM NZST overlap)
- Agenda:
  1. Dubsado CRM setup together
  2. Review BC Vital Statistics answers from Week 1 calls
  3. Align on officiant strategy (CIMM vs partner officiant)
  4. Discuss vendor outreach responses
  5. Plan Lana’s first Squamish trip (late June / early July target)
  6. Review blog posts and website copy
  7. Discuss IEC visa application status
Draft pricing guide PDF (1 hour)
- One-page overview for auto-sending to inquiries via Dubsado
- Include: 3 package tiers with brief descriptions, “What’s included in every package” list, contact CTA
- Don’t include detailed pricing breakdown — save that for the discovery call

Research photographer-officiant workflow (1 hour)
- Look at how others who do this describe the process
- Key reference: Young Hip & Married (Vancouver) — they’ve built a whole business on this model
- Document YOUR specific workflow for the dual role:
  - What camera settings for the auto-shoot tripod?
  - What intervalometer timing (3 seconds? 5 seconds?)?
  - Where do you position yourself during each ceremony section?
  - How do you handle the ring exchange (camera down for 30 seconds)?
  - How do you handle the kiss (you control timing — how specifically)?

These were identified across all research runs. Aaron needs answers to move forward:

Do you have Canadian citizenship or permanent residency? — Determines the officiant licensing path
What’s the timeline for having kids? — Affects how aggressively to build the business
Is “Adventure Weddings” the brand name for Squamish, or should it be different? — Currently using adventureweddings.love for both NZ and BC
Are you comfortable with the photographer-officiant dual role description in the research? — Does it match how you actually work?
When can you realistically visit Squamish? — The styled shoots can’t happen without you
Do you have social media following numbers for Instagram/Pinterest? — Affects the launch timeline for online marketing

Don’t enroll in CIMM training until you’ve talked to BC Vital Statistics — need to confirm eligibility
Don’t book flights to Squamish yet — confirm June/July timing with Aaron first
Don’t start posting Squamish content on Instagram yet — wait until there’s a Squamish-focused landing page to direct people to
Don’t stress about the financial model — that’s Aaron’s domain