Thinking Outside the Banquet Hall

Some Alternative Reception Venues

You’ve looked at historic churches for the ceremony, then moved on to the daunting task of finding the right reception venue. Hotels and conference centres obviously have all the decoration, trim, servers and food prep ready for your approval. There are clearly advantages to going this route, including the fact that guests can easily retire to hotel rooms after an evening of indulgences. But what if your personality lends itself to a location less conventional? Something not so tried and true? Why not a wedding at a farm, museum, zoo or art gallery? These venues range from quirky fun to elegantly erudite. Here are seven regional options that will keep your guests talking long after you’re off on a honeymoon adventure.

Down on the farm

Stanley’s Olde Maple Lane Farm (www.stanleysfarm.com) – Stanley’s Farm, 101 hectares (250 acres) of developed and undeveloped land, is more of a living history site than a working farm. The maple trees and tilled land surrounding a quarried field stone house (built in 1850) sit like a tribute to agriculture heritage that once covered most of the Ottawa region. Now an event facility minutes from downtown, the farm can host small to large weddings — 80 people comfortably in the Stone House Hall, 200 under a tent on the South Lawn or up to 400 at the Maples Reception facility. You and your groom can book the onsite caterer or bring your own. Plus, the rock gardens, pond and heritage buildings offer ideal photographic backdrops.

Saunders Farm (www.saundersfarm.com) – Even though there’s an edge of rustic to an agricultural setting, the 40.5-hectare (100-acre) Saunders Farm (in Munster west of Ottawa) sets up a surprisingly elegant white linen dinner in the log barn, which seats up to 80 people, or in the outdoor pavilion, which hosts about 200. Ceremonies can be held in the gardens, and in keeping with the rural theme, menu options range from oven-fried country chicken to herb-encrusted beef tenderloin. Off-site caterers, however, are welcome. There’s also built-in amusement. According to Kaitlin Grant, events manager, “Guests can wander our mazes, so long as it’s still light out. We also have beautiful green spaces for photographs and climbing structures for the kids.” There are no animals roaming around, however; for that you’ll have to head to the zoo.

Museum milieu

Museum of Civilization (www.civilization.ca) – Across the river in western Québec, the Museum of Civilization has several rooms available for big celebrations for 100 to 600 people, though The Grand Hall is the most majestic and appealing. Available for both ceremonies and receptions (only after museum hours), the Grand Hall is flanked by six First Nations replica homes on one side and a wall of windows that provide a view of the property’s gardens in the foreground and the Canadian Parliament Buildings in the distance. You have to use the in-house caterer, Compass Catering Services, but the indoor photography fee is only $25 (outdoor is free), so the bridal party can set up shots in the Canada Hall, beside film set-like replicas of 19th-century trade stores, cathedrals and wilderness lodges. For the price of regular museum admission, guests can tour the facility, including special exhibitions and the Children’s Museum.

Canadian Museum of Nature (www.nature.ca) – In the middle of what is essentially a downtown urban residential neighbourhood is a gothic castle built in 1910 that now sports a shiny, modern, five-floor glass-front tower in the front called the ‘lantern.’ The Canadian Museum of Nature’s East Wing Foyer can be rented for 65 people, banquet style. Other rooms can accommodate up to 200 people for a sit-down dinner. This is one of the country’s oldest national museums with a combination of modern exhibits and traditional stuffed animals behind glass. All this, including access to the dino walk, is available to guests for a fee. According to Natalie Boulet, events manager, clients can select from a list of five caterers, including the museum’s own Gourmet Cuisine.

Art experience

The National Gallery of Canada (www.gallery.ca) – Recovering from the romantic Caravaggio exhibition featuring 60 works imported from Europe, the National Gallery of Canada is still resonating with baroque opulence. The Great Hall, according to the gallery, is “dramatic by day and stunning by night.” With a view of the Parliament Buildings, Ottawa River and Gatineau, there’s no need for additional decor. This hall seats up to 450 people banquet style. Laurie Shannon, senior special events officer, says that The Great Hall and the Beaux-Arts rooms are the most popular for weddings. For smaller receptions complete with ceremony, the Water Court Foyer hosts 150 to 180 people. It’s beside the cherry tree-lined Sunken Gardens — perfect for outdoor vow exchanges. There’s a list of caterers to select, but only one has a liquor licence for this facility. According to Laurie, private guided tours of the exhibitions can also be arranged during your event.

Out of Town

The Toronto Zoo (www.torontozoo.com) – Love animals, particularly lions, tigers and giraffes? If a daytime wedding is in your plans (maybe with a lot of kids), the outdoor African Picnic Pavilion can be booked for 50 or 60 people, and golf cart transportation from the gate to the site is available for the wedding party and elderly guests. For evening weddings, the indoor atrium, which can host 20 to 120 people, is a little more traditional, but add any of the available animal encounters (trainers with live zoo residents) to your entertainment and/or charter the Zoomobile for a non-stop tour of the zoo, and you’re back in the realm of unconventional.

The Granby Zoo (www.zoodegranby.com) – If Toronto is a little too far from home, the Granby Zoo in the Eastern Townships of Québec is the closest option for zoo-setting vows. The Havre du Nouveu Monde facility is a big white, airline hangar-like room that accommodates up to 400 people, if you have that many. But a more interesting option is The Savannah Lodge in the centre of the African section, where giraffes and elephants roam within view during dinner. The zoo’s design balances both the educational mandate of the institution, housing the animals in as natural enclosures as possible, with the entertainment demands of people looking to actually see the animals. Plus there’s a midway and a nine-hectare (12-acre) water park, so guests can make a weekend of it.

Article By Sherri Telenko

Photos provided by Museum of Civilization & National Gallery