ottawa foodies

Looking for suggestions for a venue for our son's wedding, likely in August. Under 50 people. I have read on here about the Courtyard, which sounds nice, but would like other suggestions. Thanks.

I confidently recommend El Meson (www.ottawafoodies.com) on Beechwood Avenue. The food and service are consistently - and beyond - excellent.
They have two private rooms on the upper level (the larger accommodates 48).

I certainly expect you will get other suggestions. But I will speak to the Courtyard which is where I was married last summer. I cannot recommend this place highly enough. The food was great, the staff was great, the planner we worked with from the courtyard always responded to our emails promptly and on the same day they were sent, and of course the price was great. If I had to do it all over again, I would definitely be married there again. We had about 55 people if I recall correctly.

Best of luck in gathering reviews and suggestions for other places because you need to find the place that is right for the people getting married.

Hope all goes well!

Cheers

Congrats to your son!!!

I've heard amazing things about the Courtyard (plus, the market is such a nice place for photos). I would suggest, however, no matter what they might think of a venue, that they start calling soon! A lot of places will be full or close to full for Saturdays this summer, I imagine.

Also, if you want something more low-key, Billings Estate is a beautiful venue, partially covered, and they let you bring in your own caterer. A little more upscale of a recommendation would be La Ferme in Wakefield (I think?) Just some quick name dropping into Google should provide you with some results!

Cheers!

FoodnTravel - We went to a nice smallish wedding a couple of years ago at Strathmere, it was a "stunning" location. And the wedding was perfect. Check them out online at www.strathmere.com

Also, if one is "flexible" and not strictly a Saturday Afternoon sort, they offer excellent discounts for Evenings, Sundays & Weekdays.

F&T: From what I recall, from looking at Strathmere, they have very strict rules about alcohol. Specifically that there is a minimum amount that has to be consumed to have a wedding on a Saturday there. I don't recall what that amount was, but in principle we didn't consider Strathmere because of that. Just my two cents on that venue (I could talk venues for hours)

I know you're looking for other suggestions but I also second The Courtyard. That's where I had my wedding reception (we had a morning brunch reception) and everything was fantastic! The food was delicious, the setting was gorgeous (great photo ops in the Market) and the service was top notch. I highly recommend!

The happy couple says thanks to everyone. We are going to see the Courtyard on Monday, as well as the Urban Element. At UE it would have to be a cocktail reception as they cannot seat 45-50, but worth a look. We are also going to check out a golf course my brother in law belongs to. We are still open so keep 'em coming.

If you're open to Cocktail receptions, I've also heard good things about the Greenberg theatre on Wellington (home to the Great Canadian Theatre Company). They use Thyme & Again (who have their Local Bar downstairs) for catering, and the setting is beautiful. It's kind of like having it at the National Gallery, but not as over the top.

Another idea is to approach a restaurant. I know someone is having their reception at Eggspectation on a Saturday night, since they're normally closed then. She approached them and the owners were excited to try something new.

I've also heard of people holding their receptions at Social, Foundation, and Sterling restaurant.

Good luck!

A couple of years ago, we went to a wedding at Les Fougeres (amazing food and a great location), and this year we're going to one at Eighteen.

Last year was the year of weddings for us (attended four including our own). I wasn't wowed by the food at the Courtyard (ended up sneaking over to the Black Tomato for food during the reception), but the location is unique. Perth Manor Boutique Hotel provided a very romantic setting for an evening wedding, and the food was very good. We had our wedding at Billings Estate followed by a cocktail reception catered by ZenKitchen (wonderful food!).

Hope that helps and congratulations to the couple!

You may also want to look into the new restaurant inside the Amberwood Village Golf and Country Club in Stittsville. I think it is called Wild Wood Steak & Chophouse (why they need to add Chophouse to their name? Just call Wild Wood Steak House is good enough in my opinion?)

I haven't tried the food inside the restaurant yet. But the venue is nice (lots of parking space) and there is a nice place to take wedding photos. I think it is behinid the mail boxes booth where you can find a bridge and river.

Les Fougeres's menu is excellent, but their prices made me go hrmmmmm.
But, Mers' comment reminded me that Camp Fortune does weddings, and will even let you have a bonfire. Their menu looks pretty good and is decently priced...it was our original plan before I lost a lot of money to the market.

FoodnTravel - The posts here made me think of a couple of others... Code's Mill in Perth, saw a Wedding here last year... actually two... one in the afternoon... Bride was getting married on the lawn in the park, with the Tay River in the background, beautiful setting. The second was going to be upstairs across the street, inside the older building (mill?) two rooms were set up... one for the Wedding, one for the Reception.

Thought of two others after Ashley's input - Cedarhill Golf Club - in Nepean (Barrhaven area) infact any Golf Club... and Isaac's in Stittsville now that they moved from Kanata is set up for Weddings and such.

There's also the Olde School House in Munster.

If you want to get into the nitty-gritty of wedding venues, check out the forums over at Weddingbells.ca - there's a central provinces board that is pretty much overrun with women from Ottawa. :)

Olde School House is beautiful but requires that you use Bytowne Catering. Which made me gag a little bit. Just my two cents.

Thanks for all the great suggestions. The happy couple seems to like the idea of being married downtown in the market and really liked the Courtyard. Seems affordable and suits their idea of what they want for their day. Also very convenient for out of town guests who will likely stay in a downtown hotel.
Once again thanks to all!

FoodnTravel - Reviews after the "I Do's" expected.
;-)

Will do. The date set is Aug 8th.