Happy Saturday, everyone! I hope you’re having a great weekend, and staying warm amidst this deep freeze. As someone who loathes the cold, I tend to go into full hibernation mode around this time of year… can any of you relate??
In my recent New Year’s post, I mentioned that Tania and I had selected our wedding venue, and today I’m excited to share some more details with you all! Back in November, we toured six different venues: one in Guelph, one in Caledon, and four in the Niagara region. All were beautiful and charming in their own ways, but of course, we could only choose one. The selection process was a challenging one: there are so many elements to consider, and narrowing it down can be tough! But at the end of the day, there was one venue that really stole both of our hearts. Last week, I posted photos of each venue on Instagram and asked people to guess which one they thought we chose. It was so fun reading everyone’s predictions! Those of you who follow me there may have already seen the “reveal”, but for the rest of you, I’m thrilled to announce that we’ll be hosting our wedding at the beautiful Honsberger Estate Winery in Jordan Station, Ontario!
Choosing a venue is one of – if not the – most important decisions you’ll make when planning a wedding, so we wanted to make sure we got it just right! After researching what felt like every venue in Southern Ontario, Tania and I created a shortlist (okay, call it a long list) of 31 contenders. From there, we narrowed it down to six we wanted to see in person. Honsberger happens to be the first venue we toured, and it captured our hearts from the very beginning. From its tree-lined ceremony site to its rolling vineyards to its rustic-romantic reception space, it was everything we’d envisioned for our special day. And Tania will never admit it, but I’m pretty sure the owners’ very sweet cat – who greeted us as soon as we arrived for our tour – sealed the deal for her before the tour even started!
All that said: each venue we toured was stunning in their own right, and I honestly would have been thrilled to get married at any of them. Today, I’ll be sharing photos and information about each of the six venues, along with what Tania and I loved most about each of them. I know firsthand how overwhelming choosing a venue can seem, so I’m hoping today’s post will be a helpful resource to my fellow Ontario brides-to-be! Without further ado, I’ll get to it, starting with contender number one…
Barn Swallow Fields at Thatcher Farms
Location: Guelph
Venue Type: Farm
Capacity: 150
The Space: A newly built, modern-design barn with 17-foot cathedral ceilings, custom crafted timbers and pine shiplap walls, set on 140 acres of farmland.
What We Loved:
- Barns – especially if they’re older – can often feel a bit run-down. Not the case at Barn Swallow Fields! The barn is a brand-new build, so everything feels fresh, clean and immaculate.
- The owner, Dana Thatcher, has decorated the space beautifully with elegant Victorian furniture. Lots of great statement pieces for photos!
- I was surprised to learn how many bridal suites – even in the most glamorous of venues – were comparably shabby or nondescript. At Barn Swallow Fields, the bridal suite is just as gorgeous and intentional as the rest of the space.
- Right inside the venue entrance is a furnished lounge that feels like a private living room. A perfect space for accommodating elderly guests, nursing mothers, or anyone else who needs a little time-out from the action.
- The outdoor bars are housed in former grain bins – so unique and fun!
- Outside, there are lawn games and fire pits for guests to enjoy. And let’s face it, even the most well-behaved kids can get bored at weddings, so Barn Swallow Fields has a play area to keep the little ones entertained.
Location: Jordan Station (Niagara Region)
Venue Type: Winery
Capacity: 150
The Space: A rustic open-air barn, surrounded by 32 acres of lush vineyards and an 18-mile creek. Plus, a rooftop deck for taking in said views!
What We Loved:
- Ceremonies take place right in front of their sprawling vineyards, making this one of the most beautiful ceremony sites we saw.
- Calamus has their own rooftop observatory – complete with deep space telescope – where wedding guests can stargaze.
- Their romantic 350 Barrel Cellar provides a gorgeous spot for first-look photos.
- The premium Stargazing Package includes so many fun extras that aren’t typically included in standard wedding packages: s’more guest favours, a scotch and cigar bar, a late-night buffet, a sparkling wine toast, and a DJ, among others. It’s not “all or nothing” either: you can choose the specific inclusions you want, and exclude others to save money.
- Bringing in external decor can get expensive. Calamus has their own marquee “LOVE” sign that’s great for guest photos. And for a fun personalized touch, they’ll add the couple’s initials to the barn doors on their wedding day.
- If you don’t want a traditional sit-down dinner, you can opt for a casual BBQ menu, served buffet-style at grilling stations set up in the vineyard. So much fun!
- They offer a pie bar for dessert… enough said!
Location: Caledon
Venue Type: Farm
Capacity: 175
The Space: A romantic white barn with twinkling fairy lights, surrounded by acres of hilly countryside.
What We Loved:
- The barn is magical! I try to avoid hyperbole as much as possible, but magical is truly the only adjective that does this space justice. The 120-year-old building has been painted all white and adorned with chandeliers and twinkle lights, giving it an ethereal feel. Its doors slide open to reveal a showstopping view of the property.
- Their towering, majestic willow tree provides a gorgeous backdrop for outdoor ceremonies.
- The owners have two beautiful horses, Teddy and Shadow, who are happy to pose for photos with the couple and their guests (in exchange for some treats, of course!)
- The venue provides couples with signage, easels and guest favours (miniature jars of local honey) at no extra charge. If you’re planning a wedding, you know how easily these things can add up, so that’s a big cost savings!
Location: Niagara-On-The-Lake
Venue Type: Fruit Orchard
Capacity: 300
The Space: There’s actually three! Their indoor venue – a former food market – has a rustic wood interior, post-and-beam cathedral ceilings, and industrial windows that bathe the space in natural light. Or, choose from one of their two outdoor venues: Gracewood Estate or Kurtz Orchards, both surrounded by lush orchards and vineyards. Gracewood boasts a stunning century home that can be rented out by the wedding party, whereas Kurtz’ claim to fame is its picturesque bridge and fish pond – perfect for photos!
What We Loved:
- If you’ve got your heart set on an outdoor wedding, you couldn’t pick a prettier spot than Kurtz Orchards. The venue can set up dining tables right in the orchard between rows of cherry trees, which they’ll adorn with chandeliers and string lighting. How dreamy is that? (And don’t worry about weather: they’ll have backup tents at the ready just in case of rain.)
- There’s lots of room for customization when it comes to the flow of your day, and you can utilize several different spaces. For instance, you could choose to have your ceremony outdoors in Kurtz Orchards, enjoy cocktail hour under the big tent, then head back to the indoor market for dinner. It almost feels like getting three weddings for the price of one!
- The bridge over the fish pond provides a stunning photo spot, and our tour guide mentioned that they often set off fireworks for an extra impactful backdrop. (Side note: I have a soft spot for this bridge. When I was a kid and was visiting my grandmother in Niagara-on-the-Lake, she’d take me to Kurtz – who was still running their food market at the time – to feed the fish.)
- The century home at Gracewood Estate is available to the wedding party as a getting-ready space. (It’s included in the cost when booking Gracewood, or can be rented for an additional fee if you book Kurtz Orchards.) This house has amazing bones and is so elegantly decorated. You couldn’t pick a prettier spot for getting-ready photos! And being able to get ready right on the property is so convenient.
Location: Beamsville
Venue Type: Winery
Capacity: 140
The Space: A beautifully restored 170-year-old barn with lofty ceilings, Victorian chandeliers and a show-stopping spiral staircase. It’s set on a 240-acre estate that includes vineyards, ponds and even joins the Bruce Trail.
What We Loved:
- The wrought-iron spiral staircase is architecturally stunning. You could have so much fun with photos here!
- Another beautiful architectural element: the rustic stone fireplace, which would make a great backdrop for your ceremony or sweetheart table.
- We looked at a lot of barn and barn-style venues, and it’s rare to find one that’s air-conditioned. This is one of the very few that is!
- Vieni’s Legacy Package includes several add-ons that you typically wouldn’t find in any wedding package: your photographer, officiant, cake, DJ, and live ceremony musicians are all included. Not only is this cost-effective, but there are so many decisions and tasks involved with wedding planning that it can be overwhelming. Having these items taken care of for you is a huge time and stress saver!
- If you’re planning on hosting a morning-after brunch for your guests, Vieni can host it for you. Like I said above, there’s so much planning that goes into a wedding, so anything turn-key that can make your life easier is a huge plus!
Location: Jordan Station (Niagara Region)
Venue Type: Winery
Capacity: 130-150
The Space: An elegant, rustic, circa-1833 barn. A tree-lined outdoor ceremony site with antique church pews. A twinkle-lit patio overlooking lush vineyards.
What We Loved: Okay, this is the venue we ultimately selected, so clearly there’s a LOT we loved! But here are some of the key elements that sealed the deal…
- The venue is so stunning on its own that it really needs very little in terms of additional decor. The outdoor ceremony space has a gorgeous wooden pergola and arch, whitewashed antique pews, and vintage wine barrels flanking the aisle. The indoor barn has long wood harvest tables, gold Chiavari chairs, twinkling fairy lights and artistic statement chandeliers. We toured the venue during off-season, and it still felt wedding-ready!
- The barn consists of two large, separate (but adjoining) rooms: one for dinner and one for dancing. Tania and I both much prefer this over having one huge room for everything, but it’s rare to find.
- You can serve a traditional plated dinner, or offer food stations so your guests can try a little bit of everything. We both thought the food station option was so fun!
- The space has a great indoor-outdoor flow. Guests can migrate from the garden to the covered patio, the barn to the vineyards, as they choose. The music carries outdoors so guests can dance on the patio, and Honsberger’s event coordinator told us that many couples have their first dance outside, which we thought was so beautiful. Plus, the covered patio means that even if it rains, guests can still enjoy the outdoor space.
- The garden has a pretty wooden swing that provides a perfect setting for bride/couple photos.
- Honsberger also operates a restaurant onsite, and they’re famous for their wood-fired outdoor pizza oven. Naturally, their pizza is a popular option for late-night food, and that’s exactly what we’re going to serve when everyone’s been dancing the night away and is hankering for a snack. Tania and I have been to the restaurant before, so we can vouch for the pizza… it’s really good!
Well folks, that takes us to the end of the list! If you’re planning a wedding and are considering any of the venues above, I hope this information was helpful. And if you aren’t considering them… trust me when I say you should be! They’re all fabulous and any one of them would be a great choice for your special day. If you have specific questions about any of these venues, shoot me an email and I’d be happy to help!
Needless to say, I’ve learned a lot about wedding venues in the last few months. So next week, I’ll be back with another post where I’ll be outlining my best tips and advice for choosing your dream venue. I hope that one will be just as helpful!
Until then, I hope everyone has a great rest of their weekend. Stay warm!
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