- Le Belvédère in Wakefield is my pick on this side of the river. The food is great and the team is experienced.
- Château Cartier has four reception rooms, from 25 guests to 350, and a golf-course gazebo for the ceremony.
- Le Riverbend is a private riverside property, usually booked for the whole weekend, with no house PA.
- Le Peaches & Cream has a glass-walled Pavilion for up to 130 and a noise curfew. Ask every venue its end time.
On this page
I have played weddings in Ottawa for about eight years. These are the rooms I have worked, and I rate what I see from the booth.
Five things get a score out of 5: food, staff, ease of setup, house speakers, and sound and acoustics. Ease of setup includes the space in front of the floor and the room to build one.
Food and staff matter most to couples. Setup and sound matter most to the night, so I rate them too.
These are my opinions from playing the room, not facts. I update them every January. Venues cannot pay to rank or to move up. A missing score means I have not rated that part yet.
From my top picks
Rooms on this page that sit in my overall top picks.
- 1
Le Belvédère
Wakefield, QC
Dance floor sits dead centre · Sparkler outdoor first dance · Synced plated service · House JBL speakers, mic and lighting
Every room on this page
The rest of the rooms on this page, in alphabetical order. My notes on each one are below.
Château Cartier
Aylmer, Gatineau
Four reception rooms, 25 to 350 guests
Le Peaches & Cream
Low, QC (Gatineau Hills)
I set up between the dining room and the front lounge · Noise curfew
Le Riverbend
Kazabazua, QC (Wakefield area)
Right on the water · Private buyout, often the whole weekend · No house PA
Four rooms across the river
Gatineau and Wakefield wedding venues I'd point a friend to are Le Belvédère (Wakefield), Château Cartier (Aylmer), Le Riverbend and Le Peaches & Cream (Low). If Lago is the Ottawa pick, Le Belvédère is the country one.
Le Belvédère is in my top three, with great food and an experienced team, and the sunset view there was excellent. Château Cartier is a resort with a golf course on the grounds, which gives you space for photos and cocktail hour before the night moves indoors.
Le Riverbend sits right on the water, and Le Peaches & Cream is a rural venue up in the Gatineau Hills. Three of the four can put your people to bed on site.
Le Belvédère has a guesthouse, Le Riverbend sleeps around 30 to 40, and Le Peaches & Cream has a Villa for up to 21.
4 rooms · 2 waterfront
Le Belvédère
Wakefield, about 30 minutes from Ottawa
Le Belvédère is in my top three.
Best for: Great food and an experienced team.
The food is great, and the hors d'oeuvres are amazing. The staff are experienced. The managers are pros, and other vendors love working there.
The dance floor sits dead centre, so I can see the whole room from the booth. The venue does a signature outdoor first dance with sparklers.
Dinner lands like clockwork. Staff serve a whole table at once, and the bar closes while table wine keeps going. That gives me a clear window for speeches and music, so I'm not guessing when dinner ends.
At my last wedding there, the sunset view was excellent. The house speakers, the mic and the lighting all worked well, and the team handled timing and rain changes without me chasing cues.
Heads up: One wedding books at a time. Last call is 1 a.m., and the room closes at 1:30 a.m.
Château Cartier
Aylmer
Château Cartier is a resort in Aylmer with a golf course on the grounds.
Best for: Photos and cocktails outside, then the party indoors.
It sits on 152 acres along the Ottawa River, and it has four reception rooms. The smallest holds 25 guests. The Chaudière Ballroom seats up to 350.
That gives you space for photos and cocktails on the terrace before the night moves indoors. A golf-course gazebo works for the ceremony.
Heads up: The clubhouse room is open and good-looking, but it isn't built around a dance floor. Floor planning matters more here than in most rooms.
Le Riverbend
Kazabazua, in the Wakefield area
Le Riverbend is right on the water.
Best for: Couples who want a river view.
It's a private property on the Gatineau River, and it's usually booked for the whole wedding weekend. It's one of the prettiest riverside spots I play.
Vows happen beside the river, and cocktails are on the deck over the water. Dinner is on the deck, or indoors if the weather turns.
There's no house PA and no in-house AV crew, so I plan all the sound myself across the separate spaces. With a small guest list that knows each other, I leave time for guests to move inside before dancing starts.
Le Peaches & Cream
Low, in the Gatineau Hills
Le Peaches & Cream in Low is a rural venue in the Gatineau Hills.
Best for: Couples who want a country party in Quebec.
The reception is in a whitewashed, glass-walled Pavilion that holds up to 130 guests for dinner and dancing. The ceremony is in the field overlooking Lake Manitou and the hills.
I set up in the middle, between the dining room and the front lounge, which pulls energy from both sides. The walk from the field to the Pavilion is the first transition, and glass doors open onto the gardens for cocktail hour.
Heads up: There's a noise curfew, so I plan peak dancing before it.
Le Belvédère has a last call at 1 a.m. Le Peaches & Cream has a noise curfew. Ask every venue what time the music has to stop, and I'll build the night around it.
More from me
Planning a wedding on this side of the river? These are the pages I'd send you to next.