Grouse Mountain

We got married on Grouse recently and were unfortunately disappointed by the organization and communication. From the beginning, we were vocal about wanting an outdoor ceremony and use of the deck outside the venue room. When we first viewed the venue, we were told that we would be able to use the deck for our ceremony. When we finally decided to book our wedding near the end of April no one told us this probably wasn't possible. It wasn't until five months before our wedding, during a phone call with our coordinator that we were told we needed to plan for an indoor ceremony and an outdoor ceremony might not be possible. We emailed several questions to try and be flexible and figure out our options...What if people stand on the deck? What if just the wedding party stands out there and guests watch from inside? But our questions were not answered.

We were told that someone would let us know if we could have an outdoor ceremony a day before or the day of the wedding. As it turned out, they never confirmed with us if we could use the deck. Why were we told five months before our wedding that we were having an indoor ceremony when we wanted an outdoor one?

For our menu tasking, we were told to take the gondola up and our coordinator would meet us. We didn't see her, so we went into the Altitudes Bistro and let the host know that we were up there for our menu tasking. We even produced an email reiterating this. They didn't seem to be expecting us, it was a little uncomfortable.

When we arrived for our rehearsal, the room was locked, and they didn't seem to know we were coming. We again had the email ready if we needed it.

On the day of the ceremony, some of our family members and friends went up to decorate. We were told that we needed to load decor into the service gondola, so our friends and family did, but it took time to find out where to receive the decor and they had to find someone to operate the service gondola. This was incredibly frustrating for our friends/family who were nice enough to go up earlier to decorate and back home again to get ready. Again, we were frustrated by the lack of communication and organization on Grouse's part. No information was offered beforehand about what we needed to know the day of the event.

At the end of the night, my friends and family brought everything back to the service gondola, only to find out they should have put everything in the regular gondola. They again had to hunt down staff to use the service gondola. It would have been nice to know this beforehand.

We gave our friends and family three packs of sticky hooks to put up the lights. They noticed a sticky hook already attached to a wood beam from a previous event and were worried it would strip the sealing off the wood beam if they took it off. The wooden beams are solid wood, but somehow were covered in holes. They were of various sizes, and some were quite wide. It is impossible to make these holes by hand and you would need an electric drill to make a hole in these wooden beams. This is obviously a well-used room. We took photos of the wood beams covered in holes. Our friends/family decided it would do less damage to loosely put some tiny plastic hooks into existing holes by hand. No drill or any other tools were used. This didn't do any damage to the sold, hole-ridden wooden beams. The hooks they used were tiny and were put loosely into existing holes, but Grouse kept the five hundred dollar damage deposit. A total cash grab.

We already had to deal with a twenty dollar increase in price per plate for our wedding. I bet if we attended another wedding at Grouse a year from now, we would still see holes in the wooden beams.

With the frustration and the lack of communication we have had with this venue, we will certainly not be recommending Grouse as a place to get married.

We had our wedding in the Timber Room this past August. We first started coordination with Carly, but were introduced to Beth when we had our food tasting, and she took over from Carly after that. She was very organized, so it was easy to communicate with her. The day after the wedding, she even hand delivered the wedding cake leftovers we had forgotten to take back. Our guests certainly agreed that the food was delicious, and people couldn’t believe that it kept coming! We thought the venue looked just right as it was, and decided not to decorate.


It ended up being very foggy up there on the day of, but it actually made for amazing pictures like none we had seen before. We could hardly believe it when the clouds parted just at the right moment during our vows.

We’d recommend Grouse without hesitation to anyone getting married.

Photo credit: @ericamillerphotography

Everything about our wedding was perfect. The staff at Grouse met everything we wanted and made it so easy to get married there! They put us first and made us feel so special. And I got a picture of me in me wedding dress with the BEARS!?! What more can you ask for! I cannot recommend them enough. Their payment services were great and the costs where so clear so no hidden surprises! Thank you for making our day incredible

Working with Grouse to plan the wedding was easy, friendly, and they accommodated and answered all of our many questions. They have great packages for weddings and as they have done so many weddings, they know what it is needed for you to have a great day. They took care of the venue, catering, drinks, decorations, music and it made us feel like pampered super stars. From the venue visits, the wedding rehearsal and menu tasting, each event gave us chance to meet with friends and celebrate at the top of the city. Spending our first night in the mountain-top cabin made our night even more special. I could not think of a more beautiful spot to gather our friends and celebrate our day. Our guests loved it, and they fell as if they have gone on vacations.

Stephanie Coccia was our point person at Grouse and she was truly fabulous. The day was amazing, the weather cooperated, the communication flow was good, the food was outstanding, and overall we couldn't be happier with the overall value we received from the team at Grouse Mountain- twas worth every penny!

It was really easy to organize the event on Grouse. We couldn't have asked for a more Vancouver location for our out-of-town guests. They even have a little bridal cabin up there where you can spend the night. We were able to take stunning pictures on the mountain. The wedding coordinator (Liza) was fast and efficient and made the process really smooth. The only complaint we had was the food. Grouse has to do the catering and the food was mediocre (average wedding food with above average prices). The alcohol was also a bit pricey. However, given the beautiful room (that needed little decor), private deck with the best view and amazing experience for guests, I wouldn't change the venue.

We had originally wanted a destination wedding, so when that didn't work out, we wanted to have our reception somewhere that would feel like a journey and a getaway. Grouse Mountain delivered exactly that! When you take the gondola up the mountain, it feels whimsical and picturesque! Like a place far far away from Vancouver. The staff was so kind and professional. My husband and I stayed in the Bridal Suite overnight on the mountain and really enjoyed that quiet time together. The food was incredible! Every guest commented on it, especially those with allergies since they were blown away by what they could eat (so much better than other weddings they said they had been to with limited gluten free, dairy free, nut free, etc options). The view is second to none, especially at night when the city lights illuminate the down below. I highly recommend this venue for their service and food.

Grouse Mountain was the first thing we thought about for a reception venue when we got engaged. However, we didn't actually look into it as we thought it would be far above our budget, but after asking around at a few other venues which all turned out quite expensive we asked Grouse for a quote. They were almost half as expensive as the rest of the ones we looked at were and very affordable. While they were also the venue that would look the best by far.
We had booked the Timber Room which comes with a deck with a beautiful lookout over Vancouver. We were crazy lucky with the weather and had unlimited vision.
As the weather was so good, it was really busy at the mountain, but they made sure that ourselves, the vendors and our guests could skip the line and get up and down the Skyride quickly.
Liza was very patient with us and very helpful, especially when our date approached.
The food. I can’t even begin about how amazing the food was. I think almost every single one of our guests mentioned how much they liked it. Some even pointed out that the cake, which was part of their buffet desserts, was just as amazing as the wedding cake we got at an actual bakery. Even the simplest things they had tasted absolutely amazing.
Our family asked for a beamer last moment and Liza was super accommodating. We also decided last moment that we did actually want a toast and Liza made sure that it was arranged right away. We both would totally recommend Grouse as your wedding venue.

Grouse was quick to respond to our inquiry, work with our budget, and fairly flexible with our needs. We had a potential security issue with a possible gate crasher and Grouse already had a protocol in place - it was really awesome to know that my day wasn't going to be hijacked! We were able to hold our rehearsal on the mountaintop and have our bridal party attend a menu tasting. Our coordinator was so on top of things that nothing was forgotten. If I forgot to sign something or put an item in our timeline, she'd send me a quick email. She was happy to answer the random questions emailed at 2am, too.

My only disappointment was that we weren't able to access the reception room until 4:30pm day-of to decorate. The ceremony was supposed to be at 3 on the deck. We moved the "I do" to later in the evening (with an amazing sunset at dinner!) and everything was fine. At the last minute, Grouse let us into the venue for 3:30pm so our friends could decorate and the bridal party wandered the mountain for some memorable photos at the bear habitat and in the snow.

We are very disappointed writing this review. We very much wanted to have our wedding at this incredible mountain with the beautiful natural views and surroundings. We had seen photos and other outdoor weddings ceremonies that had happened here in the winter, and simply wanted to book that.

However; that was not to be the case. If you are looking to book here outside of the winter months, do it. Stephanie, the event coordinator is lovely and engaging and you will love her. Unfortunately, other than Stephanie, this was not a good experience.

We contacted Stephanie and scheduled our site visit for the Timber Room and the adjourning deck, as advertised in their brochure. During the site visit, we discussed the ceremony layout on the deck at length. We were able to explore the deck, as the snow had recently been cleared from it.

At the end of the visit, there were a couple of follow up items that we wanted to know before booking, but given our conversations with Stephanie, they seemed minimal. One of them was a potential cost associated with clearing the Timber Deck. Something that was mentioned in passing and we were simply doing our due diligence before moving ahead.

Upon waiting to hear back from Stephanie about the cost, she informed us that upper management was in the process of reviewing their snow removal policy and she would have to get back to us. Over 5 weeks later, after we put a hard deadline on waiting for an answer, we were finally told of the decision.

The cost for snow removal on the Timber Room deck was going to be $2,000. Please note, this is double the cost of the rental fee for the Timber Room at $1,000. We were shocked. We have no idea how it could possibly cost this much money - even with multiple staff and a high hourly rate, taking into consideration fuel and depreciation for a snow removal machine, this seems extreme.

We also couldn't understand why, if it does actually cost $2,000 for snow removal, that Grouse Mountain had removed the snow before our site visit. Just for kicks? At the time of our visit, all events had been banned due to COVID.

As this snowballed from a passing comment to a whole policy change with an extremely high price tag, we have decided not to move ahead with this venue.

It is a ski and snowboard mountain with other attractions. How could they not be properly equipped to remove snow? Surely they know their value is the natural beauty and incredible views, specifically from the deck.

We recommend avoiding booking Grouse during the winter for your weddings if you are hoping to have an outdoor ceremony in the natural beauty. But please, if it's during the summer, do it - you'll love the deck and you'll love working with Stephanie.