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About

On WeddingWire since 2015

ABOUT

Strathmere is a 200 acre historic estate just outside of Ottawa, renowned for hosting bespoke weddings for over 35 years. Our estate features three unique wedding venues: a 150 year old stone farmhouse, a 200 year old restored barn and a Garden House each featuring their own private properties and outdoor ceremony sites.

In addition, Strathmere has 30 overnight rooms onsite as well as a brand new Wellness Retreat and Spa for all guests to enjoy. Book a tour to explore the grounds and stop by the Cafe at the Retreat to indulge in Strathmere’s famous farm-to-table culinary experience.

FACILITIES & CAPACITY

  • The Farmhouse: For the most intimate of weddings. Built for a beloved in the early 1860s, this fieldstone farmhouse boasts romantic detail. Enter down a sweeping circular staircase for your first look or enjoy a quiet moment together nestled in the upstairs alcove. With your closest friends and family, say “I do” canopied under majestic 160-year-old walnut trees. As the sun sets, sneak out past the veranda into the Heritage Garden surrounded by roses and wildflowers alike.
    • Capacity: From 25 to 65 guests for dining, and up to 90 guests for a reception.
  • The Lodge: For our grandest celebrations. As you twirl across smooth wood grain floors, don’t forget to look up! Your evening will be framed by 160-year old beams stretching across cathedral ceilings, and adorned by a series of six iron and crystal orb chandeliers. Memorable toasts in your honor will be made against a striking backdrop: a soaring limestone fireplace stretching 24 feet high. Yours is a breathtaking ceremony outside overlooking rolling fields. And at dusk, vintage lights will glow for your first dance Al Fresco.
    • Capacity: From 50 to 200 guests for dinner, and up to 250 guests for the reception.
  • The Garden House: Our most enchanting venue nestled between a grassy hillock and the Woods, The Garden House is hidden on its own 10-acre piece of the property. As you enter, sunbeams stream through wrap-around windows and dance off white gold chandeliers. A handcrafted limestone fireplace with adjacent french doors leads the path to a tranquil ceremony site overlooking the Woods and Orchard. After champagne toasts, let the evening breeze carry you across the outdoor dance floor under a starry and celestial sky.
    • Capacity: From 50 to 175 guests for dinner, and up to 200 for the reception.

EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE AT AN AFFORDABLE PRICE

Unique service highlights:

  • A dedicated and experienced wedding coordinator is included with every wedding
  • Access to onsite hotel rooms for you and your guests
  • A wellness retreat and spa onsite for you and your guests including: manicures, facials, campfires, restaurant, craft beer, hot tubs, yoga and hiking trails.

Additional services

  • Full set up and cleanup
  • Banquet tables (round or rectangular)
  • Wood crossback chairs
  • White resin garden folding chairs (outdoor use)
  • White/Ivory linen tablecloths and choice of colored napkins for the Wedding in Season and Lap length Ivory Linen and Ivory Napkins for The Wedding for Every Season
  • Wedding cake table, cake knife and Card Box
  • Gift & guest book tables
  • Personalized printed menus for choice entrée menus
  • Wooden table numbers
  • Flatware, glassware, tableware
  • Lanterns with LED Candles
  • Bride’s waiting room with full-length mirror
  • Coat room facilities
  • Dance floor
  • Podium and microphone
  • Easels for displaying floor plans and welcome signs
  • Outdoor ceremony site with vintage lighting
  • Wood burning fireplaces (weather permitting)
  • DJ Table
  • Signing Table with outdoor ceremony

A CULINARY EXPERIENCE

With produce grown here on our 200-acre property, Strathmere offers exquisite seasonal menus year round that leave guests with full hearts and bellies. Our field to plate menus are renowned - we use as much as possible from our own fields, including home grown fruits, vegetables, and edible flowers. Our Executive Chef, in partnership with our Lead Grower, create dishes that are equal parts delicious and beautiful.

We work with a local butcher for all of our meat, a fishmonger for fish and seafood, a fromagerie for cheeses, and a local egg farmer. Ours is truly a culinary experience that will ignite all of your senses.



Frequently asked questions

How many event spaces or rooms does your venue offer?

4

Describe your venue:

Banquet hall
Farm
Historic
Hotel
Inn/B&B
Restaurant

Describe the style of your venue:

Classic
Country
Garden
Rustic
Vintage

What kind of settings are available?

Indoor
Uncovered outdoor

Which of the following wedding events does your venue service?

Ceremony
Reception
Bridal shower
Engagement party
Rehearsal dinner

What event services do you offer?

Accommodations
Bridal suite
Catering / bar
Clean up
Event planning
Event rentals
Liability insurance
Outside vendors
Set up

What catering services do you offer?

Buffet
Cocktail reception
Dessert
Hors d'oeuvres
Plated
Server(s)
Stations

What bar services do you provide?

Bartender(s)
Cash bar
Champagne toast
House beer
House wine
House liquor
Liquor license
Open bar
Premium liquor
Signature drink
Outside alcohol
Specialty beer
Specialty wine

What event items are available?

Altar/arches
Centerpieces
Dance floor
Decor
Furniture
Lighting
Chairs
Tables
Tents

What food and beverage items are available?

Barware
China
Flatware
Glassware
Linens

What transportation and access is available?

Parking
Wheelchair access

Do you have a site fee for wedding receptions at your venue?

Yes

What is the starting site fee for wedding receptions during peak season?

$2,500

What is the starting site fee for wedding receptions during off-peak season?

$1,900

Do you have a site fee for wedding ceremonies at your venue?

No

Which of the following are included in starting site fee?

Set up
Clean up
Event planning
Chairs
Tables
Linens
China
Flatware
Glassware
Lighting/sound
Parking
Bridal suite

What is the average catering price per person for plated service?

$150

What is the average catering price per person for buffet service?

$160

What is the average catering price per person for stations?

$10

Which of the following are included in the cost of wedding catering?

Cake cutting
Server(s)
Dessert

What is the starting price per person for bar service?

$5
illustration question

Any other questions?

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4.8 out of 5 rating
WeddingWire Wedding Awards 2015 Winner
115 reviews
  • Quality of service
    4.9 out of 5 rating
  • Response time
    4.8 out of 5 rating
  • Professionalism
    4.9 out of 5 rating
  • Value
    4.8 out of 5 rating
  • Flexibility
    4.8 out of 5 rating
94% Recommended by couples
Kristine
Kristine F. Sent on 27/02/2023
5 out of 5 rating

We loved everything about our experience!

From our first tour, taste testing our menu, planing our final details with our coordinator and the amazing & kind staff throughout our big day the experience created at Strathmere really help us to feel special and celebrated!
We loved the country feel with a large and open space created at the Lodge, which allowed us to have a 180 person wedding with all our family and friends!
Emily
Emily F. Sent on 23/09/2022
4.6 out of 5 rating

Very good service, experience and quality of fod

Everyone loved the food and said it was amazing, the rooms upstairs are great for everyone getting ready and staff was amazingly on time and had everyone work together.
The only thing is they forgot about the buquet toss so I never got to do that.
Fiona
Fiona F. Sent on 29/10/2021
4.6 out of 5 rating

Perfect in every way

Strathmere is breathtaking and we knew once we set our eyes on The Lodge that it was perfect. Beautiful countryside, walking trails and the leaves changing in fall - it was a winner from the start. We have received so many compliments with regards to the venue and the food that we have lost track. Our guests were blown away. Planning a wedding during a pandemic is far from easy. It was a definite roller coaster ride but Strathmere was there every single step of the way - keeping us informed, answering all our questions and easing our nerves. We met with our wedding co-ordinator and then there was a last minute change and poof - Mel appeared. Mel is the most kind, warm and helpful person you'll ever meet who made our wedding day flawless. She answered all our questions with no delay, checked, double checked and triple checked everything so nothing was missed. She was even there the night before helping us set up until close to midnight as well as midnight the day of. There are no words to describe how amazing she is. We would definitely recommend Strathmere and if you get Mel then you are in for a special treat as you should consider yourselves very lucky...as you have the best of the best.
Amanda
Amanda L. Sent on 18/08/2021
4 out of 5 rating

Our wedding coordinator made it all worth it

Strathmere is an absolutely beautiful wedding venue. So much so that you don't even need to decorate much as it shines on its own. The food is out of this world, and so fresh as they grow so much of the food themselves.

We booked our wedding in early 2019 for August 2020. Although it was very pricey, it seemed to be worth it and they even wanted to work with us to create a custom vegan menu. After Covid hit, things were quite frustrating. At first, they didn't want to postpone our wedding, even though we knew by the end of March that a wedding would not be happening in 2020. Finally they agreed to postpone our wedding a year. Which was perfect for us. In spring of 2021, when covid was still bad, we asked if we could reduce our guest list because we didn't feel a 100 person wedding was responsible. They continued to push for us to have 100 people until the very last minute when I had to be firm and tell them we need to send out invitations and we are not inviting people at the last minute. Reluctantly, they agreed. Out of all of vendors, strathmere was the least flexible and helpful when it came to planning a wedding during a global pandemic.

Then, we met our wedding coordinator, Mel. Upon meeting her, she was warm and more than willing to ask any questions we had. On our day, she was so incredibly helpful and always asking us to make sure things were going well. Honestly it was like having my own fairy godmother. She was just amazing and we are so blessed to work with her. There were a few bumps along the road but she made it all worth it. Anyone would be lucky to have a wedding coordinator like Mel.

All in all, I would recommend Strathmere. Maybe it will be easier outside of the pandemic!
Laura
Laura M. Sent on 25/07/2021
4.6 out of 5 rating

Incredibly enjoyable experience.

Strathmere was attentive to our needs and provided excellent service. We had a few guests with severe dietary restrictions, and Strathmere was incredibly attentive to their needs.
The ONLY issues I had was providing information. During the COVID era, we found that information wasn’t passed along as efficiently as we would’ve liked. To be fair, we also understand that they were left in the dark themselves from government mandates.
Overall, I would recommend them to anyone getting married.
Chelsey
Chelsey H. Sent on 11/03/2021
1.4 out of 5 rating

Unprofessional disappointing experience

When we first saw the grounds at Strathmere we were impressed. We had a tour and an initial discussion about what we wanted for our wedding which was simple BBQ style buffet foods, bring our own pie instead of wedding cake, and overall a simple wedding on a smaller budget. We were told this is all possible and signed the contract and paid the deposit.
The first issues started cropping up with the menu: we were told we could have a custom menu, but the first draft price well exceeded our budget and what we had said in the initial discussion. We started the discussion by choosing items directly off the a la carte menu we were provided. The menu returned to us had been completely changed, the price raised, and no explanation was sent with it, just a word doc. We sent back a revision with explanations as to why we wanted things changed. We were then referred to the ‘Food Stylist’ directly. She sent another revised menu which still did not meet our changes (which were based on allergies and intolerances - we would only have been able to eat half of the things on there) again with no explanation as to why, and a lower price but still not what we had been told was possible in the beginning. We emailed substituting some menu items within this revision with items from the first menu sent to us and sent it back. We heard no response for a month (granted it was over Christmas time so...). We got a third revised menu and things had been added and changed yet again seemingly randomly and moving farther away from what we wanted in the first place, again with no explanation for the changes. We decided to call as we assumed there was some miscommunication happening. During this call my fiancé and I were referred to by the Food Stylist as ‘the kids’ which I find completely unprofessional as we are most certainly not children and should not have been referred to with such condescension.
We had in the initial discussion mentioned we wanted to have pie instead of the traditional cake for our wedding and were told that it was fine, no problems at all. We had asked in an email for some vendors with a focus on pies and tarts and 2 suggestions with links were sent. When we came to actually planning this we were told that “Strathmere must provide and serve all food and beverages, except the wedding cake and cupcakes”. We emailed expressing our confusion at this, mentioning that we had been told in the initial visit it was fine and that we had been sent suggestions. This was met with Strathmere asking to resend the emails where they said this as they “cannot find it in the system”. Their reason for refusing to allow us to have pies was that they are “very messy and difficult for this type of service”.
We also found it hard to communicate with Strathmere as our questions were answered with vague and generalized answers that did not help very much in the planning of our wedding. Or the emails were not answered at all. We had to resend emails twice asking if they had somehow gotten lost because there was no response for weeks.
Covid became another issue entirely. We were allowed to postpone our wedding with no financial penalty or extras back in March when this all started, however the new date had to be before April 30th 2021 (we had been planning to get married in May). We could not just move it to the same date next year or anything nearer to our date. We did eventually get a May date but it was a struggle. As everyone knows Covid is still very prevalent and as our new wedding date drew nearer we wanted to know Strathmere’s policy concerning Covid. What they sent back was very vague and required a minimum payment of 45 adults no matter what the restrictions were. (So if 10 people were the max allowed at weddings we would still be paying for 45 people total). We received a second communication about Covid a few weeks later which indicated that we could remain with or date or postpone again, HOWEVER this postponement came with additional cost! If it was before December 15 2021 we were to pay an extra deposit of $500, OR we could postpone up to July 31 of 2022 but we would need to pay an extra $1000. This is on top of the large deposit we had already paid to Strathmere originally.
We ultimately decided to cancel our wedding as we did not feel Strathmere’s focus was on safety during Covid and their options for postponement did not feel reasonable to us. When we cancelled we were met with an email that reiterated we could pay the extra money to postpone, mentioned how hard done they were by Covid, and how our cancellation of our wedding meant a significant loss to Strathmere. Their focus was only on their financial loss; there was no mention of our wedding day being lost to us, or any regrets extended at our suffering.
Overall we have been displeased with the service offered from Strathmere. The headaches, stress, and anxiety caused by the lack of communication, the unwillingness to explain or compromise, and the general attitude towards us expressed by Strathmere have left us with nothing but resentment and more grief.
Natalie
Natalie C. Sent on 03/10/2020
5 out of 5 rating

Thoughtful, accommodating venue!

I have nothing but kind words to say about Strathmere. They have been with us through the pandemic and have been supportive through our decision to postpone our wedding from May 2020 to September 2020. We held our wedding at the Garden House this month, and we felt extremely safe with all of their COVID-19 protocols put in place. Our wedding coordinator, Lisa, and all of the staff at Strathmere were nothing but helpful and genuine with us throughout the whole process. The venue was beautiful, the food was excellent and I could not recommend them enough.

If you are looking for a rustic venue with beautiful backdrops for your pictures, helpful staff and a wonderful experience overall, look no further!
Jessica
Jessica E. Sent on 17/01/2020
5 out of 5 rating

Great Modern Rustic Setting

My wife and I had our wedding at Strathmere on October 12, 2019. The ceremony and the reception were held at The Lodge, which fit into our "modern rustic" theme.

The food was amazing, our wedding coordinator Crystal was fantastic and ever understanding. Laura, another member of the team at Strathmere offered to create our seating chart and the rest of our signage for a very reasonable price and they looked fantastic.

In short, Strathmere and its team made one of the most "stressful" days one can endure relaxed, enjoyable and beautiful. Their ability to accommodate is second to none, and the location was breathtaking in the fall.

We would both highly recommend this venue to any couple looking to get married.

Thank you again Strathmere!
Maureen
Maureen F. Sent on 04/06/2019
5 out of 5 rating

Amazing!!!!

We held our wedding at Strathmere's old farmhouse, now called The Inn. I can't say enough good things about the food, the service, and the beautiful location. Strathmere's Coordinator, Mel Workman, was a Wonder Woman. Without apparent effort, she made everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, happen exactly as it should. She went out of our way when our wedding cupcakes arrived in a gooey mess of icing, having been jostled in the box en route to Strathmere. Mel ensured that the hard-working kitchen staff removed the icing from every cupcake and re-applied it, with appropriate garnishes. They looked beautiful. Perfect. Luckily I didn't hear about the near-fiasco until after the gorgeous tier of cupcakes was served after the plentiful and delicious buffet luncheon.
I highly recommend Strathmere for a wedding reception.
Alan
Alan Sent on 26/09/2019
5 out of 5 rating

Excellent service

Great services got back to me really fast replies and curties
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Awards

115
WeddingWire Wedding Awards 2016 Winner
WeddingWire Wedding Awards 2015 Winner

Strathmere Real Weddings

Marie-Christine & Kevin
112 Photos · 24/Sep/2022
Andrea & Ben
82 Photos · 03/Nov/2019
Stephanie & Josh
89 Photos · 05/Oct/2019
Katrina & Ryan
61 Photos · 14/Sep/2019
Alexandra & Paul
111 Photos · 06/Sep/2019
Abibatu & Andrew
50 Photos · 19/Aug/2018

Map

1980 Phelan Road W K0A 2T0 Ottawa (Ontario)
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