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About

On WeddingWire since 2024

Last update: December 2023

VanDusen Botanical Garden is a park-style wedding venue located in Vancouver, British Columbia. This charming property has various indoor and outdoor rental spaces available for hosting wedding ceremonies, receptions, and other special events. Defined by lush green garden, a serene ponds and lakes, and elegant features throughout the year, celebrations can be given a worthy stage here.

Facilities and Capacity

The overall capacity of this venue can range between 10 and 200 guests. Its versatility means that it would suit either low-key or opulent occasions. So, those planning an intimate occasion ought to feel as comfortable here as a wedding of one hundred would. Each event can be matched with a space that suits the theme and scope of the festivities.

For the ceremony, three different sites are available among nature’s warm embrace. The Great Lawn is the most versatile area of this trio, as it can welcome between 40 and 200 invitees. Heron Lake has the second-largest capacity available as it can accommodate up to 120 people. As for Meadow Pond, as many as 30 guests can watch on as the couple of honor say “I Do” and commit themselves to one another.

Alternatively, an indoor ceremony can take place at the Visitor Centre or the Floral Halls. After the big moment has taken place, VanDusen Botanical Garden can be toured as the newlyweds and their guests seek out the ideal photoshoot location. Unsurprisingly, considering the nature-inspired theme, there are many.

For the reception, two areas are available for the happy couple and their guests to appreciate the party. At the Visitor Centre Halls, couples can enjoy the BMO Great Hall as well as Peggy Gunn Woodland Hall (which consists of two rooms).

Elsewhere, the Floral Hall includes a main hall area as well as the Cedar Room. These spaces each have their own distinctive appeal, and they are contemporary, eye-catching, and distinctive. Depending on the room and layout selected, between 20 and 120 guests can be seated for the all-important reception meal.

Services Offered

Couples considering hosting their wedding at VanDusen Botanical Garden will delight at the features offered to them. For starters, clients’ preferred vendors are welcome to come on site to add extra character and functionality where needed. A list of suggested vendors can be provided for couples to pursue. Other features of this venue include:

  • Free first come, first serve parking
  • Outside alcohol
  • Wheelchair-accessibility
  • Tables & chairs for indoor venue rentals

Frequently asked questions

How many event spaces or rooms does your venue offer?

5 Indoor & 3 Outdoor

Describe your venue:

Banquet hall
Park/zoo

Describe the style of your venue:

City
Garden
Modern
Waterfront

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?

Event rentals
Lighting / sound
Outside vendors

What bar services do you provide?

Outside alcohol

What event items are available?

Audio equipment
Chairs
Tables

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?

$900

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

$900

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

Yes

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

$2,155

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

$2,155

Which of the following are included in starting site fee?

Chairs
Tables
Parking
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Any other questions?

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4.3 out of 5 rating
10 reviews
  • Quality of service
    4.1 out of 5 rating
  • Response time
    4.2 out of 5 rating
  • Professionalism
    4.4 out of 5 rating
  • Value
    4.3 out of 5 rating
  • Flexibility
    4.4 out of 5 rating
100% Recommended by couples
Justine
Justine Sent on 03/11/2023
4.6 out of 5 rating

Beautiful garden and altar

The Meadow Pond ceremony space was a beautiful little garden area tucked in and mostly private. Small, but perfectly fit our group of 20 for our short wedding ceremony.
As beautiful as the garden is, I felt that this venue location was a bit overpriced. Rental fees at other gardens and parks were lower, the difference being the liaison person. With that I didn’t expect that our photographer would have to be running around trying to keep people away from our photo space, and waiting for strangers to wander by so we could snap a picture.
Claire
Claire D. Sent on 18/09/2022
4 out of 5 rating

Beautiful but Too Hot

We booked our wedding at VanDusen back in 2019 and had to postpone it twice due to COVID. They were very responsive and helpful and ensured that our new date in 2022 was available. They were helpful throughout and allowed us to go to site before the wedding to have everything sorted out. We had our ceremony on Heron Lake which was stunning and we highly recommend. We had our reception in the visitors centre with cocktail hour outside and while the venue was beautiful it seriously needs cooling. We were not aware that the facility was built without AC and despite the VanDusen coordinator assuring us that it was built to not need it, oh boy did it need it. Our wedding occurred on a day when the temperature was above 30 degrees (which seems to be the norm now) and it was almost unbearable inside. Very little circulation of any air, so even once it cooled down outside, it was just as hot inside. Due to the heat we had a lot of our guests leave early and very few people drinking alcohol. We had to hold our cake up with sticks because it was melting in the heat. Overall, I would recommend the venue but I would highly, highly recommend if you're having a summer wedding to hire some temporary cooling.
Kristina
Kristina J. Sent on 04/01/2020
1 out of 5 rating

Walk, do not run from Van Dusen Botanical Garden

Where do I even start with how awful this venue was. Thank god all my other vendors were as great as they were or my day would have been a total disaster.

Van Dusen's staff insulted my taste in decor for my wedding, refused to answer basic questions, were completely inflexible in decor removal - even though they had nothing booked for the next day. They forgot to leave tickets for all my guests for the garden (tickets we were required to buy with the venue booking) - leaving my coordinator to scramble to find someone on the venue's staff to get our tickets. Ultimately they never came to fruition, guests just had to tell the ticketing agent they were a guest.

When a couple of items were accidentally left behind, the staff threatened to throw them out - even though our contract stated any items left behind you had 10 days to retrieve.

It was awful from start to finish. I absolutely do not recommend using Van Dusen as your venue.
Kali
Kali Sent on 08/10/2019
5 out of 5 rating

Perfect Setting

We had an absolutely perfect day at VanDusen for our wedding in September 2019. Right from the beginning, the staff were super responsive and easy to communicate with. They were able to provide everything we needed, and checked in with our planners to be sure everything was set as it was meant to be. The room looked simple and elegant - the sweeping ceiling in the great hall made for gorgeous photos without needing too much extra decor. We hired Truffles catering on site, and many of our wedding guests commented that it was the best wedding food they'd ever had! Highly recommend the venue and the catering.
Shirley
Shirley Sent on 15/10/2019
5 out of 5 rating

Loved VanDusen as our wedding venue!

We had our wedding in the BMO Great Hall and Peggy Gunn Hall A in VanDusen. The indoor venue price was very reasonable and really suited our purposes because we were having a Chinese style ceremony and a Western style reception. All the VanDusen staffs were very friendly and helpful. Between the ceremony and the reception, we were able to take some beautiful photos around the garden, which was another perk of the place. I know that the outdoor space in VanDusen is probably more popular, but the BMO Great Hall, with its huge windows and high ceilings, was quite great as a wedding venue.
Shirley
Shirley Sent on 09/09/2019
5 out of 5 rating

Great experience

The garden was gorgeous for a summer wedding. We had both our ceremony and dinner reception at VanDusen. The venue is spacious and flexible to fit various floor plan designs. The staff there were very responsive and professional.
E
Elaine F. Sent on 08/09/2019
4.8 out of 5 rating

Beautiful place for a outdoor wedding

Ceremony took place at Heron Lake under the willow tree. We didn't need any decor as the gardens did all the work! Our reception took place in the halls of the visitor centre. It was perfect for our wedding and still provided that garden/outdoor look and feel that we wanted.
C
Carmen G. Sent on 20/07/2019
3.8 out of 5 rating

A Dream Garden Wedding

Van Dusen holds a special place in our hearts, as my husband's grandfather has a poetry rock in the Korean pavilion. The garden is so magical and beautiful on it's own, that we didn't have to bring in a ton of decor. We held our ceremony in The Great Lawn, and hosted our reception inside the hall. The Great Lawn was perfect, set against the west cost mountains, and tucked away into a quiet spot away from the garden foot-traffic -- it was everything we wanted and more. The team at VanDusen had great insight, having done so many weddings and events in the past. This is definitely a space for an outdoor garden wedding!
S
Sonia Sent on 22/10/2018
5 out of 5 rating

The Perfect Wedding

My husband and I had our wedding at Van Dusen Garden in Sept 2018. We had an outdoor wedding at the Great Lawn. The Lawn was nothing short of amazing. As the Lawn is VERY large, we had no issues fitting out guest count of 450 people.
We were having some issues with the weather the week of the wedding (it was predicted there was a 90% chance of rain) and the Van Dusen team was incredibly helpful and made it so easy for my husband and I to enjoy our wedding week instead of stressing about the weather. They made sure that the lawn was set up the best way possible to ensure that our guests would still enjoy the gardens (even with the rain).
The day ended up being a beautiful Fall day and everything was absolutely perfect.
I would 100% recommend Van Dusen and the Team for a wedding or event!
W
Wei L. Sent on 04/09/2018
4.6 out of 5 rating

Pretty gardens

We used the BMO great Hall and Peggy Gunn Woodland halls for our wedding ceremony. Initially we were concerned that the space would be warm but being a green building, the ventilation was just fine and guests were happy. Guests enjoyed the beautiful gardens right outside after the ceremony.
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Awards

10

VanDusen Botanical Garden Real Weddings

Ousman & Aisha
97 Photos · 08/Jul/2023
Rachel & Timothy
272 Photos · 31/Jul/2022
Megan & Daniel
19 Photos · 05/Sep/2021
Zainab & Steven
35 Photos · 10/Aug/2019
Millcent & Justin
50 Photos · 19/Aug/2018
Daniela & Andrew
184 Photos · 11/Aug/2018

Map

5251 Oak Street V6M 4H1 Vancouver (British Columbia)
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