Bow Valley Ranche Restaurant

From start to finish our time with BVR was a dream.

Everything about the wedding planning process was seamless. Suzanne is a real gem of a coordinator and so incredibly dialled. I consider myself to be really organized and excellent at planning - so it is hard to impress me but she is AMAZING. We worked with her for nearly 3 years as the pandemic postponed our 2020 wedding and we had booked in 2019. Through the whole process she was responsiveness, answered every question we had - even the silly ones - with grace and did her best to make anything happen for us.

The food here is exceptional. It was mostly the reason we chose this venue for our wedding (we did not even have a second venue in mind, BVR or bust) and it did not disappoint on the wedding day! All of our guests were wowed by the 4 course dinner and left wanting to come back. Shoutout to Tristan for creating our own specialty cocktail for us based on me simply saying "I like rum and I want it to be fall inspired". Our guests LOVED the cocktail and it was so neat to have something made for me!

The venue itself is just gorgeous and makes it really easy to work with as we felt that we did not need to add much decor since it was so beautiful already. We originally planned to have the ceremony outdoors but Southern AB weather had a different idea and so we moved it last minute indoors and even that turned out stunningly beautiful. It was so warm and cozy and romantic! A HUGE thank you to Francis - our contact on the day, for making the last minute switch happen. We were so blessed with our vendor team & wedding party that I was up in the bridal suite trying to get warm and had no idea that everything was being worked out so seamless for me. I barely had time to stress about the weather!

I honestly can't rave about this place enough. We were treated like royalty and I will never ever forget how special choosing BVR made our wedding day.

Bow Valley Ranche was my dream venue! Suzanne at BVR was friendly, professional and flexible! We have to postpone our wedding due to the Covid-19 pandemic and Suzanne was extremely accommodating with the changes! Our guests are still raving about the food at our wedding! I would recommend BVR to absolutely any one for any type of event!

We were taken with Bow Valley Ranche from the first time we went to look. (We even changed our preferred date as it fell on a day they are closed.)
We had a small group and booked one of the side rooms for our reception, with our ceremony on the front lawn. Communication between us and their Events Coordinator was always timely. There were a couple of hiccups, the most notable one being that we had no idea the person we had met with and been in touch with through the entire planning process would not be at the venue the day of the wedding. This led to delays on an already tight timeline as we were being told one thing by some of the staff and something else from others, and the ceremony chairs had to be reset as they had been set-up incorrectly. No one came to introduce themselves as the contact person for the venue until our photographer requested to speak with them. Because of the lack of communication and the fact that our reception decor items were placed in an office we weren't allowed to access, we ran quite late.
That being said, the experience overall was still five stars. They were even willing to let us go ahead with our ceremony outside during a September snow storm and had blankets available to our guests, as well as hot tea in the bride's room following the ceremony. The bridal room was perfect. The servers were all top notch and beyond helpful. It was amazing to be able to have our photos, ceremony and reception all in one location. The food was out of this world and the pastry chef did an amazing job on our wedding cake!
Everyone who attended has done nothing but rave about the entire experience.
I wouldn't hesitate for a minute to recommend Bow Valley Ranche Restaurant to any bride or groom!

(All photos included are by JM Photography.)

We are so happy that we got married at Bow Valley Ranche. Since the moment we decided to get married there, they were responsive and easy to work with and ensured we had considered all the details. On the day itself, the staff and BVR were incredible! They were all so kind and attentive and made the day run smoothly!
In addition, all of our guests were blown away by the beauty of the venue and the quality of the food!
It was perfect!

We just has our brunch wedding at The Bow Valley Ranche Restaurant. The food was incredible, and the service was top of the line! The Restaurant is absolutely breath taking. I recommend this restaurant for weddings, and for food.

After years of planning and a postponement, we finally got to have our wedding at the Bow Valley Ranche - and it was worth the wait. From the very beginning of the planning process, Suzanne and the BVR Staff made our entire experience so easy. This venue is unique, and what really sets it apart is the delicious food, friendly staff and amazing atmosphere.

I would not only recommend the Bow Valley Ranche to future couples planning their weddings, but this place is a must go for all meals! The French toast on their brunch menu is UNREAL!

Thank you again BVR!

The pros of this venue are definitely the aesthetic, the food, and the excellent customer service! The event coordinator Suzanne did an excellent job communicating with me about room setup, timeline, menu, and drink selections. We had a lunch buffet of salad, potatoes, beef, and cheese, as well as appetizers, cake, and a dessert table. All the food was absolutely amazing. The cake was gorgeous and tasted great. They were willing to put our breakable crystal topper on the cake, which some other venues may have refused to do. The look of the venue is so beautiful! Even though it was only 0 degrees Celsius on our wedding day, our indoor pictures couldn't have been better. We were also able to get a few quick ones done outdoors, and the restaurant made for a beautiful backdrop. The weather will never ruin your day if you have your wedding at Bow Valley Ranche, because you can get beautiful photos both inside and out.

The only cons would be that the really amazing coordinator Suzanne was not available to be at our wedding, because she was instead needed at the "dinner under the dome" event being hosted by the restaurant, which was happening next to the restaurant. The other staff did an amazing job, but I would have preferred that the coordinator be at our wedding since she is who we discussed our details and preferences with.

My only other comment which may be considered a con, is that you are only allowed a strict 5 hour time slot from the time your ceremony starts until the time your reception ends. You are allowed to start setting up 2 hours before the ceremony starts, but your actual wedding can only be 5 hours long. This was fine for me since in my opinion (or at least with my crowd), most guests don't want to be at a wedding for more than 5 hours anyway, but I thought I would list this in my review since some people are looking for a venue for the full day. It did make it so that I had to get creative with photo timing to fit everything else in; my husband and I left our reception for half an hour to go take photos around the building, and our bridal party photos were done after the whole wedding, when the reception ended at 4. You can either have your wedding from 11am to 4pm, or from 5pm to 10pm.

Overall, I am very happy I chose to have our wedding at Bow Valley Ranche! We had very happy guests and have the most amazing pictures from that day!

Wow! All I can say is wow! They were amazing, super accommodating and incredible. I'm a celiac with a ton of allergies as my guests have similar allergies and there was not one cross-contamination or issue with food through the whole day. They were incredible to work with, super responsive and the food...the FOOD!!! Wow!

We looked at several places around Calgary and found the Bow Valley had the best food and best prices (me and my hubby are foodies). They offered a tasting menu which was incredible. They did a very thorough tour and never once did I worry about the venue while planning or leading up to the day. Everyone came to us after and said that hands down it was the best food they have ever had at a wedding. I agree the steak and salmon were done perfectly. The appetizers were awesome and the service was outstanding. If I could do the day all over again I would do it here in a heartbeat. Amazing.

BVR was an amazing and beautiful venue! I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a place that's away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The food was also fantastic. The staff was incredibly helpful and professional. They made sure that everything was taken care of on the day of the wedding so I didn't have to stress. They also ensured that my husband and I were fed throughout the night and didn't miss out on the delicious food!

The Ranche Restaurant is a beautiful venue for a small to mid-size wedding. The food is exceptional and the wait staff is very attentive and provided great service. My only issues are that my requests for limited bar service and a $2 drink fee was not honored. Some guests admitted to not paying $2 for their drinks and the bar served a few shots even though we had requested to not serve any shots. Other than that we are very pleased with The Ranche Restaurant as our venue for the ceremony, dinner and reception.