Located in Grand Bend, Ontario, Dark Horse Estate Winery is a venue that specializes in creating a fun and memorable experience for weddings and other special events. Since 2016, Dark Horse Estate Winery has been Ontario West Coast's wedding venue of choice. With a lush vineyard offering scenic views, great wine and fine services, your wedding celebration will be an amazing experience!
Facilities and capacity
The facilites found at this winery venue include 20-acres of stunning vineyards which will provide the perfect backdrop to your wedding photos. Their reception halls include:
Vineyard Ballroom - Max. capacity up to 300 guests
Barrel Cellar - Max. capacity up to 24 guests
VIP Room - Max. capacity up to 20 guests
Cellar Reception Hall- Max. capacity up to 60 guests
Services offered
Dark Horse Estate Winery offers couples the following wedding services:
Venue rental
Bar
Setup of tables and chairs and glassware
* Currently for bookings we are only able to accommodate ceremony and dinner, no reception at this time. Due to the pandemic we are able to host 50 people inside, socially distanced. This will all be lifted when the government gives businesses the go ahead.
We had a very small wedding with our immediate family in attendance... only 24 people. We wanted a place that was classy but intimate. Dark Horse was able to provide the perfect location! The winery was decorated for the holidays and was absolutely stunning! It made our wedding very memorable. Our guests were very impressed!
The staff were extremely friendly and helpful and provided us with excellent service.
We would highly recommend the Dark Horse Estate Winery to anyone planning a wedding!
Glen and Kevin
Sent on 10/01/2020
Dark Horse Estate Winery's reply:
Glen,
It was our pleasure to host your wedding and to share in the joy that came along with your nuptials!
All the best,
Dark Horse Estate Winery Inc.
Cailey Ribbink
· Married on 25/08/2018
4.2
Quality of service:
4.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
3.0
Professionalism:
4.0
Stunning venue!
An amazing venue! The service was excellent as well! We heard so many wonderful comments from our wedding guests and family about the venue being absolutely breathtaking (we already knew this and that's why Dark Horse was our first and only choice for a venue!). Our guests had a great experience in such a unique place. Our rehearsal dinner in the barrel cellar was so beautiful and special, and the experience of getting ready with my mom and bridesmaids in the Dark Horse VIP room was incredible! Dark Horse really catered to all of our needs! My only point about the wedding coordination was that there was a lot of back and forth and not all information was presented in a complete package up front, so I had to ask a lot of questions in order to understand how things would go at the venue. However, Dark Horse provided me with a great contingency plan when the weather was too wet outside for a vineyard ceremony and the wedding ended up still being very beautiful and intimate in their lower wine cellar room.
What a perfect and dreamy wedding day and I wish I could relive it again!
Sent on 28/08/2018
Dark Horse Estate Winery's reply:
Cailey,
We were so happy to host your wedding. We are glad that we could help make your wedding day as amazing as it should be!
All the best,
Dark Horse Estate Winery
Tawnya Declark
· Getting married on 21/08/2021
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Highly recommend
My fiancé and I have booked this venue via virtual tour by Holly. She did an amazing job showing us using face to face video seeing the grounds and the area in which would best suit our personal wedding come July 2021. The place is gorgeous beyond words, and that was clearly shown we didn't have to have a tour we fell in love via video!
Cheers
Jordan and Tawnya
Sent on 11/05/2020
Dark Horse Estate Winery's reply:
Tawnya,
We are so excited to host your wedding in July 2021!
Thank you for your kind words,
Dark Horse Estate Winery Inc.
Charlene Freeman
· Married on 28/09/2019
1.0
Quality of service:
1.0
Responsiveness:
1.0
Value:
1.0
Flexibility:
1.0
Professionalism:
1.0
Not worth the money.
The venue is beautiful, stunning actually for a December wedding, but I can assure you that it is not worth the hassle, attitude or exhaustion you will face when dealing with Ashley and Craig. If there is any advice that I can give, is to ask around to different vendors. I actually heard horror stories from vendors regarding previous experiences they had with Dark Horse, namely Ashley and Craig and after all my experiences I am not surprised at all.
Rude doesn't even begin to describe it. From my very first meeting with Ashley to the dealings with Craig, they are nothing but unprofessional. In fact, it is shocking for the amount of money that you spend there on a wedding that they would be as unprofessional and disrespectful as they are.
Now fast forward to the day before the wedding and setting up. We had the entire wedding party and family come to help as we were doing all of the setup on our own to try to save money (because of the exorbitant fees that they charge), and NOWHERE prior to this were we told a maximum number that were allowed to come and help, or that we weren’t allowed to bring a coffee with us, or that my two grandchildren could not be there, or that we weren’t allowed to track in any dirt from outside, even though it was December, snowing/slushy outside. Not sure how we were supposed to get the decorations from the vehicles into the venue. Regardless, instead of speaking with us like most adults and professionals would have done, they proceeded to talk negatively about us to anyone and everyone behind our backs. In fact, I had several people come up and tell me that they heard both Ashley and Craig putting us down, calling us disasters behind our backs. IF these were their rules, then why wouldn’t they be professional about enforcing them, instead of being unprofessional bullies, with zero respect for anyone but themselves. When confronted with all of this after the wedding they retaliated with more blame. Apparently, their behavior was justified because we didn’t follow the rules of ‘setup’, which we never received. Nobody wanted or intended to ‘break their rules’, and if a Tim Hortons coffee was a problem then all they had to do was point that out. Again, for the amount of money you pay for a wedding you would expect a certain level of respect and professionalism. You won’t find it at this place! There were several other instances of this bullying behavior but I won’t post it all as it is the same theme as the example above. I have never felt so judged and disrespected in my life.
Also, keep in mind all of the 'rules' this venue has. We paid extra for the bridal suite to get ready in. Late morning on the wedding day, we were informed that we had to ensure that we cleared out all of our personal belongings from the room. When we paid extra for the room we didn’t realize that it was for a certain number of hours. This just added stress and chaos when it wasn’t needed. Communication would have also alleviated this. Also, the bar service has last call at midnight, which we did know about, but there was no last call for our guests, and also if you are lucky enough to get a drink before it closes, don't put that drink down, as the bar staff walk around and take the drinks away. Seriously. And after dinner, when the bar opens, they remove all wine from the tables, which is their policy. What I didn't account for was them actually taking my glass of wine that I was drinking. So essentially, since I paid for all of the wine, I paid for the glass they took and then had to get another glass at the bar because they took it from me. I assume in an effort to increase the bar bill. I also had to fight with them to get the actual invoice for the bar, to which I am sure fabricated to inflate the invoice, unfortunately this isn’t something that you can prove, With all of their other lies, it wouldn’t surprise me.
Lastly, be prepared for the cleanup. They have very specific times to clean up, ours was between 10 and 11am the following day. So we all waited around to be at the venue for 10am, and there was nobody there. nice. Again, the height of professionalism. To deal with this company you really need thick skin and a big check book. I truly believe they hate people, hate communicating and the failure to do their job is what led to them attacking and laying blame on us, the people paying them. They should just stay as a winery and not be involved in weddings, as professionalism, human decency and respect are all major parts of the wedding experience.
Overall, we had a terrible experience. I was warned of this before deciding to have the wedding at this venue but I decided that I could deal with it based on how beautiful the venue was. In retrospect, I wish I hadn't, as the attitude, constant negative comments and bullying behaviour (eye rolling), talking behind our backs, blatant lying, which occurs long after the wedding is over, is honestly not worth it. I am sure the Dark Horse will read this and make up reasons for all of these points, but please spend time reading other reviews on other sites, and you will see a common theme to these comments. Also, ask different vendors of their experience at this venue and you will quickly see that there is no defense to any of this as it is just how they operate.
Sent on 09/01/2020
Dark Horse Estate Winery's reply:
Charlene,
Dark Horse Estate Winery prides itself on having a beautiful and elite venue, and we have policies and procedures laid out to protect our venue so that we can continue to ensure all our guests who walk through our doors are still in awe!
All of our services, pricing, policies and procedures including timelines were laid out in our wedding packages, contract and addressed in the final meeting.
We are happy to hear our venue coordinator was able to assist you and your family on the day of Emily’s wedding, and Emily’s day was a success! We wish you and your family a Happy New Year!
As mentioned previously we are more than willing to sit down and discuss further.
Kind Regards,
Management
Tyler Dacey
· Married on 03/10/2020
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Engagement
Had an awesome experience with my engagement proposal! Staff were all amazing and Holly helped coordinated and organized everything so it all went smoothly. Dark Horse is a beautiful spot for any event. Super accommodating and helpful.
Sent on 07/10/2020
Dark Horse Estate Winery's reply:
Tyler,
Thank you for your kind words, and allowing us to be a part of your engagement! You planned such a special evening that you both will remember. The sunset helicopter was a nice touch.
