MONTREAL’S BEST OUTDOOR WEDDING VENUES
Updated for 2021-22 Weddings!
Montreal is a magnificent city to get married in and I feel lucky to live & work here as a wedding photographer.
There are a lot of unique outdoor wedding venues in Montreal and so, as a wedding photographer, I thought I would highlight the benefits of wedding venues I have had the pleasure photographing — as well as offer up some ideas for locations that are currently on my wedding venue bucket list of spaces to photograph.
Although this was written pre-pandemic, I’ve done my best to keep this page relevant since a massive increase in traffic has happened with this page! To stay up to date on what the rules are for gatherings, in Quebec please consult this link.
For those of you planning your wedding — I’d like to also invite you to my Wedding Guide for Couples (+FREE Wedding Photography Timeline Template and Formals Shotlist Planner)
LA TOUNDRA
Located just a hop, skip and jump away from Downtown Montreal, La Toundra is located in Parc Jean Drapeau which (if you are from out of town) is famous for hosting Formula One racing in the summer.
The benefits to any couple planning their wedding at this venue is its accessibility. Your wedding guests from Montreal and those who are visiting from out of town will have no trouble getting to this venue by Uber, public transportation, or.. bike if they really wanted to!
What I love about this space is how much it invites the natural light in and feels so immersed in nature, with the city skyline of Montreal twinkling in the distance. The surrounding gardens are wonderful in serving up inspiration for photographs that look like paintings even in their most candid of moments — it’s a background that all wedding photographers love.
If you would like to see more wedding photographs from La Toundra — visit Kelci & Ben’s wedding story here.
(Looking for a photographer for your wedding at La Toundra? Contact me!)
PAVILLON DE LA JAMAIQUE (THE JAMAICA PAVILION)
Located just a hop, skip and jump away from La Toundra (mentioned above!) the Jamaica Pavilion is an ideal wedding venue for the smaller wedding sizes. The giant willow tree is a a perfect canopy to get married under as the sun twinkles through its boughs in the afternoon sun.
As mentioned above, the proximity of this wedding venue to Downtown Montreal and it’s access to lush gardens and city skyline views, give couples a little bit of everything on their wedding day — bathed in natural light — the best light that fine art wedding photographers look for in all their shots.
I have shot a wedding here before (you can see Jacqueline & Rich’s story on the Montreal Wedding Blog here) - and I have a wedding here in 2022!
Want to talk about your wedding photography at the Jamaica Pavilion? Send me a message here.
LE BELVEDERE DU VIEUX-PORT MONTREAL
Le Belvedere du Vieux Port strikes a unique balance of modern elegance and Old World charm all surrounded by water that invites natural light, city skyline views, stunning sunsets at cocktail hour and romantic strolls through the cobblestone streets of the Old Port. This venue has a capacity for those larger weddings and with it’s stripped down simplicity, is a perfect location to decorate and make it your own.
You can see two of the three day wedding that Fannie & Deep had here.
It can be hard to find a venue that can tick all the boxes: close to public transportation, sufficient parking, separate spaces for the ceremony, cocktail hour, formal photographs, couple photographs, dinner, speeches, and a dance party.
Are you planning on getting married at Le Belvedere and are searching for a photographer in Montreal? I’d love to talk to you! Please share some of your wedding plans & details with me here.
L’ELOI
Located in the mile-end of Montreal, Productions L’Eloi took an old industrial loft and updated it just enough to be the perfect photographer’s studio space. The owners thought outside the box with the great idea to open the studio up to host the smaller, more intimate wedding gatherings. This wedding venue has an open airy quality to it with an ambience of sleek design mixed with old industrial architecture — offering up a unique and charming experience to any wedding guest in attendance.
I realize that technically this is mostly an indoor wedding space, but it makes it onto my Outdoor Wedding Venue list because of it’s beautiful rooftop and how much sunlight bathes through its windows. You don’t really feel like you’re inside, even if you are.
If you’d like to see more from this wedding pictured above — visit this “Classic Black & White Wedding” blog post here.
Are you planning a unique intimate wedding (or elopement) at L’Eloi? Reach out and tell me about it here.
VENUES ALONG THE LACHINE CANAL - ATWATER MARKET
There are some very cool outdoor wedding ceremony spots along the Lachine Canal (or are canal adjacent) that I have on my wedding photography bucket list to photograph. Full disclosure: this is my neighborhood and so I have an extra special fondness for these spots because they are in my area. I feel like I understand them, if that makes sense?
It’s incredible to me just how much of a hot spot the canal has become in the time of CoVID-19 — on my nightly walks I take joy in seeing the laughter-filled picnics as the sun sets along the canal.
If you’re considering (or have booked) a wedding in one of these spots then I would love to photograph it:
L’Ambroisie & L’Espace Canal if you’re getting married with canal views, you’re getting married in front of one of my favorite views. A longtime resident of this borough, I have spent years running in the morning, the afternoon, and at sunset along the canal. The sky never gets old and getting to photograph a couple in love against its backdrop sounds pretty great to me.
Entrepots Dominion located in the heart of St.Henri, this industrial event space feels cozy, creative and charming in one fell swoop. It’s outdoor ceremony space is located in the shadow of restored industrial lofts and the indoors space makes for a good party. If you’re planning your wedding celebrations here, I want to photograph them.
McKiernan is such a cool new industrial loft spot re-opened by the famed Joe Beef chefs it’s no wonder that this is proving itself to be a formidable wedding location.
Send me a quick message through my wedding services submissions form here!
CHATEAU RAMEZAY
If you’re getting married at the Chateau Ramezay and are in search of a wedding photographer, then I would like to talk to you. Having hosted several engagement shoots and wedding party portraits in and around its gardens, I would love to actually photograph an official event in this beautiful old mansion set in the heart of the Old Port.
This venue makes the outdoor wedding venue list BECAUSE of its stunning and well coiffed garden. Almost like a little piece of Paris right at our fingertips (I love Paris, got engaged in Paris, will always be very connected to it in very many ways).
Some of the benefits of getting married at the Chateau Ramezay are its capacity to mix old historical architecture, light, and art surrounded by cobblestone streets and manicured gardens — but also that it is so easily accessible to public transportation, long walks through Old Montreal, the very active square adjacent to it (where many tourist will cheer for you as you walk through in your finest wedding ensembles). It is FILLED with charm and beauty.
If you’re getting married (or are planning to) at the Chateau Ramezay and are searching for a wedding photographer who likes to capture romantic, timeless, candid photographs please take a quick moment to fill out this form. Looking forward to hearing from you!
FOREST & STREAM CLUB
This luxurious and exclusive historical club based in Dorval and on the waterfront is for all intents and purposes, a photographer’s dream venue on any wedding day.
This venue is on my wedding venue bucket list — as are any wedding venue that has a similar warmth, reputation and landscape like the Ballyvolane House wedding I attended in Ireland in 2019 (three of the photos above are from that venue).
If you’re getting married (or are planning to) at the Forest & Stream Club and are searching for a wedding photographer who likes to capture romantic, timeless, candid photographs please take a quick moment to fill out this form. Looking forward to hearing from you!
Looking for more venue ideas?
Visit my list of Best Elopement & Small Wedding Venues in Montreal or if you’re looking for something more off the beaten path, check out my Canadian Wedding Bucket List