St. Marys Golf and Country Club Wedding
Your (Ultimate) guide
by a wedding photographer who has shot there tons of times.
Psssst. The Wedding Photo Gallery is at the bottom of the article.
St. Mary's Golf and Country Club is surely one of the most beautiful wedding venues in the area. With two different reception areas, the ballroom and the hideaway there is something for everyone. As a wedding photographer I travel quite a bit and get to see many different wedding venue locations. That said this little gem, is only 15 minutes from Stratford.
This place is the total package, not only is it picturesque the staff are wonderful, the food is top-notch into the service is second to none. I have had the pleasure of photographing many beautiful weddings here and my wedding couples and I are never disappointed.
They have awesome outdoor grounds for wedding photos, where they will take you around on a supercool golf cart. Beautiful bridal suites serve as an awesome spot to get ready. Things are modern and updated, and just plain old pretty. They have an excellent team of leading specialists that help the day run super smoothly. you also have the added benefit of the fact that they are located in a beautiful town, with lots of stone architecture, bridges (including one super awesome tall one), a nice train station and a few other secret spots for wedding photos.
There are two rooms that will host your wedding reception. I remember not that long ago when it was only one, but their expansion has been incredible. The only downside that I see is that they no longer only just have the one wedding a day. So the wedding space is less exclusive. Everything is segregated well however and their staff are awesome so you never feel like a number.
The Ballroom was their first wedding space. It is offered year-round and was updated not that long ago. It has a classic feel with a big bank of windows to let in lots of light. I have seen it used with minimal decoration or jazzed right up. There is a private patio, off the back of it which overlooks the ceremony space and the grounds. The space is large and flexible. I would imagine you could fit about 200 guests in there, but for all those details and things I would strongly suggest reaching out to them and getting the particulars. They have a really nice dedicated website just for weddings. There isn't a whole ton of information on there, but they are really good at communicating and getting you all of the information you need.
The Hideaway recently became their second offering after they expanded. It is a more seasonal space, due to the fact it is reconverted storage space and doesn't have sufficient heating to keep you warm throughout the cold winter. That said if you are fortunate enough to have it available, that more industrial vibe is simply stunning. The hideaway is aptly named as it is towards one end of the building. I would describe it as romantic and intimate, the lighting is on point with these wonderful chandeliers accented perfectly by exposed wood beams and a warm earthen and ceiling. I would say it is both rustic and elegant. The refined industrial look really is such a wonderful canvas to achieve your special vision for the day. It too has lots of light provided by big windows and cool rollup garage doors, which depending on the weather can be raised up to really allow a breezy open air feel. I would imagine just about every bride who is fortunate enough to view this location will almost immediately fall in love with it.
As for ceremony locations, there are a few different locations depending on the size of your wedding and whether it is indoor or outdoor. There are a couple different outdoor locations, both of which have nice backgrounds and pergola ceremony spots. Indoors it gets a bit tighter but the decorating team always makes it lovely. One thing I have been impressed by, they are very accommodating of brides who want to wait until the last minute to see about the weather. You don't want to think about it happening to you but sometimes the weather does take a turn for the worse on your big day. However I have seen the staff at St. Mary's golf and country club really try to bend over backwards and accommodate their brides when the weather is dicey. Some venues make you call it for an indoor wedding almost 1st thing in the morning, where as I have seen the staff here try to preserve the outdoor ceremony and be willing to wipe off chairs and dry things down right up until about an hour before. So if you are dead set on an outdoor ceremony, that might be a good thing to keep in mind.
The food here is excellent. I hate to say it, but I can be a bit of a snob with the fact that I eat at so many different wedding venues. I have had I think all of the options on the menu and they were all good. Including beef, chicken, fish and vegetarian options.
As for photo locations, just like everywhere in the last few years wedding venues that are part of golf courses have clamped down a bit. I think with the rise of these beautiful venues, the members at the golf courses sometimes get left behind. I can remember a few short years ago at lots of wedding venues we would have free reign to drive golf carts all over the place. That is no longer the case sadly at many spots. At this location, they are now a bit more stringent having particular locations and times where you are allowed to photograph and do your wedding photography. It is a bummer, to be sure but I think it it shows the fact that they are considerate of everyone, and maintain a professional atmosphere. They do offer the ability to drive you around to a few more set locations in their super sweet golf cart. Calling a golf cart is a bit of a slight, the thing is pretty dope. And so is the driver, the wheel man himself. You are in for some laughs. If you know me, I like to blaze my own trail so being more on rails like we have bumpers at bumper bowling isn't my favourite thing. That said I have always been able to make it work and find some wonderful locations to sneak away to. As a bonus, the way the wedding venue is oriented with the front of the building facing south, and the golf course out the back to the north the lighting here is always awesome later in the day. So if you are planning to slip out closer to sunset, there is oftentimes some beautiful golden light. If you are not planning on trying to get out there at sunset, I might have to twist your arm. ;)
Overall St. Mary's Golf and Country Club weddings are always poppin! As a location to host your wedding this place is an A+ that is not a recommendation that I give out lightly, but Ashton, Courtney and their teams are really second to none. This place certainly gets my stamp of approval.
