Comparing the Ark with the Strathmere Inn

Compare the Ark with the Strathmere Inn

The Strathmere Inn has been in business since 1979 and hosts over 150 weddings per year. They have recently been voted the "Best Venue for Weddings in Ottawa". We say "Congratulations" to the Strathmere and respect all they have done to their venue and for their clients. But we also say "Watch Out!", because we believe their title as "Best Wedding Venue" will be in jeopardy once more people learn about the Ark.

The Ark has been in business since 2007 and currently hosts over 7 weddings per year! Weddings here at the Ark are not "big business". Unlike the Strathmere who may host up to 6 weddings in a weekend, we will only host one. This means you do not have to share the grounds with anyone else, you can hold your ceremony any time you like, you can decorate any time the day BEFORE your wedding, and you can collect your things any time the day after. You decide every aspect of your wedding and we don't dictate how you do anything. Our job is simply to help you make your vision a reality. We do not provide an "assembly line" wedding service here, every event is unique and catered to your exact wishes.

We don't offer catering services, nor do we hold a liquor license. This means you are free to feed your guests any way you like. You could hold a weenie-roast over the bonfire if you liked! Or you could have a pot luck, or hire somebody to roast a pig for you. We love working with Bytown Catering, but you're free to bring in any caterer you like.

With no liquor license and no corkage fees, you're free to bring your own home-made wine or beer. You can bring the 55-beer "octagons" from Costco or whatever duty free liquor you've saved up from your border crossings. Why should your guests have to pay $6 to enjoy a beer at your wedding?

Please feel free to fact check any/all of our numbers below. All of the information I have posted regarding the Strathmere Inn I found on their website at: /www.strathmere.com/weddings/

Now how much confidence does that show? How many other businesses would provide you a direct link to their competition that has been voted "the best" in their field? We're not worried though. We WANT you to compare us to them. We're not only better, but as you can see in the table, we're much less expensive as well. LET THE COMPARISONS BEGIN!

	The Ark	Strathmere	Ark price for 100 guests	Strathmere price for 100 guests
Distance from Ottawa City Hall, per Mapquest	54km	44km
Room Rental Fee	$2200	$2480	$2200	$2480
Number of weddings per weekend	Maximum 1	Maximum 6
Payment method	$500 to reserve balance due on wedding day	50% to reserve balance 60 days later
Refund policy	50% up to 3 months prior, you could "lose: $250	no refunds, you could lose $8700!
No alcohol weddings	no restrictions	only permitted Sunday - Thursday
Decorating restrictions	no restrictions	decor must be approved by Strathmere in advance
Decorating time available	any time Friday morning until your ceremony	after noon on your wedding day
Supervisor fee	none	$100		$100
Ceremony time	your choice	4 or 4:30pm
Catering services	your choice	Strathmere caterer only
Price of full chicken dinner	$24/plate with Bytown	$34/plate	$2400	$3400
Price of rack of lamb	$33/plate with Bytown	$46/plate	$3300	$4600
Liquor requirements	BYOB with $35 Quebec liquor license	Strathmere supplied only	$35
Can you bring your own homemade wine or beer	Absolutely	Absolutely NOT
Price of wine	BYOB from $6/bottle	from $30/bottle	$120	$600
Price of beer	BYOB from $1/bottle	from $6/bottle	$192	$1152
Price of spirits	BYOB from $1/drink	from $6/drink	$70	$420
Soft drinks	BYO from $0.25/drink	from $2.50/drink	$10	$100
Video and Audio services	included in price	must hire/rent DJ		from $450
Pets allowed	Yes	No
Bonfire available	Yes	No
Environmental considerations	Solar powered Off-the-Grid	On Grid
Property description	164 hardwood forested acres with 10km of trails	200 "country" acres
Brides preparation room	Included	Included
Onsite camping	Yes $100 total	no
Onsite accomodations	1 room only in 2010, $100/night	Yes from $150/night
Photo opportunities	complete freedom and full run of the grounds	shared and coordinated with other wedding parties
Are waterfront photos possible?	Yes	No
Parking	Free	Free
Is there a petting zoo?	Llamas, mini horse, and horses	No

Total Approx. cost			$5027	$8702

In the overall price above we compared Bytown's Chicken Dinner with the Strathmere's Chicken Dinner. As you can see, you would spend more but save even more money if you decided to serve your guests the lamb dish. And you would potentially save thousands more if you decided on a Pot Luck or homegrown BBQ Dinner over hiring a caterer at all! At the Ark you're welcome to serve a potluck meal and even have your guests bring their own beer! The $8700 you will spend at the Strathmere is the MINIMUM you can possibly spend there. At the Ark, if you have your guests contribute food and alcohol, you can marry here for only $2200 on a Saturday. That's $6500 cheaper than the Strathmere, and I guarantee you're guests will have just as much fun!

I've already given you the link to the Strathmere and you can find their menu there. If you want to check out Bytown's menu, you can click here.

For the alcohol cost estimates, I went with the Beverage Calculator Chart for 100 people which I have on this page of my website.

For all you who had planned on wedding at the Strathmere, I look forward to hearing from you!

SBI!