Wedding FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
How much does it cost to rent your venue? The price for an Ark wedding on a regular weekend is $2200 (Friday to Sunday). Long weekend rates are $2500. And weekday weddings are $1500. This includes the seating and outdoor venue for the wedding ceremony, tables and chairs for the reception, and audio equipment (for speeches and/or dancing). If you choose, it could also cover half the price of the wedding officiant (All Season's Weddings charges $300 per ceremony - $150 to All Season's and $150 to the officiant - I'll waive my fee if you are married here). And that's it. We don't believe in any "hidden" fees here. We don't charge any additional corkage, cleanup, parking, or decorating fees. Our quotes are all-inclusive. 
That sounds reasonable. Are there any other areas to save?Our research shows we have the lowest outdoor wedding venue price in the region. But where you are really going to save your money is at the bar. We ask that you bring your own liquor license and your own liquor. We've estimated that you can easily serve up to 100 people for as little as $400. This includes wine with dinner and beer and spirits at the bar. Compare that to some venues that charge $5-7 per drink and $30-40 for every opened bottle of wine. A Quebec liquor license can be obtained for $35.
Click here for the Quebec liquor license application.
As with everything else about the Ark, our reservation policy is also the best in the industry. Once you have chosen to wed at the Ark, we will hold your date for you once we receive a $500 deposit. But since we know life can often send us curveballs, we are willing to offer a $250 refund, if you need to cancel your reservation with 3 months notice. Unfortunately, after that timeframe has lapsed, no refund is available.
Certainly, to make your $500 wedding reservation, online, through PayPal, simply
click here.
Most of the best pictures we have are already on the pages of this site. Our other pictures are simply different angles and different people. But to give you the best look of the place, we have just added a video tour.
Click here for a link to watch that video.
No, all formal sit down meals will need to be catered by a third party. We recommend Bytown Catering. Their food and service are excellent and their prices are completely reasonable. However, if you would like a less formal meal we'd be happy to work with you in regard to a BBQ or cold meal buffet.
For a formal sit-down dining experience, our optimum number is somewhere around 100 but we can accomodate 120 people comfortably for indoor dining. If you are looking for a more casual affair with guests mingling both indoors and out, we can accomodate considerably more. What if it rains? We have a couple of options for inclement weather. It just depends how "inclement" the weather is! In the event of a very light shower, we recommend umbrellas and/or a hat. But if it is more than just a light mist, we have 10x10 EZ Up tents that we can use to shelter the wedding party and the majority of the guests. In the event of a serious rain storm, then we recommend moving the ceremony indoors to the receptions. May we set up a monster circus tent in the backyard? If this is what you have your heart set on, then of course we allow it. We don't however recommend it. A large tent simply turns the outdoors into the "indoors". We're assuming your considering the Ark mostly for the beauty of our outdoor grounds and overall setting/atmosphere. A large tent will take away from much of this. Plus, tent rentals of that magnitude will add considerably to your wedding budget. We feel this money can be much better spent on your honeymoon! How far are you from Ottawa? We are 45 minutes from the Byward Market. In the past we have arranged for a shuttle bus to meet at 1 or 2 locations within the city to bring people up for the ceremony. The bus then returns to city again at 11pm for those who like to get to bed early, but returns to the Ark for another 1am shuttle. However, there is plenty of parking available for those who wish to drive themselves. Do you provide the shuttle service? No we do not provide a shuttle service, but we are now partnered with WUBS Transit and they would be happy to assist you with your transportation needs. They can arrange to pick people up in Ottawa at a central location at 3pm (for example). They will then drive to the wedding, potentially stopping in Wakefield to pick up guests there. They can then return to the city at 10pm with your guests who like to get to bed early and then return to the Ark to return the remainder of your guests to Ottawa at 1am. Their fees as of September, 2009 are as follows, originating in: A) Downtown Ottawa: $600 Please visit www.wubs.ca to learn more about the company. May we supply the minister or officiant? Of course, you are welcome to have whoever you choose perform your ceremony. I only offer to perform the ceremony to help streamline your planning and reduce your workload. There are certainly no additional fees if you bring your own officiant. That's just one less thing I have to worry about! What people have trouble understanding about our weddings here is that this is YOUR DAY! We don't dictate how it should unfold. Regardless of what your request is, if we can accomodate you, we will. It's really that simple. If you officiate the wedding, do we have to have a Quebec wedding license? Historically I've actually only provided Ontario wedding licenses to my wedding couples. However, in 2010 you'll have the option of a Quebec or Ontario Wedding license. Does your sound system allow for music being played during the ceremony outdoors and during the processional? Yes, our audio system has speakers for the outdoor wedding ceremony in addition to the speakers used for the music and microphone. If we don't choose to camp onsite, are there any other nearby accomodations? Yes there are a few options 20 minutes south of here in the quaint little town of Wakefield. I've just added a page listing a few of the options for accomodations there.
Click here to check those out.
Is there anything that makes you different from the other wedding venues?We think that all the venues in the Ottawa area have beautiful locations for their ceremonies and receptions. We're quite proud of our site here as well. But what makes us different is our approach. Although we encourage formal weddings here, we like to throw in some homegrown flavour. A wedding at the Ark is not a stuffy affair. It may be formal, but people will feel like they're visiting a friend and not a sterile conference center. We don't push a prepackaged system on you. We ask how you envision your day and we do whatever we can to make that vision a reality. We also try to do whatever we can to work within your budget and make sure every dollar you part with is well spent. Did we miss any questions? If so, send them in and I'll post the answers right here.
We're so glad you asked! In 3 words, "WE'RE EVEN BETTER"! But don't take my word for it, check out the table comparison page I
created here.
Hopefully, after reading all of the above you already know the answer to this question! If a band is something you want at your wedding, we'll do whatever we can to make it happen.
This concludes our list of Wedding FAQ. Did we miss anything? If so, simply click here to ask your question.
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