The Venue Hunt: Cecil Green Park House

Cecil Green Park House is a charming historical mansion on the UBC campus. With its sweeping mountain and ocean views and beautiful garden, the house makes a stunning backdrop for your wedding day.  

Your rental of this space includes exclusive use of the entire main floor of the house, the terraces that overlook the back lawn and the gardens. The house is divided into several rooms all linked by the Langara Room, which is more like a large hallway off the main entrance. Yorkeen is largest room of the house with seating for 96 people and a beautiful fireplace. Dancing usually takes place in the Kanakla Room, while the Conservatory and Library offer casual seating areas for guests to mingle. 

The back lawn provides an elegant outdoor setting for a wedding ceremony. I was pleasantly suprised that there are 2 alternative locations if the weather doesn't cooperate for an outdoor ceremony: the glass-covered terraces, or inside in the Kanakla Room with a view of the gardens. The stone staircase leading from the terrace makes a dramatic and beautiful entrance for the bride.  

While catering must be provided by UBC through Wescadia, there are a wide range of menu options and price points to choose from. A salmon BBQ on the terraces would make a fun and memorable experience for your guests, and would take advantage of the gorgeous views.

Overall, I was impressed with this venue and can see why it's such a popular choice for couples on their wedding day. It's a big advantage to have exclusive use of the venue, and the staff are professional and very experienced in hosting weddings. The rental cost includes set up and breakdown of chairs for the ceremony, and tables, chairs, podium and sound system for the reception. This venue would be perfect for a small to moderately sized wedding, as having your reception spread out across different rooms creates an intimate environment and lots of opportunities for guests to mingle and chat.

My main concern with Cecil Green Park House is the floor plan. Since we expect 100 to 120 guests, we would have to combine the Langara and Yorkeen rooms and this means that some of our guests will essentially be sitting in a wide hallway and apart from everyone else. I think the house isn't really designed for a serious party, as the Kanakla Room is fairly small for a dance floor and it's located across the house from the reception seating. I'm envisioning the more traditional wedding setup where tables surround the dance floor and guests can hop up and dance when they hear a song they like. Hard to belive I'm saying this, but Cecil Green Park House feels a bit too classy! We definitely want our reception to morph into a kick-ass party and this historical mansion just doesn't have that "let your hair down" feel.

The search continues...