Devil's Elbow Alehouse

Not every Vancouver wedding needs white tablecloths, chandeliers and a ballroom.

Sometimes the celebration feels much more like the two of you when it happens over great food, craft drinks and a room where guests can settle in and genuinely enjoy themselves.

Devil's Elbow Ale & Smoke House offers exactly that kind of wedding reception.

Located on Beatty Street in downtown Vancouver, the restaurant has a fully private event space known as the Whiskey Room, and the venue specifically welcomes wedding receptions and engagement celebrations. Rustic hardwood floors, exposed brick and large windows give the room plenty of character before couples add a single flower or candle.

This is best imagined as the celebration after the vows rather than a traditional ceremony venue.

Perhaps you exchange vows somewhere else in Vancouver, take photographs around the city and then arrive at Devil's Elbow to find your closest family and friends already gathered together.

From there, the wedding can become wonderfully relaxed.

Comfortable seating and a large communal table create a social atmosphere, while the private room has its own washrooms along with a projector and sound connection that can be useful for speeches, photographs or those wonderfully embarrassing slideshows someone has inevitably prepared.

Food is part of the personality here too. Devil's Elbow centres its event menus around its smokehouse style, with personalized food and drink options available for wedding celebrations. Couples can also work with the venue on a private bar featuring craft beer, cocktails and whiskey.

It is easy to picture a wedding here where nobody feels as though they have to sit perfectly through a formal evening.

People eat.

Glasses are raised.

Friends move between conversations.

Someone gives a speech that goes slightly longer than expected.

And before long, the room simply feels like a really good party filled with people who happen to love the same two people.

For couples looking for an intimate downtown Vancouver reception with warmth, personality and none of the stiffness of a conventional ballroom, Devil's Elbow offers something refreshingly different.

A little brick.

A little whiskey.

A lot of good food.

And a room filled with your favourite people.