Fairmont Waterfront

Few cities make it quite so easy to have a ballroom on one side of the doors and mountains on the other.

Fairmont Waterfront sits on Vancouver's downtown harbourfront, looking toward Stanley Park and the North Shore Mountains. Its five wedding spaces can accommodate everything from a smaller gathering in the Terrace Herb Garden to large celebrations in the Waterfront Ballroom.

The Waterfront Ballroom gives couples the kind of classic reception setting that still feels connected to where they are.

Its foyer has soaring floor-to-ceiling windows looking toward the mountains and Stanley Park, while inside crystal chandeliers bring the evening into something more formal and glowing.

That transition can be beautiful on a wedding day.

Guests begin with daylight, water and mountains around them.

Then the doors open.

Everyone moves inside.

Candles are lit, dinner begins and the room slowly transforms into a celebration.

For couples who want something smaller, the Terrace Herb Garden offers an entirely different feeling.

There is something wonderfully unexpected about finding a garden in the middle of Vancouver's waterfront.

It gives an intimate wedding the chance to feel green and private without losing the city around it.

And wherever the ceremony happens, the harbour is waiting afterwards.

The newlyweds can step away for photographs while guests begin cocktails.

There is the water.

The skyline.

The North Shore Mountains.

And a few quiet minutes when they can finally stop being the centre of everyone's attention.

Then they return.

The wedding has already started changing.

Guests who were sitting quietly during the ceremony are laughing over drinks.

Dinner becomes speeches.

Speeches become dancing.

And slowly the windows that were filled with daylight begin reflecting the celebration back into the room.

That is one of the loveliest things about a waterfront wedding.

The setting changes with the day.

Morning Vancouver is not evening Vancouver.

And by the time the last song plays, the view that welcomed everyone hours earlier has become a completely different scene.

For couples who want city sophistication without giving up the natural beauty that makes Vancouver special, Fairmont Waterfront lets both exist in the same wedding.

• Indoor and outdoor options, with a plan for rain
• On the water, or with water views
• Mountain views
• Gardens and grounds
• A ballroom or banquet hall
• A historic setting
• Rooms for guests on site
• In-house catering and menus
• A coordinator to guide the day
• Wedding packages
• A patio or terrace
• Accessible