Fort La Reine Museum

Some wedding venues offer history as part of the décor.

At Fort La Reine Museum, couples actually step inside it.

Set just outside Portage la Prairie, this open-air museum brings together more than 25 heritage buildings that tell stories of prairie life across generations. On a wedding day, those same old churches, barns and historic surroundings become the setting for something entirely new.

Couples can exchange vows inside one of the museum's intimate heritage churches or outdoors beside the Fort or Heritage Barn. Each choice creates a very different feeling, but all of them carry the charm of a place that has existed long before the flowers and wedding chairs arrived.

Afterwards, the museum grounds open up for photographs.

The newlyweds can wander between old buildings, vintage façades and pieces of Manitoba history while their guests explore the property or begin the celebration nearby.

For couples planning both ceremony and reception here, the surrounding greenspace can become home to an outdoor reception tent, allowing the wedding to remain among the historic grounds as afternoon becomes evening.

There is something lovely about that contrast.

Old buildings around you.

A completely new marriage beginning among them.

And somewhere between the ceremony and the celebration, two people become part of a place devoted to remembering stories.

For one day, Fort La Reine gets to hold theirs too.

• Ceremony and reception in one place
• A barn for the celebration
• A historic setting
• A suite to get ready in
• Tented celebrations possible
• Pets welcome
• Photo spots everywhere
• Parking on site
• Accessible