Golf Saint-Raphaël

Golf Saint-Raphaël is one of those places that reminds you just how much beauty can be hidden surprisingly close to Montréal. Set on Île-Bizard, the property brings together sweeping golf-course scenery, gardens, waterfalls and a wonderful outdoor terrace where a wedding can unfold surrounded by greenery.

At the heart of celebrations here is an impressive 4,000-square-foot terrace sheltered beneath a marquee. It offers couples the romance of celebrating outdoors while still having a covered space overhead, with views stretching across the golf course beyond.

And the surroundings deserve some time of their own.

Waterfalls and gardens are woven into the property, creating beautiful places for newlyweds to wander together after the ceremony. It is easy to imagine those first few minutes away from everyone else, walking through the grounds while the photographer follows quietly behind and the reception waits nearby.

Then it is time to return to your people.

Drinks are poured. Guests settle in. Dinner begins and the carefully planned details of the wedding slowly give way to all the things nobody could have scheduled.

A speech makes someone cry. Another makes the entire table laugh. The daylight begins disappearing from the course and the terrace feels different again beneath the evening sky.

That is perhaps the loveliest thing about a setting like Golf Saint-Raphaël. The scenery changes alongside the celebration.

What begins as an afternoon surrounded by gardens and green fairways becomes an evening filled with glasses raised, conversations stretching across tables and the people you love gathered beneath the marquee.

And by then, it is no longer simply a beautiful golf course on Île-Bizard.

It is where you celebrated becoming married.

• Gardens and grounds
• A patio or terrace
• Tented celebrations possible
• Accessible