Intimate Wedding Venues in Ottawa

An intimate wedding isn’t a smaller version of a big one. It’s an entirely different energy. The guest list is edited. The timeline softens. You actually sit at dinner. You actually taste the wine.

Ottawa does this well. Particularly in spaces that feel historic, restrained, and architectural enough to hold the weight of something meaningful.

The Lord Elgin

Across from Confederation Park, The Lord Elgin carries that understated historic hotel charm.

The Trillium Room, in particular, lends itself beautifully to a micro wedding. Intimate in scale but rich in character, it suits candlelight, tailored florals, and a guest list gathered around a single long table. It’s ideal for couples who want black-tie intimacy without the scale of a ballroom. Picture a winter celebration here, with snow falling outside and champagne poured generously.

Natalie & Andrews ceremony at the Lord Elgin.

Cantina Gia

For a true micro wedding, the kind where guests are seated shoulder to shoulder, passing plates and pouring each other wine, Cantina Gia is perfect.

The food becomes part of the experience. The candlelight. The texture of the walls. The hum of conversation. It feels like hosting the most beautiful dinner party of your life.

Village Green Park

For couples who don’t need walls to define the moment.

Village Green Park feels like a secret garden tucked into the city. The iron fencing frames the space with just enough structure, while the towering hedges create a natural enclosure. It has the romance of a European courtyard. Ceremonies here feel intentional. A string quartet set against the greenery. A sculptural bouquet against black iron. It’s a dream ceremony space that frames you.

Pair it with a private dinner elsewhere, somewhere candlelit and warm, like Cantina Gia, and the transition into dinner feels seamless.

Fairmont Château Laurier's Quebec Suite

An Ottawa landmark, just steps from Parliament Hill. Its carved wood, soaring ceilings, and grand staircases make even small ceremonies feel monumental.

For micro weddings, seek out hidden function rooms like the Tudor Room for your ceremony and the cozy Quebec Suite for your reception. These spaces feel like minature ballrooms.

The Farmhouse at Strathmere

Strathmere’s farmhouse carries a warmth with low ceilings, soft light, and a sense that you’ve escaped the city for the weekend. Picture, garden ceremonies, champagne outside, dinner that stretches long into the evening. It feels private in the way family estates do.

Kelsey & Andrew, just married at Strathmere.

Arlo Wine & Restaurant

Few restaurants in Ottawa have the mood of Arlo — low lighting, a basement room that feels tucked away from the world, and a menu where it's hard to choose just one selection. It’s a dream for couples who want dinner first, then lingered conversations and wine poured all night.

Riviera Ottawa

Originally constructed in 1869, Riviera was once the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The original architecture is still intact, dramatic ceiling height, oversized windows, stone detailing, and the preserved vault. For a micro wedding, that scale works in your favour. With 30–60 guests, the room feels architectural.

The movement of cocktail hour at Riviera, Ottawa.

Lighting is key in this room. Evening receptions allow candlelight to rise into the height of the space, softening the structure and bringing intimacy back into it. Riviera also has its own vintage-style photobooth built into the experience.

This venue is strongest when dinner is the priority. A multi-course plated meal, thoughtful wine pairings, speeches delivered without a microphone because everyone is close enough to hear.

The Joy of a Micro Wedding

Micro weddings let you hug every guest, taste every meal, savour every moment. They make room for long toasts and unhurried portraits. Less becomes more, more connection, more curated detail, more room for you to live in your own day.