Silvia, Franz and her family are so welcoming and helpful. The entire process of set up, day-of, and take down was completely stress-free and easy. They are fabulous humans that really just want you to have a perfect day and are flexible and adaptive to make it happen.
The whole property is gorgeous. They have fields, forest, river, barn and hay loft ceremony site options. We were very lucky to have the option of the hay loft as it happened to rain when we were there and our entire ceremony was dry and still beautiful. The barn is rustic and has concrete flooring which is perfect for dancing. There was plenty of space fore everyone and we were able to have a DJ, a gift table, a guestbook table, photo table, candy bar table and 2 games barrels.
The food is amazing! We looked at a bunch of other venues and they gave us a list to choose like one or two proteins and a couple salad options from but Sunshine Ranch gives you everything. The buffet option is completely worth it. Everything was delicious and our guests raved about dinner. We never had to worry about running out because there was plenty of food which was a relief to not think about portion sizes. We have some diet restrictions as well and everyone was looked after.
They have outhouses for toilets that are very well cared for and were lit with nice candles. We were able to put a bunch of stuff in them for bathroom kits without getting crowded. They are clean, didn't smell and had plenty of toilet paper and sanitizer.
They have a nice big firepit too which they have right by the barn so that was a huge bonus for when people wanted to chill out outside for a moment to take a break from dancing. We brought lawn games with us like bean bag toss and bocce ball because they have the space to use them. That was helpful for guests to stay occupied while the wedding party went for photos.
The venue is out in Horsefly, BC which is about 40 minutes outside of Williams Lake. There is no cell phone reception in Horsefly but the majority of the cabins in the area (airBNB types) have wifi so you can still connect with people. My family was at all the cabins in the area and we were fine the whole time but if you get nervous without constant feedback maybe bring a walkie talkie. I loved that it was no reception or internet there because all of my guests were involved in the activities and really enjoying the events of the day instead of posting and scrolling on social media the whole time.
There's a bunch of little cabins to book in the area otherwise you need to stay in Williams Lake so keep that in mind for guests. Silvia provided a helpful list of vendors in the area and we were able to hire a shuttle for people. There are no cabins at the venue but you can camp. I recommend staying at Birch Haven cabin, my husband and I loved it there and it's super close to the venue.
Overall amazing place to get married and worth the trip out from Calgary to Horsefly for our wedding. I can't say enough kind words about the people of Sunshine Ranch - they made our day memorable for all the right reasons.