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About

On WeddingWire since 2019

Last update: October 2024

Waterfront Park is an elegant wedding venue located in Calgary, Alberta. Featuring beautiful indoor rooms and picturesque outdoor spaces, this versatile venue can accommodate events of many sizes and styles. Located at the Bow River Valley on the shore of a private lake and boasts many idyllic areas for your special day.

Facilities and Capacity

With its tranquil water features and vibrant greenery, Waterfront Park provides a stunning backdrop for your outdoor weddings. The grounds feature Waterfront Belvedere perched on the edge of the lake where you can tie the knot with your beloved. This location provides a stunning backdrop for photo opportunities and can accommodate 250 guests for your nuptials. Alternatively, you can host your event in the Lakeside Theatre, which boasts 5,000 square feet of contemporary space, including a private bar and attached patio. This spacious function room is suitable for 250 seated guests or up to 350 cocktail-style. If you are holding an intimate gathering, Valleyview Terrace and Fireside Lounge may be ideal for you. The rustic setting can comfortably seat 125 attendees for dinner, making it perfect for smaller celebrations. A massive copper hearth serves as the room’s main focal point, while exposed beams lend a rustic, cozy element to its atmosphere. Both indoor event spaces feature large windows that offer spectacular views of the water and surroundings. Our crown jewel is The Waterfront Pavilion which is available from May to September. This 40-foot by 100-foot clearspan tent comes with flooring, five-foot round tables, white resin chairs, lounge furniture, chandeliers and an eight-foot patio overlooking our lagoon.

Services Offered

The staff at Waterfront Park is a dedicated bunch and will put their best foot forward to help you realize your dream wedding. They will help with the setup, cleanup, and can even provide event rentals. In-house catering can be availed or if you'd rather, outside vendors are more than welcome. There is ample parking space and a shuttle can be arranged for added convenience.

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Frequently asked questions

How many event spaces or rooms does your venue offer?

We have 2 indoor spaces, 1 tent, and an outdoor ceremony area

Describe your venue:

Ballroom
Country club
Historic
Park/zoo

Describe the style of your venue:

City
Classic
Country
Eclectic
Garden
Modern
Rustic
Vintage
Waterfront

What kind of settings are available?

Covered outdoor
Indoor
Uncovered outdoor

Which of the following wedding events does your venue service?

Ceremony
Reception
Bridal shower
Engagement party
Rehearsal dinner

What event services do you offer?

Catering / bar
Clean up
Event planning
Event rentals
Lighting / sound
Set up

What catering services do you offer?

Buffet
Cocktail reception
Dessert
Family style
Hors d'oeuvres
Outside cake
Plated
Server(s)
Stations
Tastings

What bar services do you provide?

Bartender(s)
Cash bar
Champagne toast
House beer
House wine
House liquor
Limited bar
Liquor license
Open bar
Premium liquor
Signature drink
Specialty beer
Specialty wine

What event items are available?

Aisle markers
Aisle runners
Altar/arches
Audio equipment
Centerpieces
Chair covers
Dance floor
Decor
Drapery
Furniture
Lighting
Photobooth
Chairs
Tables
Tent accessories
Tents

What food and beverage items are available?

Barware
China
Flatware
Glassware
Linens

What transportation and access is available?

Parking
Wheelchair access

Do you have a site fee for wedding receptions at your venue?

Yes

What is the starting site fee for wedding receptions during peak season?

$3,500

What is the starting site fee for wedding receptions during off-peak season?

$3,500

Do you have a site fee for wedding ceremonies at your venue?

Yes

What is the starting site fee for wedding ceremonies during peak season?

$1,000

What is the starting site fee for wedding ceremonies during off-peak season?

$1,000

Which of the following are included in starting site fee?

Set up
Clean up
Chairs
Tables
Parking

What is the average catering price per person for plated service?

$75

What is the average catering price per person for buffet service?

$90

What is the average catering price per person for stations?

$85

What is the average catering price per person for hors d'oeurves?

$25

Which of the following are included in the cost of wedding catering?

Cake cutting
Server(s)
Dessert

What is the starting price per person for bar service?

$8

Which of the following are included in the starting price for bar service?

Limited bar
illustration notebook

Any other questions?

Reviews for Waterfront Park

We're all about trust. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.
4.3 out of 5 rating
4.3 out of 5 rating
10 reviews
86% recommend it
  • Quality of service
    4.2 out of 5 rating
  • Response time
    4.2 out of 5 rating
  • Professionalism
    4.2 out of 5 rating
  • Value
    4.3 out of 5 rating
  • Flexibility
    4.6 out of 5 rating
Anna
Anna Sent on 05/09/2024
5 out of 5 rating

The perfect ceremony!

Working with Simply Elegant was just fantastic. Quick response time and got the job done!
Selena
Selena Sent on 02/10/2022
2 out of 5 rating

Great venue, horrible professionalism

I am saddened to be writing this review, after seeing so many positive ones. Unfortunately my experience with Simply Elegant has not been a pleasant one.
I had my wedding at Waterfront Park, hosted by Simply Elegant. It was the only day in August that there decided to be a rain storm. The staff at Simply Elegant worked very hard to get my event moved inside, after having set up outdoors like originally planned and paid for. I commend the staff for all their hard work in doing this. I am also grateful to the Shriners for allowing us to use the unrented space inside on last minute notice.
Weather aside, as that was only one very small problem in a circle of bigger problems.
Our wedding day naturally did not go as planned, but at the end of the day, we were paying for a service to be provided. Simply Elegant was in charge of hosting our event, and essentially were wedding planners for my special day. The communication throughout the entire 9 months leading up to the wedding was very minimal. It was not a smooth and stress free process. The day of the event, there was zero communication between staff at Simply Elegant and myself, or our contacts. The ceremony was supposed to be an organized process, where they would be letting me know exactly when to drive down and when to come into the building etc. in actuality, this process was a disaster, no one was in contact with us and I had no idea where to go. Yes, they worked hard to set up our space inside, BUT weather is no excuse for delivering a bad service to myself, the day of my wedding. I did not deserve to get a bad service, just because it was raining and the staff was in crisis mode.
The staff was not friendly, they did not smile or say hello to any guests. There was one bartender, and it was her second shift, and she was lovely, so friendly and always smiling, but besides that, you could tell the staff did not want to be there. Again, I am sure they were exhausted from their hard work moving everything indoors, but again, that is not an excuse for delivering us bad service.
The food was cold, and simply not what we ordered at our tasting. At the tasting, the food was presented beautifully, and was delicious. And I am saddened that it was not the same food presented at our actual event. Having cold food, and wrong food from what we ordered, cannot be excused by the weather. Had the event been outside like originally planned, the food still would not have been what we ordered, and would still have been cold.
I had originally posted a review about my experience, while we awaited a refund from Simply Elegant that was promised to us for our bad experience. After waiting a couple days with no refund received, I called and spoke to Robert myself. He indicated that if we wanted our refund, I was going to have to delete my Google review. Although I did not feel this was ethical, I deleted my review as I was asked. I was told our refund would be processed within 24 hours. We had guests that were unhappy with our event and how the situation was handled so they decided to write a negative review. We are not responsible for what other people do, nor are we going to contact our guests and tell them they aren’t allowed to share their opinions and experience just so we can get our money back. A couple more days go by, still no refund and Robert now indicates that our guests need to remove the review before we will get a refund.
I am very thankful for all the hard work Simply Elegant put into trying to make my special day perfect, however, I am still disappointed for the zero accountability taken for their wrongdoings. The weather was an unfortunate thing, but the weather should not have created havoc in all other aspects of my wedding, such as the organization, customer service and quality of the food.
It is simply impossible for a company to host a 10/10 experience every time, it is only natural that mistakes will happen and people will be left unhappy, all I am asking for, is for Simply Elegant to admit their wrongdoings, and provide the refund that they promised.
Heather
Heather T. Sent on 05/03/2022
5 out of 5 rating

Amazing service, beautiful venue

I cannot recommend Waterfront Parks enough. Peter and Jade went well above and beyond, helping us plan a short notice wedding (we booked less than three months prior to the date in an effort to minimize covid related changes), navigating trying times, and providing unparalleled service. Jade is even pictures in our wedding photos adjusting my dress prior to walking down the isle, and Peter met us on the limo bus to help "hide" me from the guests prior to the service. They were like family throughout the process and I honestly don't think we would have pulled off the wedding of our dreams without them. The venue is stunning, location is ideal, the food was delicious (and catered to all sorts of weird dietary issues), and the decor was spot on. If you're thinking about booking waterfront parks with simply elegant, stop thinking and book it. You won't regret it!
Anah
Anah Sent on 14/06/2021
5 out of 5 rating

Beautiful Venue and Amazing Staff

Simply Elegant went literally above and beyond for our wedding. Everything from helping reschedule due to covid and setting up our beautiful ceremony was perfect! We had crazy rain showers and were able to get into the pavilion and it was even more beautiful than I could have dreamed of.

Peter was the most wonderful, thoughtful and amazing person and we feel very blessed to have had our wedding here. We both preferred this version of our wedding over the one we had planned pre-covid, and it’s because of the venue and the people that we had helping us along the way.

This venue is honestly a dream, you need to book here!! You will NOT be disappointed. Peter and his team made our wedding day so special and we honestly couldn’t have been happier!
E
Erin M. Sent on 18/08/2022
5 out of 5 rating

LOVE This Vendor!

LOVED working with the entire team at Simply Elegant! We booked the Waterfront Park location for our wedding. Jade and the entire team did an incredible job right from the start. It was such a relief knowing that they would take care of the set-up and take-down for us. They also created absolute stunning flower arrangements for our bouquets, archway and reception tables. The reception dinner was delicious as well. Our guests kept commenting how beautiful the venue was, and how good the food was. Thank you so much Simply Elegant!
M
Mikayla A. Sent on 22/07/2022
5 out of 5 rating

Amazing venue!

We booked the green (outdoor space) for the ceremony, and the Terrace (upper level) for the reception. It was gorgeous. The venue was pretty responsive, and VERY flexible - I made many changes the week of the wedding - and they made these easily. The staff were very friendly and especially attentive to my needs. The coordinating supervisor for my day was Marie, and she came to check on me several times throughout the night, to make sure I had a drink, or to make sure everything was going the way I wanted to. This venue is unique too, in that the event is run by Simply Elegant, so the catering, bar, florals, centrepieces, DJ (though we opted out of that), and a lot of the decorations came from the venue and are reflected in our final cost. It made it super easy, as we could check off so many items on our checklist all at once. Our only issue was the final price of our menu went up significantly more than we were expecting, so our finalized bill was quite high. They said it was because of inflation prices of food, however, it went up close to 50% of our original quoted price, and the vegetarian meal we'd selected and tasted prior to the day was different the day of, with no warning. Honestly, other than these few small things, the day was beautiful, the staff were great, and the venue is gorgeous. I'd book here again in a heartbeat.
C
Christine M. Sent on 22/06/2022
5 out of 5 rating

Great venue, Hidden Gem

Me and my partner took a look at this venue 2 years ago (we had a long engagement due to COVID) and we instantly fell in love with it. We specifically wanted a place that we could have the ceremony and reception at the same place and Waterfront Park/The Shriner's Center was perfect. We signed our contract before Simply Elegant took over so I'm not sure what changes have happened now, but our experience was great. The staff were very kind and made sure to set everything up and take everything down without us worrying about it, and the bar staff were both very nice. Our contact with SE, Peter, was also very kind and made sure to go over everything with us beforehand and gave us good suggestions and recommendations for things we weren't sure about. Our guest list was pretty small (about 40 people) so we booked the smaller ballroom with the fireside lounge and it was the perfect size for us. It did get a little hot at one point once the dancing started, but the balcony attached was a great spot to cool off and look out at the lake. Would definitely recommend this location to anyone, especially anyone with a smaller guest list.
M
Melissa B. Sent on 14/03/2022
5 out of 5 rating

Amazing venue and staff

We absolutely loved our experience working with Waterfront Park, especially Peter, Marie, and Shauna. The lawn for our ceremony was a beautiful setting to get married, and the lakefront ballroom was exceptional. Due to Covid, we had to pivot multiple times but Peter and his staff outdid themselves in meeting every one of our needs. Communication with Peter was phenomenal! He was extremely professional, personable, and went the extra mile to make our day so perfect. Cannot recommend this venue enough.
S
Sheryl B. Sent on 26/10/2021
5 out of 5 rating

Exceptional Venue, Amazing Staff

Waterfront Park and Simply Elegant were absolutely amazing! We had the best experience working with Peter to create the most beautiful wedding for our daughter. His attention to detail, quick response to questions, and openness to meeting our needs was beyond measure. The catered meal was phenomenal. Guests have been raving about how enjoyable the food was, especially the beef. The staff, including Marie and Shauna, were very professional and made the wedding day extremely special. We would highly recommend the Waterfront Park Venue and Simply Elegant.
K
Kimberly E. Sent on 04/07/2021
1 out of 5 rating

Untrustworthy

We were bullied by Simply Elegant in to cancelling our contract. We have our event booked at Waterfront Parks (original venue at Skyline which apparently closed according to Simply Elegant) for July 2021 and they told us around 20 days before our event that there was a scheduling conflict so we cannot have the venue anymore on the date that we're suppose to have our event.

They offered us a refund of the venue cost if we move our date, or move us to Venue 308 or Brownstone but with no compensation for the trouble, or full refund to cancel our event. We don't understand how they can double book the venue and choose to kick us out instead. Either they accidentally double booked or a bigger client wanted our date so Simply Elegant chose to boot us out, which was a clear breach of contract.

We wanted a refund before (even just 75% of our money back) but they won't let us which I understood because we signed a contract but we asked them anyway just in case they will allow it. But for them to spring the news to us that we will not get the Waterfront Park venue 20 days before our event was so shady. They told us that there was a conflict with the Shriners which was a lie because we checked the Shriners website and they do not have an event at that venue on our date.

We were left scrambling and we felt cheated and bullied by this company. We would be okay with them moving us to a different venue if they would just refund us the venue cost but they did not budge. They didn't even try to meet us halfway, they did not want to negotiate.

We were suppose to have a skyline view, then they moved us to Waterfront Park which would have given us a lake view (so comparable to our original venue), but now they wanted to move us to another venue with no view - so we felt they should at least compensate us. Changing our date was not an option given how late it is already for us to ask our other vendors and our guests if they can work with that.

We chose to support them during the pandemic but as soon as everything opened up, they chose to screw us over.

I am 6 months pregnant and the emotional distress they have put me through is unbelievable - especially for a company that is supposed to be a champion in hospitality and client service.

We decided to deal directly with the venue that they were going to move us to as I couldn't imagine them still holding our event after how they treated us. As soon as I told them that we would opt for the full refund (after us trying to negotiate and them not making any counteroffers), they told me that they will mail me the cheque - knowing full well that we need the money right away so we can pay the new venue and new caterer. There was no sense of urgency on their end. When we paid them they were etransferred so they received our money instantly, and for the refund they wanted to just mail the cheque. We ended up picking up the cheque and that's how our relationship with them ended.

They're probably just going to delete this review....
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Are you interested?

Awards

10

Waterfront Park Real Weddings

Peter & Patricia
69 Photos · 10/Aug/2019
Beverage menu
Buffet Menus
Sit Down

Meet the team

Jade Gandasubrata
Jade Gandasubrata
Event Production and Design

Jade has been active in event planning for both corporate and private functions since early 2006. In addition to years of related experience, Jade has pursued additional professional training and is a graduate of Mount Royal University’s Event Planner Certificate program. She continues to learn and build her event planning and management skills by interacting and consulting with other event professionals and peers. Her combination of creativity – anchored in many years in fashion design – energy, and experience contributes to Jade’s unique and thoughtful event designs.

Preferred vendors

Sharon Barwick Weddings
5.0 out of 5 rating , 118 reviews
· Wedding Officiants
Nicole.Field Photography
5.0 out of 5 rating , 58 reviews
· Wedding Photography

Map

Street N.W, 5225-101 T3L 1S4 Calgary (Alberta)
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