Le RiverBend Wedding Venue, Real Bride
One of the best parts of being a bridal boutique is receiving the photos after the big day. Bridal boutiques are one of those funny wedding vendors who get to be such a huge part of the lead-up to your wedding, but we don’t actually get to be there when it all comes together! So naturally, when we get photos back from one of our brides at a venue as beautiful as Le Riverbend, we are going to obsess over them.
Photography: @eva_hadhazy_photo
We are giving HUGE congratulations to our Bride Rebecca and her fiance! We are obsessing over every little detail of her wedding day and thought it was a wonderful time to share all the details about their venue with you!
Finding an Ottawa wedding venue that feels like a destination wedding without actually asking your guests to GET ON A PLANE can be a challenge.
You want somewhere that feels private. Somewhere beautiful enough that you don’t have to fight against the venue when choosing your wedding aesthetic. Somewhere your favourite people can actually stay, relax and make an entire weekend out of your wedding instead of arriving at 3 PM and heading home after midnight.
Photography: @eva_hadhazy_photo
The details
Venue: Le Riverbend
Location: 339 Chemin du Lac Ste Marie, Kazabazua, Quebec
Distance from Ottawa: Approximately one hour
Venue Style: Private riverside wedding venue
Ceremony: Outdoor riverside ceremony space
Reception: Rustic-elegant reception area
Wedding Packages: Flexible two-day packages
Accommodations: On-site accommodations for approximately 30–40 people
Catering: Powered by SmoQue Shack
Spaces: Indoor + outdoor
Overall Vibe: Intimate, nature-filled, relaxed and elevated
Why We Love Le Riverbend Wedding Venue
Photography: @eva_hadhazy_photo
If your wedding Pinterest board says nature, intimate, relaxed, but still ELEVATED, Le Riverbend deserves a spot on your venue list. If we had to describe Le Riverbend in one sentence, it would be: your own little private wedding getaway on the river.
Located in Kazabazua, Quebec, about an hour outside of Ottawa, Le Riverbend is a private wedding venue tucked right along the river. You get the feeling of escaping the city without making your guests travel halfway across the province to get there.
The obvious star of the show is the waterfront. Le Riverbend has a riverside ceremony space, meaning you really don't have to do much to make your ceremony backdrop beautiful. Mother Nature has handled a good chunk of the decorating for you.
A natural backdrop means your dress isn't competing with a million things happening behind you. Whether you've picked something super clean and modern, romantic lace, dramatic texture or a giant ballgown, you're essentially getting this beautiful blank canvas of water and greenery behind you.
But what we really love is that the entire wedding doesn't have to depend on one outdoor space. Le Riverbend has both indoor and outdoor areas, including their rustic-elegant reception space, so your wedding can flow from ceremony into cocktail hour and reception without feeling like you're moving everyone to an entirely different venue.
And then there is possibly our favourite part…
YOU CAN MAKE A WHOLE WEEKEND OUT OF IT.
Le Riverbend offers flexible two-day wedding packages AND accommodations right on the property for approximately 30–40 people.
We love anything that takes a little bit of pressure off the wedding-day timeline. Having the option to stay on-site means your closest people can settle in, spend more time together and actually enjoy the experience instead of everyone immediately disappearing into Ubers and hotel rooms at the end of the night.
It also means those getting-ready photos we love so dearly can happen right on the property.There’s no travelling across the city in your wedding dress or coordinating six cars full of bridesmaids. Some of our absolute favourite wedding photos to get back from brides are those quiet moments before the wedding really begins. Your dress hanging up. Your mom helping with your buttons. Your friends piled into the room. Someone inevitably crying. Someone else running around trying to find fashion tape.
We are BIG fans.
Okay, But Let's Talk About the Food
We need to give Le Riverbend bonus points here because their catering is powered by SmoQue Shack.
Their wedding catering isn't limited to one super-rigid wedding menu either. They offer cocktail-hour appetizers, plated or buffet-style dinners, late-night food and custom menu options.
Le Riverbend isn't trying to be a stuffy ballroom wedding, and the catering doesn't have to feel like generic banquet food either. Their catering is centred around bold flavours and can range from elevated BBQ to more curated menus depending on the wedding.
Also: LATE. NIGHT. BITES.
After wearing a wedding dress for twelve hours, dancing for three and consuming approximately one glass of champagne too many, there are few things more beautiful than someone appearing with late-night food.
Rebecca's Le Riverbend Wedding
Photography: @eva_hadhazy_photo
And now for the part we are obviously VERY biased about: THE DRESS.
Rebecca wore Julian by Jenny Yoo, and we honestly couldn't picture a better dress against Le Riverbend's natural backdrop.
Julian is one of those dresses that proves simple does NOT have to mean boring. The clean fabric lets the construction and silhouette do the talking, and against all of the greenery and waterfront at Le Riverbend, it photographs like an absolute dream. These photos by Eva Hadhazy Photography are basically our entire argument for choosing a dress that complements your venue without feeling like it has to literally "match" it.
And because finding the dress is only step one, Julian was altered by the incredibly talented Stephanie Davis of Fancy Pants Alterations to make the final fit just as good as the dress itself.
The finished look + the hair by Taylor Cameron + makeup by Makeup by Yelena + THAT waterfront backdrop?No notes.
The Vendor Team
Venue: @leriverbend
Photography: @eva_hadhazy_photo
Wedding Dress: Julian by Jenny Yoo from @neverknewineededshop
Alterations: Stephanie Davis at Never Knew I Needeed,
Hair: @taylorcameronhairstylist
Makeup: @makeup.by.yelena
Planning a Le Riverbend Wedding?
If you've booked Le Riverbend or you're still touring wedding venues around Ottawa and now you're starting to think "okay...but what am I going to WEAR?"
Hi. That's our department.
Bring us your venue photos. Tell us what month you're getting married. Show us the Pinterest board you've been secretly adding to since approximately 2017.
We'll take it from there.
Never Knew I Needed is Ottawa's largest off-the-rack bridal boutique, with wedding dresses in sizes 0–30 and every wedding dress under $2,000. Our gowns are available to take home the SAME DAY, meaning you don't need a traditional 9–12 month ordering timeline to find something incredible.
Whether you're getting married riverside at Le Riverbend, downtown Ottawa, in a giant ballroom or literally in your parents' backyard, we're here to help you find the dress that makes sense for your wedding.
Seriously. We'll add you to the group chat.