Frequently asked questions
Photographer: Julie Nicole Photography
You’ve booked at Cranberry Creek Gardens and it’s getting close to your wedding date so we’re sure you’ll have lots of questions! Below you can find answers to the most common questions we get asked, however always feel free to email us at hello@cranberrycreekgardens.com with anything that isn’t answered here!
*Please note that we reserve the right to adjust the answers to these questions over the years, please always refer to your contract terms as they will supersede any information contained on this page
FacilitY AND TIMELINE Details
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Chapel: the main area of the church is 31’ x 49’ with a 10’ wide entrance hallway that is set 5’ into the main area. The church lounge is 24’6” x 18’2” including washrooms with an exit to the side patio of the church as well as an indoor bar. The indoor bar serves into the chapel pavillion and the indoor bar in the back room of the chapel is used when temperatures dip low enough for the season (typically early November to late April). The dimensions for the area at the front of the chapel (the most common indoor backdrop for a ceremony is found here and it is approximately 15” deep.
Outdoor Aisle: The length from the bottom step of the chapel porch to the start of the aisle is approximately 38 feet, and from the end of the aisle to the middle where the other path intersects it is 87 feet.
Barn: The barn is approximately 60 feet by 29 feet.
Looking for additional measurements? Book an open site tour to stop into the grounds and take measurements and plan your decor! Click the link for meetings further on in this page to schedule your visit.
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The dimensions of the tables are as follows (all are approximate as they are hand made tables):
XL tables are 8.5' L x 42" W x 30” T
L tables are 8' L x 38" W x 30” T
S tables are 4' L x 29.5" W x 28” T
Fixed Table 1 is 109” L x 42” W x 32” T
Fixed Table 2 is 96” L x 39” W x 32” T
Fixed Table 3 (Live Edge) 100” L x 48” to 35” W x 32” T
Are you looking to design your seating chart? Here’s the document to use for planning and to submit for our setup team!
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All items that are fixed to the wall/floor are included in your rental aside from any sound equipment unless otherwise specified on your booking. The following items are also included in your rental:
Exclusive use of the grounds for the duration of your booking (start time and end time noted on your contract) unless otherwise specified on your invoice, aside from the wedding suite and gardens surrounding the wedding suite.
Five washrooms: Three unisex built in washrooms (including one accesible washroom with plenty of room for changing into your wedding clothes if needed) in the back of the church and two park style unisex small washrooms beside the barn.
Furniture: Please see your invoice for the furniture items included in your package.
Looking to move items around? Please reach out in advance for approval, most if not all non-fixed items cannot be removed from the space they are in (pews, tables, etc.) and many items require two people to lift them to not damage flooring and all items must be returned to their original locations at the end of the event.
Catering Area: There is a space in the barn for caterers to use that is out of view of guests. It must be returned to its original condition upon departure and prep tables that must be cleaned and returned to their original position after use. Cooking cannot occur inside of this space, it is only to plate and prep already cooked food for serving. There is a very small catering prep space in the chapel, typically only suitable for buffet style prep as it is shared with our dishwashing area. Any equipment in either space is property of our preferred caterer and not able to be used by other catering companies aside from the tables.
Different packages include different items so please refer to your invoice for any additional items you have booked, the above items are solely to confirm what is included in all basic packages and may not be outlined on your invoice.
PLEASE NOTE: If an item is not in the list above and is not noted on your invoice as included in your booking you must confirm availability and associated fees with us and we will add to your invoice as a note or an additional cost depending on the item.
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We are a mostly accessible venue however due to our outdoor nature and historic buildings there are a few limitations which we want to make sure you understand to ensure that your guests are comfortable and able to navigate the venue themselves whenever possible if they have mobility concerns.
Our barn and chapel have accessible entries, our wedding suite does not.
In our chapel, this entry is into the back room and the passage between the back room and the main area of the chapel is just under 31” which is important to keep in mind for large mobility devices.
There is an accessible washroom in the back of the chapel which is our only accessible washroom onsite.
The path to the barn from the chapel is grass and some gravel so is a bit of uneven terrain so some guests may need assistance.
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During your event we have a storage room for your decor boxes. You can access this space after you are done setting up to put all your boxes, and following dinner you can collect them from this space when you are packing up your items. It’s important to note this is not a secure space so card boxes, gifts, etc. should not be stored here. We do not have a secure storage location for your valuables onsite.
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We do allow smoking outdoors following Ontario regulations in designated smoking receptacles beside the barn and beside the chapel. We ask that all smokers properly dispose of butts and any waste, or as per the contract the client will be subject to clean-up fees at the venue’s discretion.
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If you choose not to book the wedding suite and are getting ready offsite, there is no other designated area onsite to get ready or stay before your ceremony. If, for example, groomsmen need to get dressed before the ceremony, our staff will always direct them to the accessible washroom in the back of the chapel. However, there is nowhere that is not accessible to other guests.
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We love pets, however a wedding often isn’t the best environment for them. Our contract states that pets are not allowed onsite aside from certified service animals, however we can sometimes make an exception for the couple’s own pets. This must be approved in advance and if approved, the following text is applied to your invoice:
We are happy making an exception to allow your furry friend be part of the celebration on your special day. In order to allow this and ensure this does not have a negative impact on the venue or event please ensure you are following these rules:
animals must be on a leash at ALL times.
animals cannot be in any space where food is consumed or inside of any enclosed event buildings.
A professional company with commercial liability insurance in excess of 2 million must be hired to take care of the pet while the pet is onsite.
animal waste must immediately be picked up.
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Your invoice and contract will specify your event timelines, if there are any adjustments to be made please inform us immediately and we will let you know about availability and pricing of adjusted timelines.
It is very important to make sure that your vendors all know setup start time and cleanup end time so that they do not show up too early and are unable to access the space and also so that they can start their cleanup early enough to be done when the site is locked up, this time is noted on your invoice. Any late cleanup will be charged at our event rental price per half hour ($225), (rounded up to the nearest half hour), to be paid directly to the venue coordinator on staff before departure.
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This can be completely different based on preferences and ceremony style and traditions! We recommend planning the ceremony duration with your officiant early in the planning process to make sure the main timelines are confirmed for your event from the get go.
From our experience as a general rule, non-religious ceremonies typically take anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes, while religious ceremonies typically run from 45 minutes to 1 hour.
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Typically your ceremony will be fully planned with your officiant, and most local officiants have been to Cranberry Creek many times. We highly recommend choosing an officiant that has performed a ceremony onsite before. The officiant should be providing you with a detailed line by line run through of what to do when before and during the ceremony, however some officiants have a less formal plan for a ceremony. It’s very important to have details on who is where and when before your ceremeny so if your officiant doesn’t provide documents and planning for this with you, we have a handy ceremony planning document that you can use to suppliment your officiant’s ceremony documents. If your officiant includes all this information in their documents, no need to use this!
Printable Ceremony Planning Document
If you have the Wedding Concierge booked with Cranberry Creek this document will be available to you a a collaborative editable document custom to your wedding so no need to print your doc above!
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Short answer, maybe! Long answer is that it depends on your comfort level and the experience level of your officiant along with what kind of planning they provide. If you’re provided with documents from the officiant that cover collecting your wedding party until directions on where to go after the ceremony, you’ll be good to do a rehearsal offsite or not at all and just circulate the document to your wedding party. If your officiant doesn’t provide details or if you are very nervous about your ceremony and/or if you are expecting perfection, a rehearsal onsite might be the right choice for you.
If your officiant (or wedding planner if you have one) cannot attend your reheasal onsite, we highly recommend either rescheduling so that they can attend since it’s usually not a very productive rehearsal without the person in charge.
During your rehearsal, the officiant will run the show - there will be a staff member onsite at the venue however this is just to open up the venue for you, they are not involved in the rehearsal coordination and organization.
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For evening receptions we do allow cars to be left overnight as long as they are picked up before 10am the following day, we want to make sure everyone gets home safe and leaving a vehicle if you are drinking is common! Please ensure that anyone picking up their vehicle knows this time, and that they understand it is not an opportunity to gather/hang out together as it could impact the event the following day onsite. You should also ensure guests are aware that they should close their windows and not park a convertible since our automatic sprinklers will run in the parking lot overnight.
If arrival is later than 10am it is possible that the will need to wait up to an hour to access their vehicle due to private access of the site.
tables, decor & rentals
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Below you’ll find our sample table layouts for this year’s weddings. We highly recommend waiting until the year of your wedding to plan your table layout as we do make improvements to the venue and logistics that may change our recommended layout. Dimensions, info on what can and cannot be removed from the space, and other information can be found on the layouts below.
For weddings with a multi choice menu for plated service, place cards identifying meal choices and dietary restrictions are required that are visible to the catering staff during service. This ensures everyone is served quickly, and since many guests tend to forget what they chose when RSVPing, ensures that the proper meal gets served to the proper person.
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ADVICE: Keep it simple! You have booked with Cranberry Creek for a reason and we’re sure one of them is the tons of unique vintage backdrops with so much character! The venue itself is the majority of your décor, so you don’t need to bring in a ton of specialty items if you don’t want to! We recommend that the places to focus on for your décor are table centerpieces and welcome table, unless you have a very large décor budget typically other items will just get lost in the background. We love to see all the unique items but its really important to balance the stress it will cause on your wedding day with the impact it will have on your event, We find that unless you’ve hired a professional decorator to handle all the details, typically it can add a lot of extra work to the day of your wedding!
You are always more than welcome to book an open site viewing to decide on decor, this is an unguded visit to the property for exacly this purpose - to visit and plan at your own pace!
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Candles are not allowed at the venue except for under very specific parameters - you booked a beautiful historic venue and our large amount of wooden structures just don’t mix well with fire. Candles are never allowed in our chapel or gardens, however reception table candles can be allowed in our Barn and Chapel Pavillion if they follow specific rules (as outlined in our contract with you)
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SPARKLERS: Very pretty for photos but not exactly an old wooden chapel’s best friend. Sparklers are only allowed at least 20 feet from a building and there must be a designated person in charge of lighting and collecting them into a vessel of water immediately after use. Sparklers must be handed out individually and all leftover ones must be stored away to avoid guests using them unattended later in the evening. This person must also properly dispose of the sparklers once they are fully cooled down.
CONFETTI/PETALS: Also very pretty, however we do not allow confetti or petals of any kind to be thrown or used during your event. Due to our busy schedule and outdoor nature of the venue, we cannot allow these to be thrown during an event as it would impact the next event! Although we understand this may be disappointing, we encourage you to think about how you would feel if there were someone elses’ wilting petals in of your photos.
*Note: if you have seen photos on social media or elsewhere of confetti/petals being used at Cranberry Creek, this was not approved by our team and was against the client’s contract. Clients who break the contract will be subject to a cleaning fee at the venue’s discretion as per you contract.
BUBBLES: Bubbles are a great alternative to the prohibited options above! We do not allow any bubble machines with motors or electronics, but you are more than welcome to have bubbles for your guests to blow
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If you have a meal booked onsite, you have place setting included with your meal through us! If you don’t have a meal booked through us you can add place settings onto your booking as well.
If you have our place settings the exact setup will nepend on your meal style but all of our utensils are silver, all plates are simple white with no design on them, and there will be a white cloth napkin at each place setting. There wll always be a water glass included at each place setting, and dependent on bar service style, there will be a wine glass at each 19+ place setting.
Looking for something different for your place settings? Feel free to rent out place settings through an outside vendor —just let us know! You will need to make sure that vendor can deliver and pickup the day of your event or you have a plan to to bring to and from the venue yourself as nothing can arrive or depart outside of your event hooking. We keep an eye out on our sister company, Garden Party Rentals’ website to see if we have any place setting upgrades to offer for your wedding as we’re always adding to our decor inventory!
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We have a variety of different seating options to fit every event! Always refer to your invoice and contract to see what is included in your package as different event types and times of year have different items available to them.
All of our chairs have a capacity of 350+ lbs. If you require chairs for heavier guests please reach out!
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As we don’t have private storage spaces for event decor we are unable to approve early dropoff or late pickup of client decor. All items must arrive onsite during your setup time/event time and depart before your cleanup end time. Unfortunately it’s not possible for us to make exceptions to this as items would be in the way for other events and it’s possible they’d get lost due to no secure storage.
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We have an electronic bar menu at our pavillion bar which is overlaid on an image. We are unable to add fully custom bar menus, however if you have an image you would like our bar menu overlaid on for this screen you can submit one with your final forms. Unfortunately items like font, colours, icones, etc are unable to be customized however you can have the bar menu match your theme by providing the background image. We accept .png or .jpeg images with no text that are 1080x1920px (taller than it is wide) and it should be high resolution since the bar menu is quite large.
We do not suggest bringing your own bar menu, if you would like something custom special signs for signature cocktails you have ordered is always a hit! If you do decide to proceed with your own bar menu we can turn ours off but it is not removable from the wall and nothing can be hung in front of it or on it. We cannot guarantee brands of items far enough in advance for most custom bar menus due to the small batch nature of many of the items we carry so items should be listed as types (rum, vodka, craft beer, domestic beer, wine type, etc.) instead of specific brands and product names.
Food & Drink
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Our main caterer is Devin’s Country Bistro for meal service, we love them and you will too. You are more than welcome to bring in your own catering, however we have general catering rules that must be adhered to by all outside catering companies.
Please note that we do not have a catering kitchen onsite. There is a prep area in our barn with one power outlet and a sink with hot and cold water that can be used by the catering team and must be returned to it’s original condition before departure or a cleaning fee will apply.
If bringing in an outside caterer please note the following information:
The caterer MUST prepare all food in advance or bring in any equipment necessary for outdoor food preparation with the proper permits to legally do so. Please be mindful of power limitations in your planning, and know that indoor cooking in our barn is not allowed.
The caterer have a minimum of 2 million liability insurance and provide us with their insurance certificate at least one month in advance of your date
The caterer have a site visit or phone call with us at least three weeks before your event to iron out any details and ensure they are familiar with the site.
The caterer must bus tables during any food service. If the rentals are provided by Cranberry Creek, all dishes must scraped and put into the proper totes and stored in the catering prep area. If bringing their own rentals, all items must be removed from the site at the end of the event with no exceptions.
The caterer must provide their own waste receptacles and collect all food waste and garbage from the event can be disposed of in our dumpster.
For late night food, service is in the chapel and the caterer must remain on site for the duration of service until everything is fully cleaned up. All food items must be removed before departure along with any associated dishes/food waste/etc. from the church and surrounding grounds.
A cleaning fee will be charged to the client if food is not properly cleared during and following service. This will be at the discretion of the venue.
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Due to our liquor license, we cannot allow any outside alcohol. However, if you have a special request for a favourite drink, message us and we can add it to the menu for your event!
We now have a bring your own wine endorsement on our liquor license, which means that we can allow commercially produced wine to be brought in by couples (pricing varies based on bar style). Visit our bar menu page here for more details. Please note this is for wine only as it is illegal to bring anything other than wine to a licensed establishment.
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If you have no alcohol or food, the pricing will be the same. If you have open bar, the price for that will be less for under 19’s (and vendors) and if you have food through us it will depend on your meal style.
Plated Meals: If you have guests under 12 and a plated meal booked through us, there is a special children’s option that is priced lower than the adult meal. You can select an adult meal for these guests as well, but the children’s meal option is only available for guests under 12.
Buffet Meals: If you have a buffet meal or options through Devlins, a child’s portion can be prepared for guests under 6 (less food is prepared for them) at a lower price. If you have some children that are big eaters you may still want to order an adult portion for them. Please note that there is not a special meal for children for buffet menus, it is simply a smaller portion prepared for children.
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Unfortunately we don’t have fridges that are approved for food storage onsite for food storage so all items should arrive ready to be put out. This includes cakes, we are unable to store client cakes on their behalf.
If you have the wedding suite booked, there is a fridge in that space where some clients store their cake until they can put it out based on their baker’s instructions. Just assign someone in your group to transport it to the reception space at at the right time and just remember all items must be removed from the wedding suite by the end of the wedding suite booking as noted on your invoice.
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For your cake cutting photo op, of course! Bring in a nice cake cutting set and you’re all set. If you have cake cutting added to your catering booking through the venue the caterer will take it from there, or if you do not have cake cutting booked through a caterer you can have someone in your group pack the cut cake up for you to go. Please note we do not allow DIY cake cutting/service aside from that photo op so a professional food service company must be hired for all cakes that will be served to guests.
Have a cake baker in mind? Please ensure that they will be creating the cake in a licensed kitchen and have insurance to cover catering and food service. Have a very small cake that only the two of you will consume? This is the only case in which we can allow homemade cakes and we just get you to sign a waiver for this, however we are unable to make exceptions for cakes eaten by guests as you are unable to sign on their behalf.
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The only packages we are able to book catering on a client’s behalf already include catering, however we’re happy to make an introduction to Devlins Country Bistro if you’re interested in booking your catering with them for a package that we don’t include food in!
staffing & vendors
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We have a list of vendor recommendations for everything from amazing photographers, florists, food trucks, and everything in-between!
You are welcome to hire any vendors you would like, but this list is a good start to know they service our rural area and we can attest that they’re great!
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All weddings onsite include a preliminary detail meeting within a month of booking, and a final detail meeting around 6 weeks before your wedding to review and confirm all of your wedding details related to the venue. In addition to this, weddings booked far in advance will also have a winter checkin meeting at the start of the year of their wedding to review where they are in the planning process and refresh everyone’s memories on booking and venue details.
On the day of your wedding, you will have a Venue Manager who’s job is to make sure the items you have booked through us are flawless and oversee the facilities themselves. This person does not handle managing your timeline, coordinating your ceremony, vendors you’ve booked directly, errands for you, setup or cleanup of your décor or personal items, etc. They are simply there to make sure our venue and services we provide meet or exceed your expectations.
Are you looking for more help for advance wedding planning, setup and cleanup help, assistance throughout the event in addition to the venue manager and other items? A wedding coordinator might be the right fit for you! We have a number of extremely experienced coordinators on our recommended vendor list that we can vouch for that we know will make your day perfect!
Have the Wedding Concierge booked with Cranberry Creek? This includes help with the stress points of your wedding and the services provided as part of the package are outlined on your invoice. Please note that this is a number of services performed by our staff, not a day of coordinator and this person does not oversee items like vendor management, timeline management, etc.
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Since we are a rural venue, there are taxi services available in surrounding towns but we highly recommend calling them in advance for pickup as they can take around 45 minutes to arrive to Cranberry Creek and we have a strict cutoff for guest departure times. You can find a list of taxi services in our area below:
Why Wait Taxi Simcoe (519) 428-9999
Delhi Taxi and Delivery Service (519) 582-0020
KTN Taxi & Delivery (519) 688-3900
Why Wait Taxi Tillsonburg (519) 842-7889
Uber/Lyft and other rideshare programs are unfortunately unavailable in our area, so we highly suggest ensuring there is enough room on your shuttle(s) for all guests who need transportation.
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Vendors should park in the event parking lot (see decorator info below) unless they are arriving before you have access to the chapel and gardens (this time is noted on your invoice) in which case they should arrive to the wedding suite if you have that booked but please note they are limited to access inside the wedding suite and outdoor access is not permitted until your booking starts. No wedding suite? Please have your vendors adjust arrival times to within your site access.
Decorators: Reception Decorators (or members of your group who are setitng up decor on your behalf) are able to access the barn (if included in your booking) earlier than the chapel and grounds access time as noted on your booking. They should arrive at your setup start time and follow the driveway at the back of the event parking lot that leads to the east at the back of the property. They will only have access to the inside of this space until your grounds & chapel access beings and please note this is for setup only and no other activities like photos, gatherings, etc. are permitted.
Arrival times - please ensure that your vendors are scheduled for arrival and their job will be complete and they will be offsite within your access times to those spaces. Your timelines on your event documents will confirm these times for you! If you require earlier access for things like photos, setup, etc. please reach out about availability to add early access to your booking.
Looking to talk to us about your wedding or come for a site visit? Schedule a time to speak with us! Our office hours are listed at the bottom of this page but it’s always best to schedule a time to chat if possible since we’re often out of the office with events during the time you’re most likely to want to chat!
Please keep in mind that unscheduled visits are not possible due to other events onsite - you wouldn’t want someone dropping into Cranberry Creek during your wedding to walk around so please be mindful of other events onsite and schedule your visit in advance!