An Intimate Victorian Venue In Gananoque

Your fiancé’s family doesn’t own an adorable country home suitable for hosting your quaint nuptials? No worries: the Woodview Inn in Gananoque is an excellent option for equally intimate affairs (like, up to 50 people standing), where you can still very fairly tell peripheral friends, “Sorry, the venue can only fit family.” After an inspiring road trip to Gananoque and the Thousand Islands in 2015, owners John Nagy and Stephen Campey ditched their Toronto jobs to purchase the abandoned Victorian inn, which had been empty for two years before operating as a B&B and restaurant for over half a century. At the time, Nagy was in media sales, but he has a background in hospitality, and Campey owned his own contracting-slash-design business. They overhauled the entire 10-room place, keeping the historic bits and modernizing everything else, and officially opened for business in June of 2016. “I’d describe the style now as classical, art deco with a twist of modernism,” says Nagy.

Since opening, they’ve hosted nine weddings, and are incredibly flexible, offering free consulting services to couples (including organizing photographers, officiants and cakes). There’s an outdoor patio that can accommodate 30 guests, and their on-site restaurant, Graydon’s, can seat the same for a cozy meal featuring their popular braised lamb shank, smoked duck breast or AAA beef tenderloin. Venue rental fees range from $500 to $1,500 depending on the season, and prix fixe meals start at $55 a head. Plus, the house is just a five-minute walk from the St. Lawrence River, meaning couples can easily stroll over for Instagrammable photo ops between the ceremony and cocktails.

250 King St., Gananoque, 613-382-1110, woodviewinn.com