The Century Barn is located in Canvan, Ontario and hosts private weddings and events on their gorgeous property with rolling hills and a clean yet historic barn. I was honoured to do flowers and photography for a couple getting married here in July of 2023. This is an honest review from a vendor's perspective.
I have so many good things to say about this venue (this is not a sponsored blog post, it's just my honest review).
Things I loved about the venue:
- The renovated bridal suite in the barn was stunning, and HUGE! Equipped with a large bathroom, rustic white furniture, and tons of space and mirrors for getting ready. There is a ton of natural light coming through windows for getting those classic bridal shots. It did get hot at times, but there was an AC in one corner of the room.
- The staff were AMAZING. I honestly have to say, out of all the venues I've been to, the team at Century Barn is by far the most organized, kind, and patient team I've ever worked with. I received the wedding timeline a week in advance from the coordinator, the decor was setup and moved around seamlessly throughout the night, and the couple was consistently looked after. It felt like little fairies were working behind the scenes to make everything flow so well.
- The property is well kept and offers views to die for. Rolling hills make a perfect spot for golden hour photos, and the gardens in the outdoor ceremony space were beautiful.
- Plumbing! Some barn venues don't have plumbing and you need to bring in your own toilet rentals. However, Century Barn has a quant little out-building with individual stalls. It's kept very clean, didn't smell at all, and had working plumbing and electricity.
- Private use of the property. I really liked how intimate it felt for the family to have exclusive use of the property. I find too many venues allow multiple weddings at once, and it was refreshing to see a more private setting for this family.
The only downsides to this venue I found were:
- It was hot and humid in the barn. This wedding was in the heat of the summer (July), so I'm sure not every event would be as hot. Outdoors had a beautiful breeze and the ceremony space is shaded by large, mature trees. However, I noticed how hot and humid it felt immediately walking into the barn. I could tell guests got uncomfortable in the heat, and they would take breaks by going outdoors in the evening breeze to mingle. There were fans running in the barn, but I found this just re-circulated the hot air and made it hard to hear speeches and guests talking. The DJ did an excellent job of balancing the music with these loud fans. Ensure your guests have plenty of water and the ability to take breaks outside.
- Bad cell phone reception. The reception was fairly unreliable on the property since it's pretty much in the middle of no where. This wasn't an issue for me, but ensure any music, emails or other digital media you'll be needing is downloaded or printed off so you don't get stuck relying on the bad reception.
- Guests need to plan rides home. Again, just something to think of because the venue is a bit in the middle of no where. A taxi can take about 40 minutes to arrive to the venue, so ensure you give your guests ample notice so they can plan a safe ride home. And getting a shuttle out there might be pricey.
- The barn got pretty dark. From the perspective of being a photographer, I got amazing photos all through the day (especially outdoors and at golden hour). However, the lighting definitely became challenging after the sun set. The barn gets pretty dark and I had to rely on artificial light to get photos of speeches and people dancing. As long as you hire an experienced professional, your photos should turn out great for the entire night!
From the rolling hills to the lovely staff, I 100% recommend this venue for any couples looking for a rustic wedding venue. As long as you prepare for some potentially extreme temperatures and give your guests some notice, I think this is a beautiful place to get married.
