Venue Partners/Shaughnessy, Vancouver
Catering at VanDusen Gardens
55-acre botanical garden in Shaughnessy — six distinct event spaces from the BMO Great Hall to the Great Lawn.
VanDusen Botanical Garden is Shaughnessy's 55-acre botanical landmark, with a cedar-clad Visitor Centre designed by Busby Perkins+Will (opened 2011). The Centre is a LEED-Platinum architectural statement in itself — curving cedar roof, warm interior, panoramic garden views from every room.
Multiple event spaces work together: BMO Great Hall (60 seated), Peggy Gunn Woodland Hall A & B (combined up to 60 seated), Floral Hall (120 seated), Cedar Room (20 seated), plus all three indoor rooms combined (120 seated). Outdoor ceremonies use the Great Lawn (120 people standard, 200 maximum), Heron Lake (120), or Meadow Pond (30).
For couples who want an indoor-outdoor garden wedding with proper backup infrastructure — not a tent — VanDusen is Metro Vancouver's benchmark. The architectural Visitor Centre doubles as the weather-proof reception space.
From our coordinators
Why we love catering here
Six distinct event spaces — indoor Visitor Centre + three outdoor gardens
Award-winning LEED-Platinum cedar architecture doubles as reception hall
55-acre botanical collection provides world-class ceremony backdrops
Indoor backup eliminates the tent rental + weather anxiety
Central Shaughnessy location — 15 min from downtown
Capacity
How many guests fit?
Menu & service
What works at VanDusen Gardens
Fine plated dinner
From $75 / guest
Floral Hall or combined-rooms plated dinners (up to 120 covers) pair beautifully with a Great Lawn ceremony earlier in the day.
See menu →Family-style dining
From $61 / guest
Shared long-table dining in Floral Hall matches the Garden's naturalistic character — especially lovely for 60–100-guest weddings.
See menu →Grazing tables
From $15 / guest
A Great Lawn cocktail hour with an outdoor grazing setup, before moving indoors for seated dinner — VanDusen's indoor-outdoor flow at its best.
See menu →The details
Event logistics
Operational notes from our coordinators — the things that affect how a quote comes together for this venue.
- Load-in
- Direct access to the Visitor Centre's kitchen area. Well-organised venue — loading is one of the smoothest in our roster.
- Kitchen
- Functional warming kitchen in the Visitor Centre. Hot courses served from VanDusen's on-site kitchen equipment, reducing our mobile-kitchen line-item on the quote.
- Bar
- For venues without an in-house liquor licence, we coordinate through our hospitality partners under a BC Special Event Permit — one itemised wine/beer/spirits line on your quote, no hidden markup.
- Outdoor contingency
- The indoor Visitor Centre is always your weather backup. We recommend a go/no-go decision 24 hours out for outdoor ceremonies.
Plan your event at VanDusen Gardens
Tell us about your event and we'll send a written proposal tailored to VanDusen Gardens's kitchen setup, logistics, and guest capacity — usually within 48 business hours of our first call.
Smart Event Planning
Plan your event at this venue
FAQ
About catering at VanDusen Gardens
Which VanDusen layout should we pick?
Most popular: Great Lawn ceremony + Floral Hall reception. Accommodates up to 120 guests with weather backup built in. Smaller weddings often use BMO Great Hall instead of Floral Hall.
Is VanDusen open year-round?
Yes, though outdoor ceremonies are best April–October. Winter events use the Visitor Centre's indoor halls with the garden visible through the curving cedar walls — especially atmospheric in snow.
Can guests park at VanDusen?
On-site parking for ~150 cars. For larger events we coordinate overflow + guest shuttles with the venue team.