The Best Québec Destination Wedding Venue: Manoir Maplewood

If you’re looking at an easy Québec destination wedding from Montreal, the Manoir Maplewood might be the venue for you.

I had my small wedding at the Manoir in July 2022 and it was an absolute dream. Seriously, if you’re looking to WOW your guests, this is the place!

Manoir Maplewood has it all; an incredible history, room for 55 guests to sleep over, a pool, jacuzzi, and even wine cellar… need I say more!?

Here’s how we hosted an entire wedding weekend at the Manoir Maplewood from Montreal.

Psst! This blog post contains affiliate links in it which sends me a bit of extra money if you use them… at no extra cost to you!

Welcome To The Manoir Maplewood – Québec Airbnb Wedding Venue

The Manoir Maplewood was built by Asa Belknap Foster a.k.a. “The King of Canadian Railways” in 1865. After his death in 1877, the estate was sold to the Sisters of the Très-Saint-Nom-de-Jesus-et-de-Marie in 1882. It then became a convalescence home for nuns until 1989.

From 1989 until 2012 it went through two new ownerships but nothing came of them. From 2012 to 2015, new owners renovated and turned the Manoir into an Inn.

The Manoir Maplewood today is great for hosting family reunions, weddings, and even corporate events.

We did find the Manoir Maplewood through Airbnb but we booked it through their website here.

Where Is The Manoir Maplewood

The Manoir Maplewood is in Waterloo Québec in the Eastern Townships. If you’re driving (and you really need a car to get there), it’s about an hour outside of Montreal.

Waterloo Québec is on of the smaller towns in the Eastern Townships. It’s just past Granby, near Bromont and Knowlton.

Why We Chose The Manoir Maplewood For Our Montreal Wedding?

We never wanted a typical event hall or religious establishment wedding. We searched for a LONG time trying to find the perfect Montreal wedding venue… and it just didn’t exist. We came close a few times (in fact we almost booked the Forest and Stream Club in Dorval – check it out here) but it still never felt right.

Here’s a few reason why we chose the Manoir Maplewood Waterloo for our Québec destination wedding.

I Mean, Have You Seen The Venue!?

Not only is the Manoir Maplewood Waterloo a historical house, but it has everything you need for both a romantic wedding and fun-filled weekend getaway.

There’s character galore at this Manoir! The venue really speaks for itself, you don’t really have to add much to make it wedding ready.

We also liked the Manoir because it had a pool, jacuzzi, and sauna which were great activities when it wasn’t wedding time.

We Wanted A Destination Wedding Close To Home

We really wanted a destination wedding, but felt that it was a lot to ask from our guests. The Manoir Maplewood is just outside Montreal – giving us those romantic rural vibes without having to travel too far. We were still close enough to the city to drive there and back in one day. Making it, ultimately, the perfect destination wedding venue.

The Manoir Maplewood Waterloo gave us the best of destination weddings, without the hassle (for us and our guests). For example, because it wasn’t too far, we were also able to visit the Manoir and vendors in the area when we needed to. And, for our guests, if they didn’t want to stay over, they didn’t have to!

lake-in-waterloo-quebec — *Lake near the Manoir Maplewood Waterloo*

The Perfect Wedding Venue For Small Weddings

If you want a large wedding – the Manoir isn’t the place for you. They said the max capacity for the Manoir is 72 guests… I’d say it’s closer to 50 people.

We were just over 50 people at our wedding and I wouldn’t recommend going above that. We had our ceremony inside and the room couldn’t fit one more chair.

For the reception, people wandered throughout the main floor and onto the verandah. The venue never felt too big and I was actually thankful we didn’t invite any more people.

Even if you’re less than 50, the venue won’t feel too large. You’ll have the intimate feeling of a tight nit wedding ceremony and reception.

indoor-wedding-ceremony — *Picture perfect wedding ceremony! Photo by Magali Fillion.*

Centrally Located – Wedding Venues Eastern Townships

What’s nice about the Manoir Maplewood is that you’re not in the middle of nowhere. You’re very well located in Waterloo Québec. You don’t have to bring anything up from Montreal if you don’t want to.

There’s a grocery store down the street with an SAQ next door. There’s also a pharmacy, dollar store, and bank that’s all within walking distance!

What To Know Before Booking The Manoir Maplewood…

You Rent The ENTIRE Manoir

When the Manoir was an Inn, you could book one room at a time. That isn’t an option any more. You either rent the entire Manoir or you don’t rent it at all.

I respect this decision because now it’s only your people in the house at a time. Plus, when do you ever get an entire Manoir just for you to enjoy (and p.s. it was AWESOME!)!?

It Can Sleep A LOT More Than It Can Host

The Manoir Maplewood can sleep a lot of people… 55 people in 16 bedrooms. I wouldn’t recommend actually having 55 people sleep over.

55 people would max out every room and every bed. All of the beds are queen beds, sleeping two people. And some rooms can sleep up to 4 or 3 people if you add a cot. There’s even one room that can sleep 8 people! So it’s not really possible to ever have 55 people in the house, because do you know 8 people willing to share a room!?

The house itself also isn’t set up for that many people. The kitchen and outdoor space doesn’t have the appropriate amount of seating.

With that in mind, I’d say the max capacity is closer to 25 people (which is about how many people we were).

Of course, you can always rent more things, but that’s just more work, which brings me to my next point…

You Need To Rent Furniture & Kitchenware

The Manoir Maplewood comes with a lot.. but you still need to rent more.

If you’re hosting an event (like a wedding or corporate retreat) you’re probably already renting some things.

But, even if you’re just having a family reunion I’d recommend renting more furniture and kitchenware. They actually have enough kitchenware – but then who’s washing it and putting it all away…?

If you rent it, you rinse it and put it back in the box – as simple as that! We actually just brought up paper plates to use for the weekend and it made clean up a lot easier and quicker.

But, then there’s the bigger ticket furniture items that I would rent for the weekend, like extra tables and chairs. We rented two more tables for the kitchen seating. We lucked out with the weather so ended up putting them outside for everyone to be able tp sit together. It’s not something you need, but it’s a nice to have to have everyone sit together.

bbq-manoir-maplewood-friday-night-wedding-weekend — *We rented extra tables and chairs to set up outside. Photo by Magali Fillion*

There’s A Two Night Minimum Stay

You have to rent the Manoir Maplewood Waterloo for a minimum of two nights – but trust me – you need it!

If you’re hosting any type of event, you’ll need the extra days for set up and clean up. Plus, if you actually want to enjoy the Manoir you’ll be thankful for the extra time you have there.

Honestly, you might even want to consider renting it for an extra night. We rented it from Friday to Sunday and had the wedding ceremony on Saturday afternoon. Let me tell you, the time FLEW BY!

manoir-maplewood-pool — *Enjoying the pool before our Saturday afternoon wedding!*

P.S It’s Also Pet Friendly!

If you’ve ever dreamed about having your furry friend by your side at your wedding, then you can at the Manoir Maplewood Waterloo! This Quebec Airbnb wedding venue is indeed pet friendly!

Now you can have them in all your pictures, and maybe even have them walk down the aisle! The point is, they don’t have to be left out of all the fun!

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A Look At Hosting A Wedding At Manoir Maplewood

Planning A Québec Destination Wedding In The Eastern Townships From Montreal…

Having a Queébec destination wedding in the Eastern Townships from Montreal is the best of both worlds. It’s just over an hour away from Montreal (depending on where you’re coming from of course it can be shorter or longer). This means that your guests don’t have to stay over if they don’t want to.

It’s also easier for you to plan your wedding. We drove up a few times to meet with vendors and plan our layout for the Manoir. I couldn’t imagine not visiting and just showing up for the wedding itself. You could do it, but it will most likely cost a lot more to have someone else (that’s local) planning your wedding for you.

And of course, we got the benefits of a destination wedding. We were able to have a weekend affair with our closest friends and family.

An Afternoon Ceremony

We opted for an afternoon wedding at the Manoir Maplewood Waterloo so our guests who didn’t stay over weren’t driving back too late. We called it for 12:00 P.M., the ceremony started at 12:30 (we left time for late comers) and the last guests left around 5:00 P.M.

Set Up Water For When Guests Arrive

If you have guests coming from Montreal, it can be just over an hour drive. We asked our caterer to set up some water for our guests to have once they arrive.

We decided to have the ceremony inside the Manoir as it was just safer and not weather dependent (it’s not just rain you have to worry about but heat and wind too!). We set up one of the rooms on the main floor and it was off limited to anyone staying over until the ceremony.

If you prefer to have it outside (and the weather cooperates) there are a few options at the Manoir Maplewood Waterloo. There’s a gazebo in the back, you can set up by the pool, or even off to the side of the house.

The floral arch is from Maison Montcalm, the seats are Martha chairs. The Manoir has about 40 chairs that you could use as well, we opted to use those for the reception instead.

ceremony-room-manoir-maplewood — *Photo by Magali Fillion*

The Reception – Cocktail Dinatoire Style

We opted for a cocktail dinatoire style wedding reception. We couldn’t set up enough tables for everyone to sit at and still have a dance floor. We could have rearranged the ceremony room after – but who wants to do that!? Instead, it was all set up beforehand and nothing had to be rearranged during the wedding.

The library and office were both used for food stations. Across the hall in both larger connected rooms we had the dance floor with some cocktail tables on one side and seating for about 30 people in the adjoining room. The bar was set up outside on the verandah.

Center pieces are died baby’s breath in vases from Maison Montcalm. The chairs are from the Manoir Maplewood. We rented the table cloths and 48″ round tables.

Dancing & Drinks

The musicians set up in the bay window in the second room that connected to the reception room with the tables. This way, our older guests could sit and still watch the dancing and listen to the music!

We left this room pretty empty for people to dance in. We set up a few more seats throughout the room and some standing cocktail tables for people to use.

As I mentioned, the bar was outside on the verandah. P.S. You bring your own alcohol to the Manoir – you either pay your caterer for the bar license or the Manoir. We opted to only serve red and white wine with beer and of course had sodas.

Seeing as people still had to drive back, we didn’t want to serve any hard alcohol.

List Of Eastern Township Wedding Vendors

dancing-musicians — *Photo by Magali Fillion*

Our Weekend At The Manoir Maplewood – Some Tips!

If you book the Manoir Maplewood, as I said, you have it booked for 2 nights minimum. That means a wedding at the Manoir isn’t just about the wedding – you also have to plan the rest of your stay.

Here are a few things to keep in mind if you’re staying for three days at the Manoir.

Keep Certain Rooms Off Limit Before Your Wedding

Our wedding was Saturday afternoon and we checked in on Friday afternoon. That means, we had almost an entire day at the house before our actual wedding.

We didn’t want to make a mess of the ceremony and reception rooms before the big day. So the main floor of the house was pretty much off limits to use until after.

We also asked the Manoir if someone could come clean on Saturday morning. This way the bathrooms and the hallway were looking fresh for our guests.

We also bought everyone some small slippers to wear around the house so they didn’t have to wear their shoes inside.

Assign Rooms Before & Label The Doors!

You don’t want any fights on your wedding weekend. Unfortunately, the rooms are not all equal at the Manoir Maplewood. So take it upon yourself to assign the rooms before your guests arrive.

The first level floors we kept for parents, aunts and uncles, and us. Second level rooms were for siblings, cousins, and friends staying over.

I added door hangers to every door with the names of who’s room it was. This way, I didn’t have to remember who was where. And this also avoids the risk of someone walking into the wrong room…

Supplying Food For The Weekend

If you’re catering your wedding reception, that’s one less meal to think about. But, if you’re staying the weekend you have to plan food for you and your guests for the rest of the time you’re there.

We checked in before lunch on Friday and checked out after breakfast on Sunday. Our wedding was a lunch reception so that left us with two dinners, and two breakfasts to serve.

We decided to cater both breakfasts – which made it a lot less stressful the morning of our wedding and the day after. We used Buzz Catering for that as well as our for our wedding reception (check them out here).

breakfast-with-a-side-of-wine — *Breakfast from Buzz Catering. Photo by Magali Fillion*

If you don’t want to formally cater breakfast, we were going to pick up bagels and pastries from Beignes d’Autrefois Phil’s in Waterloo. The main problem is that they aren’t open on Sundays…

For dinner on Friday, we brought up some brisket and smoked salmon that we reheated in the oven. On Saturday night, we ordered pizza from Maurice Pizzeria and ate some of the leftover food from the catered lunch.

We did a Costco run before arriving and stocked the fridge and pantry with snacks! But like I said, you really don’t have to worry – there’s grocery store down the street.