A tent or marquee turns an open outdoor space into a proper event venue — a wedding reception, a milestone birthday, a company celebration. Metro Vancouver has real parks and public spaces built for exactly this. Here are eight worth knowing, by city, plus what to check before you book any of them.
Vancouver: Stanley Park & Queen Elizabeth Park
Ceperley Meadow in Stanley Park offers a large open lawn with mature tree cover, well suited to a full marquee setup. Queen Elizabeth Park's Quarry Gardens offers a more formal, terraced setting with skyline views — a smaller, more intimate footprint than Ceperley Meadow.
West Vancouver: Whytecliff Park
A waterfront park with dramatic ocean and mountain views, better suited to a smaller ceremony or reception footprint than a large-guest-count marquee.
Surrey: Bear Creek Park
One of Surrey's largest parks, with open lawn space that scales to a larger tented reception than most of the smaller city parks on this list.
New Westminster: Queen's Park Rose Garden
A formal, established garden setting in the heart of New Westminster, well suited to a classic marquee wedding look.
Burnaby: Deer Lake Park
A large park with lakefront lawn space near Hart House and the Shadbolt Centre, one of the bigger open-space options on this list for a large tented reception.
Richmond: Garry Point Park & Minoru Chapel
Garry Point Park offers open waterfront lawn at the mouth of the Fraser River, while the Garden of Vows near Minoru Chapel offers a smaller, more manicured ceremony setting.
Permits, in plain terms
Every venue on this list is a public park, which means any tent, marquee, or private event setup requires a booking or special event permit from that park's own municipal authority or, for regional parks, Metro Vancouver Regional Parks — generally arranged well ahead of your date, with insurance requirements for larger events. Confirm directly with the specific park you're booking, since rules and lead times vary site to site. For a broader look at what the region offers beyond these eight, Destination Vancouver is a useful general reference.
Bringing entertainment to any of these
A tent or marquee handles the setting; a mobile golf simulator can be the activity inside or alongside it. Weatherproof and needing only about 10ft by 15ft of clear space, it fits under most marquee footprints without eating into your guest seating. See our wedding golf simulator page or the full package breakdown for details.