Since we plan on having a pretty formal wedding (in terms of attire, but not in behavior!) I wanted something as casual and low maintenance as possible for our rehearsal dinner. Side note: we’re actually calling this a “Welcome Dinner” since everyone’s invited—oooh the joys of a destination wedding!
Mr. M and I searched high and low prior to our second wedding-planning trip to Montreal back in July—we needed a venue capable of hosting at least 100 people that had inexpensive food and beverage options. It was actually quite difficult to find a place that met this criteria, so when I finally came across a large micro-brewery in Old Montreal (which is only four blocks from the hotel where we’re getting married—huge bonus points there), I reallly hoped it would work out.
The bar is called Les 3 Brasseurs (or The 3 Brewers, in English) and is deceptively larger on the inside than it looks from outside. When we met with the event director there, we learned that it was actually large enough to host over 400 people! Large venue? Check. The place is SUPER cool on the inside—they brew their own beers, so the huge brew tanks are visible all throughout the interior.
The bar’s exterior / Image via Flickr.com / Photo by afagen
Huge brew tanks / Image via HouseNumbers.ca
The upstairs bar / Image via QDG.ca
There’s a perfect space available for a group of 100 in a section of the bar upstairs, so it’ll be nice to have our own space within the huge bar. We also discussed menu options with the event director, and while initially we were looking into buffet options, we realized it would cost WAY more to feed everyone than we were comfortable spending. So I asked if we could instead order a bunch of items a la carte and just order tons of appetizers and non-alcoholic beverages that would be enough for our group. In doing so, the overall budget was lower than we anticipated (which made us very happy!). We also opted for a cash bar—we’ll be feeding people a fancy meal with a nine-hour open bar for the reception the next day, so we figured people can buy their own booze for this event.
For the menu, we’ve decided on a mix of flamms (which are like super thin-crust pizzas), poutine (fries covered in cheese and gravy, a Quebec staple), chicken wings, a few veggie plates, and salads. Also, we can order more food as the night goes on in case we run out.
Another bonus to hosting the welcome dinner here is that Mr. M is quite the lover of beer. (After all, he is from Wisconsin.) This will appeal to MANY of our guests who are also beer “connoisseurs.” While I am NOT a fan of beer, they have an awesome hard cider that was delicious and of course tons of wine. A win-win overall!
How many people will you have at your rehearsal (or welcome) dinner? Are you opting for a more casual event?
I’ve heard great things about Les 3 Brasseurs! Awesome choice on having poutine!! It is the absolute best!!
We also opted for a cash bar for the same reasons. I would LOVE to attend a rehearsal/welcome dinner like this – how fun and exciting. Great choice, Mrs. Mongoose! 
WOW, this place looks awesome! Glad you found something that will work out well 
We also wanted something as casual as possible for our rehearsal dinner. Being “fancy” isn’t really my fiance or I’s thing but we only get married once so we are doing the formal wedding. We ultimately decided on a pretty famous bbq place for our rehearsal dinner. This place has won a bunch of national awards and the president himself always stops at 12 bones when he visits the area. Luckily for us, 12 Bones is only open until 4 everyday and after 4 they will allow people to rent the entire space and do private events. So we are renting it and serving pork bbq, beef brisket and the usual fixings (mac n cheese, coleslaw, baked beans, fried okra) and of course soda, sweet tea, lemonade, coffee and water. We are also only doing a cash bar for the dinner. We are inviting 187 people to our wedding, we anticipate that around 135 will attend and are inviting 47 to the rehearsal dinner.
Good choice !! I too am a fan of Les Trois Brasseurs. I am sure your Guests from far and wide were pleased with the setting in Old Montreal.
Looks like we both agree on something else… that Montreal is indeed one of the BEST Cities in the world !! (I am an ex-Quebecer who was born in the city). So gorgeous and so culturally diverse, and a great place to have a Wedding.
Can’t wait to read more of your blog entries and seeing how your Big Day unfolds in “Mont Royal” (I am gonna go back now and read thru the one’s I missed while I was off getting married myself )
Yum yum yum. I love appetizers and pizzas and chicken wings and… I should not be reading this right before dinner 
Congrats on finding a great spot for a good deal!
My fiance and I go up to Montreal once a year (with this year as our exception as it’d be too much with the wedding and building our house) and we love stopping in at Les 3 Brasseurs. They have great food and it’s a fabulous location! I haven’t given too much thought to our rehearsal dinner. His parents have offered their house so I’m thinking a backyard tented dinner. Once I get the rest of the small wedding day details done I’ll worry about the rehearsal dinner.
Awesome choice!!!! We’re doing ours at an old school pizzeria. Very low key!
love the name “Welcome Dinner!” It sounds so much better than my OOTG dinner, haha.
I love Les 3 Brasseurs! Their pizza is excellent as well as many of their other dishes. I think we ate there at least three times during our last (3-4 day) visit! Keep us updated on your planning in Montreal!
@Emma20130601: @Miss Care Bear: @This Time Round: @SagHarborBride: @NYMango: So glad to hear that you guys love Les 3 Brasseurs! We didn’t get the chance to try the food but will be doing so on our final wedding planning visit up to Montreal next month–that was the one thing I was concerned about!
@StephK527: @Brooklyn55: Awesome that you guys are also doing a cash bar for the rehearsal–and I made sure to specify on the RSVP page on our wedding website that the dinner would be lots of apps and cash bar, just so there are no surprises for the guests.
@KatieD52413: An old school pizzeria sounds amazing!! Great choice
@Mrs-Mac: @Miss Lemur: @Miss Sword: Thanks ladies! It’s always nice when there’s one more thing to cross off the wedding planning list lol.
We are have a more casual dinner, like you! There’s a local sports bar (that everyone in our area loves), so we’re having it there. We’ll only have about 30-35 people, but we’ll have a private room and we’re doing food similar to you. We’re just ordering a bunch of apps/finger foods.. so it’ll be casual and not too structured. We will offer an open bar, for beer only.. luckily everyone that is coming likes beer, so it shouldn’t be an issue. I think having a casual, laid back RD is a great thing!
@Miss Mongoose: Super smart! We’ll be specifying the cash bar on our invitations, just a one liner toward the bottom, but more so that people actually bring cash. It’s definitely a good idea to inform them of everything – you are so on top of it!
I lived in MTL for a year and ate at that exact restaurant. I’m not a beer fan either, but what is fantastic there is that they have fancy beers that they flavour, so you can actually drink it!!
I would absolutely love attending a welcome dinner at a restaurant/brewery like this. What a great choice! And the switch to appetizers I think is a smart one.
@X0JLYNN03: I love it! It’ll be nice to have at least one casual event during a wedding weekend.
@StephK527: I err on the side of providing too much information than not enough to help minimize any confusion/complaints–especially when dealing with so many people!
@mmpurdy: Ooh very cool, I didn’t know that! I’ll have to try the flavoring when we’re there next month.
@ChicagoDreamer: Thanks! Hopefully our guests appreciate it.
Miss Mongoose, New Haven, CT Age and Occupation: 28, Digital Advertising Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Business Development Engagement Date: November 19th, 2011 Wedding Date: May 2013 Venue: Hotel Nelligan in Montreal, CA About Me: I was born and raised in Queens, NY (though you would never know due to my lack of a "real" New York accent) but currently live in Connecticut with my fiance. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a crazy obsession for planning and organizing things, so it comes as no surprise that I'm currently obsessed with planning our wedding. I love dancing, music, traveling, reading fiction novels, cooking, the color blue, cupcakes, all things space science-related and TV shows created by Joss Whedon and J.J. Abrams. My fiance and I have been together for seven years and are so excited to finally get married next year. We are planning a peacock-themed destination wedding in Montreal, one of our favorite cities in the world, with 100 or so of our closest family and friends. While we may look very different on the outside, we have eerily similar personalities (probably due to the fact that we share the exact same birthday) and share very similar passions. But above all else, we love each other and love to have FUN!!!
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