Planning a Crew Cafe Wedding in Montreal: A Photographer's Guide

Crew Collective & Café is one of the most beautiful rooms in Montreal: a 1920s banking hall in Old Montreal with gilded coffered ceilings, bronze chandeliers, a marble staircase and windows that rise almost to the ceiling. I know the building well, and this guide collects what I tell couples who are thinking of getting married at Crew, so that the day runs smoothly and the photographs look like the place feels.

The photographs in this guide are mine, from a June wedding planned by Erika co.

Can you get married at Crew Cafe in Montreal?

Yes. Crew Collective & Café is a café and coworking space by day, but the hall, which the venue calls the Crew, is available for private events, including weddings. You can hold the ceremony and the reception in the same building, and the venue also offers to privatize the whole space. Event enquiries and free site visits go through the Crew events page.

A former Royal Bank head office on rue Saint-Jacques

Crew is at 360 rue Saint-Jacques, in the old financial district of Old Montreal, a short walk from the Place-d'Armes and Square-Victoria–OACI metro stations. It occupies the main banking hall of the former head office of the Royal Bank of Canada. The tower was designed by the New York firm York and Sawyer with the bank's own architect, Sumner Godfrey Davenport, and when it was completed in 1928 it was the tallest building in the British Empire.

The history is still everywhere: painted and gilded ceilings, stone arches, carved doorways, and an In Memoriam plaque for the bank's employees who died in the First World War. An engraved sign still points the way to the Notre-Dame Street exit. I like to photograph these details early, before the guests arrive, because they tell you exactly where you are.

The spaces

The venue lists several areas that can be booked on their own or together:

• The main hall. The heart of the building, with marble floors and the restored banking-hall décor.
• The East Wing. On the ground floor beside a thirty-foot window, good for a ceremony or cocktail hour.
• The West Wing. The most intimate ground-floor area, suited to a private dinner.
• The balconies. Two landings overlooking the main staircase, with marble balustrades.
• The Salle Zen. The former president's office, with dark wood panelling: a quiet room for getting ready or for a few minutes alone after the ceremony.

I have left guest numbers out of this guide on purpose. Capacity depends on which spaces you book and how they are set, and the venue is the right source for current figures.

The ceremony

At the wedding in these photographs, the ceremony was set beneath one of the great arched windows, with white drapery behind the couple, burgundy and blush roses on two pedestals and rows of black bentwood chairs. The drapery gives a soft, clean background for the vows, while the window and the stone above it keep the sense of scale.

The staircase is the other gift of the ceremony. From the balconies I can photograph the whole room and the guests arriving below, and the top of the stairs is a natural place for guests to gather before they are seated.

The reception

The long arcade beside the windows takes a single banquet table beautifully. One long table lit with tapers and candelabras under the chandeliers is the image most couples have in mind when they choose Crew, and it is worth building the design around it.

The stone is a warm, neutral colour, so it carries deep florals well: the burgundy roses at this wedding looked rich against it without overpowering the room. Candles do the rest once the daylight fades.

Light, and how I photograph the hall

By day the hall is lit by its tall windows, and the light is soft and even, which is lovely for details, the ceremony and candid moments. The ceilings are very high and dark gold, so they absorb light rather than reflect it, and the room gets dim quickly once the sun goes down.

• Photograph the design in daylight. I ask for the tables, the escort card display and the cake table to be finished before the guests come in, while the windows still do the work.
• Plan the evening around candlelight. Candles and chandeliers make the room glow. I use them as the main light and add flash carefully, so the warmth survives in the photographs.
• Use the height. The balconies and the top of the staircase give overhead views that few Montreal venues can offer.

Portraits in Old Montreal

You do not need to go far. The building's own entrance on rue Saint-Jacques, with its carved stone and bronze, is a striking backdrop for the wedding party. Within a few minutes' walk you have Place d'Armes and Notre-Dame Basilica, the stone façades of rue Saint-Jacques and rue Notre-Dame, rue Saint-Paul and the Old Port. Inside, the arches, the staircase and the balconies work on any day, including a rainy one.

Old Montreal is busy on summer weekends, so a first look with portraits in the early afternoon, or a short walk at golden hour, usually gives you the quietest streets.

Planning tips for a Crew Collective & Café wedding

• Confirm access times. Crew is a working café and coworking space, so ask when your planner, florist and rental company can start setting up, and from what time the space is fully private.
• Work with a planner. Turning a café into a wedding in a few hours takes coordination. A planner who knows the building, as Erika co. did here, makes the change feel effortless.
• Ask about catering. Check which caterers the venue works with or allows, and where the kitchen and service areas are.
• Plan transport and parking. Street parking in Old Montreal is limited. Arrange a drop-off point on rue Saint-Jacques and point guests to a nearby parking garage or the metro.
• Think about the season. Because everything happens indoors, Crew works in every season. A winter evening under the chandeliers is especially atmospheric; in summer, plan portraits around the crowds.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Crew Collective & Café?

At 360 rue Saint-Jacques in Old Montreal, inside the former head office of the Royal Bank of Canada. The nearest metro stations are Place-d'Armes and Square-Victoria–OACI.

How many guests can Crew Cafe hold for a wedding?

It depends on which spaces you book and on the layout. Ask the venue for current figures for a seated dinner and for a standing reception.

Can the ceremony and the reception be at Crew Cafe?

Yes. At the wedding in these photographs, the ceremony and the dinner both took place inside the building, in different parts of the hall.

Is Crew Cafe a good venue for a winter wedding?

Yes. The whole day can happen indoors, and the hall is at its most atmospheric by candlelight on a dark winter evening.

Where can we take wedding photos near Crew Cafe?

Inside the building, on the staircase and the balconies, and outside in Old Montreal: Place d'Armes, Notre-Dame Basilica, rue Saint-Paul and the Old Port are all within walking distance.

More Old Montreal weddings and venue guides

If you are still comparing venues, my guide to Old Montreal wedding venues and my list of the best wedding venues in Montreal are good next stops. For other historic rooms in the old city, see a wedding at Le Café de l'Horloge in the Old Port and a wedding at Espace Gare Viger. My guides to Maison Principale and Château Taillefer Lafon cover two more of my favourite Montreal venues.

Planning a wedding at Crew Cafe?

I photograph weddings across Montreal, and I am always glad to help couples plan a day at Crew around the light, the timeline and the portraits in Old Montreal. Tell me about your plans, and I will reply with my availability and how I would approach your day.