“Every Saturday this summer is booked,” says Jake Curl, The CAPE’s General Manager, “but there is still space available in fall and winter.

“We can also host a summer wedding on a different day. Thursdays and Sundays, for example, are popular also and a few of those are still open.”

The gorgeous, sprawling historic mansion on Picton Main Street, with its huge lawns, 200-year-old trees, and endless verandah, has become perhaps the most sought after County wedding venue. It can also cater to very large events. Its liquor license covers 1,470 people, making it the largest event venue in the County. It hosted the inaugural Ontario Cheese Festival, with over 1,000 visitors, in September.

Wedding parties stay in the CAPE’s four luxurious suites. For the rest, “we partner with the other hotels, especially The Royal and Merrill House,” explains co-owner Corrine Spiegel. “Sometimes we host the event, and they host the guests.”

“It’s a really nice cooperation. We have lovely, lovely colleagues in Picton who support us while we support them.”

But the Cape is also planning an expansion.

A Hotel Addition

Architect Jonathan Kearns, who bought the old Picton Legion building with Ms. Spiegel in 2017, has designed a three-storey, 20-room hotel addition.

The Council-approved plans come with zoning that allows for a full-service restaurant on the premises as well as a spa. The elegant, contemporary structure will be barely visible from the front of the original Georgian house. Entry will be at the rear of the property, off Johnson Street.

“We’re very happy because we just think it’s the right and natural evolution for the property,” said Mr. Kearns. He is integrating the addition with the former Ross-McMullen House by replicating its details in new finishings. The pattern of the beautiful Victorian cast iron radiator covers in the original house, for example, has been incorporated into the elevations of the hotel addition. 

Work will not start until 2027. The Cape’s main business, hosting weddings, catered corporate events,  as well as cultural events such as Comedy Country and Shatterbox Theatre productions, will continue throughout construction.

“This project is going to take a few years,” says Ms. Spiegel, “but we expect with all the new development going up that there will be consistent demand for hospitality in the future.”

“We’re here to invest in the County because we love the County, and we see it as where we want to be long-term and we think a lot of other people want to be here as well,” she adds.

Preserving Heritage

The property was built in 1863 by local businessman Walter Ross and sold to George McMullen, a railway tycoon.

It served as Picton’s Legion Hall for 70 years, but a fire in 2016 caused over $250,000 in damage. Mr. Kearns and Ms. Spiegel bought it “in order to save it,” said Mr. Kearns. “The whole interior of the original house was black.” 

But the couple wasted no time. The CAPE was renovated and ready for their own wedding by September 2020.

In the range of options available in the County, the CAPE offers very good value. A two-night, 50-person catered wedding, with access to all the mansion’s salons and ballroom, accommodation for eight, and a second event, whether a rehearsal dinner or wedding breakfast, starts at about $35,000. 

A wedding reception with dinner and dancing for 100, with two nights accommodation for 8, would be about $45,000. 

Smaller wedding packages start at about $3,500 for a one-night booking with catering added on. That means a lovely, intimate celebration for 20 would be less than $10,000. Something to dream about, at least.