The Secret Garden
The birthday dinner of my dreams.
Birthday celebrations have always been an exciting time for me. Growing up, my family and I rarely had celebrations throughout the years. Unlike other families, we didn’t have a Thanksgiving dinner. Christmas was usually spent with my immediate family, for which I am thankful. But aside from Lunar New Year, birthdays were pretty much the only time we actually celebrated. To this day, I look forward to my birthday every year. Due to uncertain times last year, I wasn’t able to celebrate my birthday like normal. So this year, I knew I wanted to have a special and memorable celebration.
I love to plan things so I started to think about what to do for my birthday half a year in advance. After contemplating a few spaces and restaurants, my mind kept going back to the Secret Garden. It’s a beautiful private space that’s located inside Brew + Bloom, known as Edmonton’s first floral cafe. The cafe only opened up in 2021 so hosting a birthday there wasn’t an option until now. I ended up booked it three months in advance and I am glad that I did not host my birthday anywhere else. It was different from any other birthday I’d had. The space, set-up, and table setting were gorgeous. The privacy was great; around 30 of my friends attended and it was nice to have our own private venue.
The Secret Garden is located at the back of Brew + Bloom. It features high ceilings, beautiful greenery, large 9-foot windows, dimmable bamboo lights, and seating for up to 70 guests. There’s also access to a private patio during warmer months. If your event is during the day, natural lighting will come in and fill the room up. If it’s during the night, like mine was, you can adjust the lighting however you like. The lighting may appear bright in these photos but during the dinner, it was dimmed to set the mood.
The space is used for both private and public events. Private events include birthdays, bridal showers, and weddings. Public events are the ones hosted by Brew + Bloom, such as afternoon tea, workshops, classes, and seminars. Their event calendar fills up quickly so if you have a date in mind, I suggest reaching out to them to secure it asap.
The rental fee for the space starts at $500 for up to 3 hours. If you’d like to book for up to 6 hours or all day, the fee increases from there. Included in the rental fee are chair and table rentals for up to 30 guests.
If you’ve been to Brew + Bloom before then you’re probably familiar with their picture-worthy cocktails. For events held at the Secret Garden, the same cocktail menu is available for ordering.
Normally, Brew + Bloom provides the food for events at the Secret Garden but since their kitchen is undergoing major renovations, my birthday was catered by A Capella Catering. I curated a set menu for my friends to choose from that included an hors d’oeuvre, starter, main dish, and two sides:
Hors d’oeuvre: roast beef roll
Starter: caesar salad or mushroom bisque
Main dish: chicken cacciatore or braised beef brisket
Sides: pyrogies or parmesan garlic duchesse potatoes & baked tomatoes or stuffed red peppers
Brew + Bloom was still able to provide the dessert. My curated set menu included a berry cheesecake for every person, which can also be ordered at the cafe on a normal day.
I was able to bring my own birthday cake so I ordered this boujee one from Camelia Cake Shop. The cake flavor was cookies & cream. The theme was two of my favorite things: Hennessy and Dior! Along with this birthday cake, I planned little add-ons to elevate the experience for my friends. I had a raffle table with gift cards from local businesses. Each guest received a gift bag that had a Squishmallow for the girls, food-printed socks for the guys, and mini-sized Caramunchies packs for all. I also brought in a giant 1.75L bottle of Hennessy so that everyone could take a shot with me.
If you’re looking to host a birthday unlike any other, I would definitely recommend booking it at the Secret Garden. It’s also perfect for a bridal shower or wedding. My friends commented that it was the fanciest birthday they’ve ever been to. One of them even compared it to something you’d see on Selling Sunset (the ultimate goal)! Brew + Bloom’s event team was super helpful and attentive every step of the way. Although my fees were graciously covered by the cafe, this is something that I would definitely pay for. I’m already planning to host another birthday here!
Outfit: Dress – Fashion Nova, Bag – Chanel, Shoes – Saint Laurent
The Secret Garden at Brew + Bloom
Address: 10550 115 Street, Edmonton, AB
For bookings and to view the event calendar: https://brewandbloom.ca/pages/events
