You’ve seen the winery weddings, the golf course weddings, and the weddings that overlook all aspects of the Okanagan’s topography, but we can guarantee that you haven’t seen this…

Eden Park Lakehouse is an exclusive fifteen-acre property with seven of its acres dedicated to manicured, rolling lawns. With hundreds of cherry trees, three private villas, jaw-dropping lake views, and seven separate on-site outdoor event spaces, it’s the type of place that artfully reflects its own name. 

Having been open for a year now, it has remained one of Penticton’s best kept secrets—despite curious locals.

Owners Frank Schilling and Gabi Petrylaite have big plans for this property: Their vision is for Eden Park Lakehouse to become a destination for beautiful weddings and special events, bringing people from all across the world to Penticton for an entire Okanagan experience. 

And when you tour the grounds, you understand why. There is something truly romantic about this estate.

The Garden of Eden on the Cliffs of Okanagan Lake

As you enter the property, Eden truly unfolds around you.

Wooden gates reveal the view like two french doors thrown wide. A gurgling fountain feeds into a serene pond lined by budding rosebushes. In the distance, an arboretum of cherry trees sweep up the hillside. Contemporary stonefaced buildings sit in various locations, silently signallying that you are indeed somewhere spectacular. Newly planted peach trees showcase the promise of tomorrow, while older pines and aspens offer a reprieve from the midday sun. And in the distance, at the farthest reaches of the property, the lake glistens.

It’s the kind of venue that you believe only exists on European shores—and yet, just minutes from Penticton’s downtown core, Eden Park Lakehouse whisks you away while remaining effortlessly Okanagan.

This is intentional. 

Frank and Gabi want the property to exist as an open love letter to this region. 

“We’ve been to a large celebrity wedding in Lake Como at Villa Balbiano,” says Gabi, “[and] I would say Lake Okanagan is more beautiful. Because it’s larger, the venue is more open, the different types of flora and fauna—it’s stunning.”

It’s the kind of comparison locals would love to own, but feel too unsure to boast.

“It’s more beautiful, approachable, better, and yet nobody has heard of it,” states Frank. They plan to change this, helping to bring notoriety to the Okanagan with international crowds. 

Penticton can support it, afterall. The city has infrastructure, hotels, restaurants, an airport, and plenty of attractions suitable for a variety of seasons: skiing in the winter, hiking in the fall, and plenty of wine tours throughout the spring and summer.

“Our dream is to make it a venue where people travel from all over to visit,” says Gabi. 

In fact, earlier this year, they managed to achieve just that while hosting Gabi’s 30th birthday party. Some of our readers may remember the night, seeing as it was reported that locals could hear the music all the way across the lake…

The Penticton Party Heard Across the Lake

Did you happen to catch the rendition of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” at midnight on a random weekend last July? 

Guests of the Penticton Lakeside Resort could certainly hear the band while out on their balconies—and while the evening did include a visit from the police on a routine noise complaint check, it didn’t end in any major complaints. 

“We set up the grounds with a very long table,” explains Frank. It sloped across the front lawn in a serpentine shape, with chandeliers hung above them. “As people were sitting, it was sunset and you could hear the romantic tinkling of the chandeliers in a soft breeze.”

The party began with a cocktail hour headed by Dave Martone, a well-regarded guitarist and record producer based out of Vancouver. Then, pre-dinner came with a four-string quartet: “You could hear the birds but also the cello music, which was just surreal,” Gabi describes. 

A catering team of ten chefs from Whistler served an exceptional meal, thanks to the enormous commercial kitchen inside the main house—where Frank and Gabi spend time in the summer months.

And in the evening, the concert began. 

Dr. Strangelove, long-time house band from the Roxy Cabaret in downtown Vancouver, set up their eight-piece band on the main stage with the Okanagan Lake as the backdrop. “The entire band came,” says Frank. “All three lead singers. All guitarists and drummers. Their separate, long time audio-visual team came.”

The evening also had a very special guest: Ziggy Zeigler, an up-and-coming American musician who the week prior played at The White House for their 250th anniversary show on July 4th. 

“We danced until midnight,” says Frank. “It was a private party. But, we were surprised how enormous the grounds and stage area felt with 100 guests. It still felt like nobody was there.”

This is in large part due to the years of slow building Frank has orchestrated on the property, turning Eden Park Lakehouse into the type of unseen venue across the Okanagan.

The Most Exclusive Event Estate in the South Okanagan

Eden Park Lakehouse started as a summer home in 2007 for Frank. Having grown up in Langley and then moving to the Cayman Islands in 2002, he longed for those BC summers that he remembered so strongly. Frank has been coming back to the valley since he bought his first parcel in 2007. Over time, he slowly accumulated the multiple parcels you find today: fifteen acres total, with at least seven dedicated to lush, rolling lawn. 

“There are lots of wineries and event spaces in the Okanagan, and a lot of really magnificent ones,” admits Frank. “But a lot of that space isn’t usable.” 

While plenty of wedding and event venues in the valley come with incredible views, the actual area available to guests narrows down to roughly a few acres of walkable space. 

Eden Park Lakehouse is the exception.

Across the property is an accessible, paved walking path that is, incredibly, also heated. This means that even in the winter, guests can walk without fear of slipping, and brides can traverse the grounds in their heels. At night, strategically placed lights provide much-needed illumination along these paths. Even the trees are lit up—every single one has hundreds of watts to cast a glow, easing navigation and providing a warm, welcoming ambiance.

The natural landscape looks self-powered, but that’s because Frank ensured the infrastructure would not impose on the beauty. He had subterranean power put in, bringing commercial grade electricity and plumbing to almost every corner of the grounds.

“We can all get married at a golf course… but it’s another thing entirely to be able to set up with full power, full electricity, in the middle of the golf course,” jokes Frank. “That’s sort of the charm. That’s what sets [Eden Park] apart. You have an enormous, cascading property where every blade of grass is manicured, and all supporting buildings are new.”

The property has three breathtaking villas for guests to rent when hosting an event: the barn wrapped in both sides by cherry trees, and two with a lake view. Each villa comes with custom-built furniture from Europe. The colours and textures are a mix of soft woods, gunmetal greys, cream furniture, and both indoor and outdoor electric firepits.

No matter which you choose, when you wake up in the morning and raise the blinds, you’ll be greeted by one of two views: the stunning Okanagan Lake and its mountain backdrop, or the swaying leaves of the cherry orchard, with fresh fruit weighing down each bough. 

Thanks to seven separate on-site locations, the grounds can accommodate an intimate event of thirty guests all the way to an elaborate, luxurious celebration of three hundred. 

Adding to the exclusivity is the fact that they can only host ten events per year—a regulation due to Eden Park Lakehouse sitting on agricultural land. 

“It’s for all kinds of functions,” says Frank. You can book for corporate events, wedding showers, baby showers, wedding announcements, and more. “We’re doing an automotive event related to Peach City Cruise, like a big one,” Frank explains. “We’re open to all kinds of events. It’s just weddings seem to be the most common.”

This is no surprise once you wander the grounds—they truly are effortlessly romantic.

An Open Love Letter to the Okanagan

Having opened officially for events in October 2025, Eden Park Lakehouse is a young venue with exceptional promise, especially when it comes to international guests. The birthday milestone itself brought a global crowd to the city, with folks travelling from Europe, across the U.S., and even from the East Coast of Canada. 

“It’s so beautiful up there, in the Okanagan,” says Gabi. “I’m from Texas and when Frank brought me over there for the first time, it was so stunning with the mountains and the lakes.”

While their international guests came for her birthday party earlier this summer, what really left a lasting impression was the area itself: discovering Penticton, visiting local wineries, riding the Grapesavy Wine Trolley, experiencing the lake, as well as the food and hospitality. This celebration really cemented their vision to bring more destination weddings, celebrations, and visitors to our region.

“There’s no hurry on this,” says Frank. “Gabi and I are committed to the area and in it for the long run. It’s for our children, and it’s high-time the Okanagan Valley received the world-renowned prestige it deserves.” Eden Park Lakehouse seems like the first step in accomplishing that. 

If you would like to inquire about their venues and potential event dates, email info@edenparklakehouse.com. 

Xx,

Your Okanagan Curators