Planning a backyard wedding just looking to gain any tips from previous brides. For reference the wedding is in ontario in July on my property ( we own a farm).

Hi everyone, I'm having an incredibly low budget Wedding in April (think like an engagement party but with a ceremony), so I'm going to be doing my own hair and makeup.

Do you guys have any tips on products that you swear by?? I'm thinking black Friday is coming up and it might be the perfect time to get them. Tips on where to get affordable but comfortable shoes and a short wedding dress are also appreciated.

While researching venues I had a lot of trouble gathering cost breakdowns for different venues. I want to share what we paid for our wedding at Eglinton Grand in September 2024. The wedding was on a Friday night so it had promotional pricing of $100/person for meals and drinks. The per person prices below include a $5/adult bar package upgrade (well worth it) and the mandatory 20% gratuity.

Venue:

Adults 104
Children 4
Youth 3
Vendors 5
Per Adult $126.00
Per Child (under 12) $72.00
Per Youth $108.00
Per Vendor $83.94
Ceremony Room Rental $2,500.00
Projector Upgrade $500.00
Technician Fee $300.00
Additional Tech Fee $50.00
Dancing Music Fee $266.21
Tax 13%
Total $20,059.66

Other major expenses were for the DJ, photographer, illustrator, coordinator, dress, tailoring, suit, floral, decorations and dance lessons. For us, those items added up to around $12k. We went very light on floral and decorations since the space itself is quite nice.

Anyways, I hope this is helpful to someone else. I think this whole process would be a lot easier if venues were more transparent about the costs.

Anyone have any experience with Kaneff weddings? Specifically at the Carlisle, Royal Niagara, or Century Pines Golf Clubs? Any notes on the buffet food or the event coordination in general?

The package and venue seemed nice from the tour but none of the online reviews mention weddings at all so want to make sure we know what we'd be signing up for.

What types of things were you able to negotiate down? Any tips?

Hi friends, coming back on here saying that I am available for the rest of the year and now am taking bookings for 2025/26 for weddings in Niagara, GTA and everywhere in between! Full disclosure, I am mainly a portrait photographer, but if you choose me, then I promise to capture your beautiful moments at a decent price that doesn’t break the bank.

If you’re interested, let me know! I’m not sure if I’m allowed to post my website here but if you are interested please send me a message!

Thanks!

ISO a bridal shower location that also does not look like a conference hall. Most banquet halls in the GTA are outdated with patterned carpets and are very dark. I want something with some natural light. I have looked into some restaurants like Nodo (Toronto), but these places are way outside of my budget...Over 100$ per person plus extra fees. Does anyone have any recommendations of newly renovated banquet halls, restaurants or spaces for bridal showers with good food? I looked into a few banquet hall lobby's and this seems like my best option as I have found some around 75$/pp. My guest count is roughly 100 people (I know I have a big family and can't seem to cut down my list) Thanks in advance!

We are considering hosting our wedding reception at Liberty Grand in September or October 2025. Any reviews or experiences regarding the food and overall experience or hosting or attending a wedding here? We are also considering Guild Inn Estate and Paradise Banquet but love the look of Liberty Grand.

Really appreciate any advice!!

Hey all. I'm interested in finding a park in Toronto or nearby National Park for a very intimate, private ceremony. I'm looking for a natural setting for a small wedding party of less than 15 people (probably closer to 10). Can anyone make recommendations for places that can accommodate a very small party and offer some privacy so we won't be disturbed on the big day? (Nothing scandalous going on, we'd just like to have our special moment undisturbed by tourists or passer-bys.)

For reference, venues such as these are generally too big for our purposes.

Hi! Looking for some recommendations on restaurant venues in Toronto that offer open bar packages. We're estimating around 120 guests.

Looking for a DJ for predominantly EDM as well as some traditional music for March 2025, not sure where to find one. If anyone has had any good experiences or reccomendations would love any leads!

Getting married next October and still on the hunt for a videographer.

I’d really love someone who shoots documentary style, no slow motion or cheesy poses. Just capturing us, our guests, the atmosphere etc.

I love Kim L Films (@kimlfilms) and unfortunately she’s busy that day.

Any suggestions?!

Any recommendations for a DJ that is able to play edm/rave music but also can play some Asian music as well? I want a DJ that can really hype up a crowd and not just your typical wedding dj.

Hi friends, what are the things that I should cover for my bridesmaids? I know it is a controversial topic, but want to get some opinions.

My situation: restaurant wedding in Toronto. I will have 3 bridesmaids. 2 of them are flying from different countries so it would be $1000+ investment for them to get to my wedding. I am super grateful and I made it clear to them that I don’t expect any gifts (not sure if they follow this specific advice). I want them to wear simple satin black dresses. There will be a low key bachelor and most likely 2 of them won’t be able to attend it.

So what should I cover for them?

Looking for a site that will send invites, track RSVPs and meals, share our story and day-of information for guests.

It sounds like Zola, The Knot, and Minted are popular. Are there newer sites that are better? I’d love to hear people’s opinions. My partner and I are busy professionals so ideally the site would do it all , be easy to use , and organize itself.

Thanks in advance!

hi everyone! my partner and i are looking for venues in central ottawa (also open to options over in hull on the quebec side). we're having a bit of a tough time with our numbers - seated ceremony and reception for 130 to 140 guests - in finding a venue that fits our style and vibe. we're ball parking spring 2026 so we have some time, but want to get a start on booking, as well as locking down photographers, etc.

some places we've looked at are lago, ember, alora, and parlour. while lago can accommodate us, i do find it a bit too industrial and dark, and suited towards someone looking for a traditional venue... parlour is exactly what we are looking for in terms of aesthetic and decor, good food and drinks, but our numbers are slightly too large to host both the ceremony and reception. we'd also need a venue that is accessible (wheelchair access inside and at least one accessible bathroom on the main floor).

we've got a lot of guests traveling from out of town, and so we aren't keen on venues outside of ottawa (i.e. the likes of jabulani, bleeks & bergamot, aquatopia, etc.)

anyone able to recommend some gems we may not have thought of yet?

thanks so much!

Hi everyone!

I’m Caitlyn, I’m a photographer based in Niagara, ON (but wiling to travel to GTA) and I would love to do your wedding! Full disclosure, I’m putting this out there because I’ve been having a hard time trying to book my first wedding gig, but I have a lot of portrait experience on my website:) I would love love love to talk details with you and do your wedding, all for a price well within your budget:)

Let me know! Thanks everyone:)

My fiance and I are looking at eloping in Niagara and the package we are looking at has a photographer for the ceremony. I was hoping to get someone for an hour for first look photos and other shots at a hotel before heading out.

Is this something that photographers do?

If so does anyone have any recommendations for photographers in Niagara?

Thanks!

Looking for venue recommendations for our wedding! I’ve reached out to a few places already but feeling overwhelmed with all the options.

Planning for spring/summer 2026 and 100 people. Hoping to keep our budget around 30k (venue, food, photography, etc.), although we do have some flexibility with that number. Open to venues anywhere in the GTA, Muskoka, or Kawartha lakes.

Another thing to add- we would love to host either a brunch wedding with an after party somewhere else or a cocktail-style reception. Not really interested in the traditional plated dinner wedding reception. Let me know if have any suggestions! Would love to hear about your experience too if you have hosted one of these types of events.

Wondering if I could get some advice about marriage certificates. We had our wedding earlier this year and we are finally getting around to applying for our marriage certificate. In Ontario, there's two options: 1) Marriage Certificate (file size) or 2) Certified Copy of Marriage Registration (long form).

Which one should I apply for? Which one is most commonly needed for documentation and/or there any benefits to having one or the other?

Thanks in advance for any advice/insights!

Hi all! I'm getting married in May and would like to try to capitalize on the sales during black friday for stuff we need for the wedding - which is pretty much everything. I currently have the bridesmaids dresses from Azazie and our wedding bands on the list, but wondering what else I could buy on black friday. Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone. This is one of our top picks for a wedding… has anyone had their wedding or attended a wedding here? Would you recommend it?

Hi! We are in the early stages of planning a wedding in the Hamilton/Burlington area for 155 guests. We are finding that venues either have a max of 120 guests, 150 guests, or 250+ and are finding it challenging to find the right fit that won't feel too cramped, or won't feel too empty.

Has anyone had their wedding at the following venues and can weigh in on how our guest size of ~155-160 would fit here? We LOVE the first two, but both seem to be very big venues and we don't want it to feel "empty" with only 155 guests (we want a packed dance floor!)

Earth to Table: the Farm (says fits up to 240 - would this be too large for a 155 person wedding?)

Ancaster Old Mill (says fits up to 250 - would this be too large?)

Glen Drummond Farm (min guest 125)

Thank you in Advanced!

I found a reception location I’d like to use, an outdoor pavilion on a church property. It’s more or less free for us to use, we just need to organize it all. The pavilion is pretty basic and I’d love to spruce it up nicely. I assume an event planner/coordinator would help with whatever decor / equipment rentals we would need. But I have no idea where to find planners. I tried to search for planners on Instagram but it all seems a bit overwhelming and I don’t want to make a wrong choice. I’m wondering how the brides/grooms in this group found their planners? Did you reach out to a few, what kinds of questions did you ask, how did you land on the one you went, etc?

Thanks :)

Need Vendor recommendations for inexpensive (but great) Florists, Photographers, DJ/MC, decor people, for the GTA/ONT/Cambridge area?

Also looking for great live musicians, Jazz trio and a Violinist or Spanish Guitarist.

Thanks in advance.

My fiance and I are looking at venues for our wedding and we really loved Eglinton Grand and the uniqueness of the space, however I am concerned about the dark and dullness of the place in photos. Anyone that had a wedding there shared similar thoughts? Any reviews about this place?

Hi everyone! My fiancée and I are leaning towards the Ancaster Mill for our 2026 wedding, but the summer pricing is likely out of our budget. Does anyone have any experience or advice on what a March wedding would look like at the Mill?

I am also hesitant about the reception space - the Governors Room felt a bit small, however we will only have around 90 guests whereas the room can apparently fit up to 120 (I think this would definitely be too tight). Has anyone attended/hosted a wedding in this room? How did you like it?

Looking for some input on wedding dress shopping options for a mid-size bride (I usually wear an XL and tend to be between size 16-20 depending on the brand). I really don’t want to go somewhere there’s nothing I can try on and have it sour the experience because I’ve really been looking forward to it! (I live in Toronto, but am happy to travel a bit) AND If we’re planning our wedding for Oct. 2025, is it okay for me to start shopping in Dec.? My sister lives abroad but is home for a while around Christmas and I’d love her to be involved, but I’ve heard so many different things about how long it takes. Thanks in advance!! 🥰

Looking for a venue in the Cambridge area (our church is here and we are having a church ceremony) So we only need the venue for the reception

We need the venue to allow for the following

• that will allow for 100-120 guests
• will allow for outside cater or can offer us a buffet style for food

-offers open bar or will allow us to provide our own alcohol

• a great outdoor space for photos would be nice too

Close to cambridge (within 30-45 mins) Not interested in Hacienda Sereda or Storehouse 408

Of course affordable, 200 per person is way too much

We have a budget of $7K total for food/drinks for 60 people in Toronto. This is the max budget/final total that needs to include all rentals (plates, silverware, chafing dishes, etc.), staff, tax, service fees, tips, food, alcohol, dessert.

The venue allows for external catering and has no landmark fees/restrictions. The price does not need to include table/chairs/linens. Also - this does NOT need to include a cocktail hour. We are doing a less traditional event and are starting at 7PM and moving immediately into dinner followed by dessert.

I'm assuming drop catering & providing our own bar (buying alcohol at the LCBO and hiring a bartender/getting a special occasions permit) is the only way to achieve this... I've looked into some options about getting drop catering from an Italian restaurant, but just wondering if anyone has any other suggestions or knows any specific caterers/restaurants that could fit within this budget?