Anybody from Toronto, Ontario? Been looking for affordable wedding venues *no luck*

There are a few Toronto brides here, so I'll bump the thread and maybe one of them will see it

Just out of curiosity, how expensive were the ones you saw? My friend's BIL got married in Toronto last weekend, because apparently it was cheaper than getting married here (Winnipeg).

Thanks @VC. I'm looking at this one place that would cost me 22k for approx 50 guest.

I only got the cost from emailing them so maybe they're flexible?

Some packages starts at 22k too.

My FH's brother got married in a public park (with outside people having access to the place) but theirs was not as pricey as this private ones. Im hoping to find a place where we can rent and DIY everything.

I'm a Toronto bride - honestly we just stopped looking for affordable and accepted we were going to spend a bajillion dollars - so we went balls-out and are getting married at the Ritz!

This is going to be annoying advice, but have you thought about going outside of the city? I've been to some gorgeous (and far, far less expensive) weddings in Ancaster, Guelph, Niagara and Aurora.

In terms of the one place that we found that I thought was nice that was pretty open to bringing in whoever you wanted for catering/vendors etc. (they even let you bring your own booze, which to be honest I found hard to find in Toronto) - the Bram and Bluma Appel was actually really reasonable. They are inside a public library in the heart of downtown (near Yonge and Dundas), there is nearby parking (always an issue in Toronto), and they even have a pretty patio. We almost booked it but FH didn't like that it was in a library (I did - he is a groomzilla though lol).

Also what is your guestlist looking like? I might have more suggestions for smaller venues. We were looking for a place that accomodated at least 220, but there are a lot more "reasonable" places that are for less people.

Also check BlogTO and eventsource - the first has good little lists of wedding venues for big and small weddings; while the latter is a pretty comprehensive listing of event venues in the GTA

Good luck! Let me know if I can help with anything else!

You need to go outside of the city to find something less expensive. Within Toronto, you will easily spend $150pp and up.

Since you mentioned the Nestleton Waters Inn, which is not in Toronto (not even close actually), I'm assuming you are already looking in surrounding areas. Keep in mind that tents can be expensive too - easily $10k plus just for the tent itself, depending on the size you need. And then you need a ton of rentals. So a tent + DIY is not necessarily cheaper than an inclusive venue.

Thanks @Pej! We are actually looking outside the city which is max 1 1/2 drive from our place. FH's family is from Oshawa and mine is in Newmarket area so I thought why not meet halfway. Our guestlist is only 80 people max. Oh well, I realized that i will spend a fortune on this too lol.

I suggested to have a civil wedding and a bbq party for everybody then just splurge in a honeymoon but for some reason FH wants a "real wedding-walking down the aisle" thing.

You're having 220 guests and you're having it at the RITZ? wow!! Can't wait to see how your wedding be like!

@Emily. Yes we're looking outside Toronto as well. Nestleton INN is prolly 30-40min drive from our place and i really like it. I'm getting a quote for 80 people and if exceeds 23k then it's out.

I'v seen a place that caters out 15,500+ tax for 100 people and I'm not sure if because it's cheap, I'm compromising the quality. Oh dear, this wedding prep is really a bit of a stress

I would recommend outside of Toronto too. What about Niagara or Barrie? There are wineries in Niagara that do beautiful weddings and the prices are good. I've heard that the breweries in Toronto are good for weddings (Steam Whistle and Mill St.). You may want to check with their prices too.

ETA: Black Creek is another one I've seen too that does weddings. Also, check the parks. High Park would be good to do a wedding at.

Im from Barrie, ON, and prices were ok.... but not that much different than Toronto

We ended up having ours at the Oakville Convention Centre.... 85.00/pp with a minimum of 120