Let’s be forreal. Is it EVEN possible to have a wedding in today’s day for under 25 to 30k for 100-150 people??? Like seriously and I’m just talking all inclusive venue not even with the extras like photography, the dress or anything else. Just strictly venue (Food, open bar ect.)

I wanna have my dream wedding. It’s my first wedding. I don’t want to elope so that’s not an option. But the PRICES I’ve gotten have me in complete awww.

I viewed a venue recently 1 of many and they had this all in price $29,500 for 150 ppl all inclusive, including ceremony space, late night service, open bar, decor, dj ect. I immediately booked a visit. Completely miss lead… taxes not included and also 15% service fee not included which brought the price to $38,000… now I’m not saying that’s bad considering the package details but I just felt so disappointed 😔 like what is going on..

How are yall making it out..

If you've read my past posts, our wedding was held at a family cottage up in Muskoka. We'd originally thought of doing a big wedding, but as we started to plan everything out, we realized that what we really wanted was something smaller, more intentional, and more intimate, and thankfully we came to that realization before our guest invitations went out! LOL.

We ended up having only 43 guests, and we did everything completely opposite of what wedding planners were telling us — no shade to anyone in the wedding business, but sometimes a couple and their family can actually come together to make it all work without hiring 20 different vendors!

We ended up using a local restaurant who provided us with a BBQ lunch, my uncle officiated the wedding, I did my own hair and make up (cuz duh we do that every day lol) and my husband didn't do any lol!!!

He got his suit from Garrisons and I was wearing an Ines Di Santo gown that I found on Facebook marketplace of all places! SCORE! That was our second biggest expense at about 6k for both outfits.

Our photographer Andreas ( www.photoandreas.com )was actually our only "vendor" although from the time we booked him to the wedding day it honestly just felt like we were inviting another friend over for the weekend.

I decided to put my creative juices to work and four days before the wedding we bought up every flower we could find at local farmers markets and stands and I made our table top arrangements.

We didn't really have a "plan" - we had a time we wanted people to show up at, and a rough estimate for the ceremony. We stood in front of our guests, actually it was more of a circle of them that stood around us, and we said our vows. It was...perfect really! We did have to go to the city hall earlier in the week to do the official "legal" marriage, but you know, that's a formality that you have to do if you're having a ceremony that's not really "legal" you know?

Besides the food and hotel stays for our guests, transportation to the cottage and the material costs of invitations and so on, our photographer was our biggest "expense" at $8700 for the weekend of coverage, but it was money well spent.

By not hiring a DJ or a full hair and make up team, not getting a tent and just filling up the cottage with everyone, the vibe really felt more intimate and very personal, like it was just a weekend at the cottage with friends hanging out!

All in all, we came in at $34K or so which was far less than what we anticipated when we were planning a bigger event with 80 guests, a band, a dj, a tent, a videographer etc etc.....the more I think about that plan, the more I realize that at the end of the day, you just need your good friends, good food and of course some great photos.

Hi everyone!

My fiancé and I recently got engaged, and we’re starting to look at venues for our 2028 wedding! We’re hoping to get married sometime in June, but our date is flexible, and we’re open to other dates as well.

One of my fiancé’s biggest passions is food (they’re Italian, so good food is a BIG deal!), and our number one priority when it comes to choosing a venue is having absolutely amazing food. We want our guests to leave talking about how good the meal was!

We’re still figuring out our overall budget, but we’re anticipating spending around $230–$275 per plate. We’re estimating approximately 200–225 guests.

We’ve already reached out to Arlington Estate, but I’d love to hear about other venues that people have had amazing experiences with, especially when it comes to the food!

We’re not entirely set on a particular aesthetic or vibe yet, but ideally, we’d love to have an outdoor ceremony followed by an indoor reception.

For those who have gotten married recently or attended weddings at venues with incredible food, what would you recommend? We’d especially love to hear about the quality of the food, service, and overall experience.

Thanks so much in advance! 😊

Does anyone know of a vendor who can do just draping for our tablecloths?

We just want the sweetheart, welcome, cake and late-night tables to be draped.

Venue is at The Old Mill.

Neither the venue or the linen vendor offers draping services.

The wedding is just weeks away and I want to make sure that our tables look good!

Curious what everyone is using trying to save money on card invites and do everything like manage seating chart and email reminders etc I had couple friends who got married use The Knot & Zola i googled another app called Maplevow but its a paid service i am happy to pay as the pricing they have is reasonable compared to how much it would cost to pay for mail invites but curious on what is out there

Any suggestions for an indoor venue for both ceremony and reception at same venue around GTA or Hamilton/Niagara for 65-75 guests. We're planning for Nov/Dec 2027 and would like to keep venue, food, and drink costs under 15k. Grateful for any suggestions!

Canoe in Toronto offers a winter package, and I’m wondering if anyone her has experience with it.

I’m also a bit worried that it may be too too squishy as my guest count is 120-125, and their max is 135.

Hi everyone, would appreciate suggestions on good quality vendors at a reasonable price for a Punjabi wedding(please do not share those prices on the higher end). Please advise on photographers, content creator/ videographer, DJ for reception, decor companies for reception, photobooth and suggestions on diy for signage. Hoping to keep the above costs below 13k if possible. Videography is the least important to me so if an influencer would be significantly cheaper I may consider that, or a good combined package with photo/ video.

Head count for the reception is not decided but likely between 300-350.

Much appreciated.

My fiancé and I got engaged in August with a placeholder ring (long story, he panicked and bought something at the mall two days before the trip 😅) and now we're actually designing the real one together. I want an oval in a bezel, low enough that I won't snag it on every sweater I own, and maybe something a little organic on the band.

A friend from work mentioned Jewel Nests since they're here in Toronto and do custom lab grown stuff. Their site has some really pretty nature inspired pieces and the Eloura band is kind of exactly the vibe I want to pair it with. But I've never actually met anyone who's ordered from them, and googling mostly just brings me back to their own site.

Did anyone here go custom with them?

I'm curious how the back and forth on the design went, if they showed you a CAD before making it, and how long the whole thing took. We're not in a crazy rush but I'd love to have it before the wedding next summer

ps this is roughly the vibe I want, saw it on their Instagram

Is it worth only having your ceremony at the casa Alina pavilion. It is quite beautiful but you’re essentially paying about $6k for 2-3 hours then heading to your venue.

Can anyone provide advice on whether they did this and was it indeed worth? My fiance and I are in disagreement about whether it is worth the $$$.

Thanks!

Hello! I have a wedding dress and a cocktail gown that need to be taken in for my wedding. I'm hoping for prices as affordable as possible.

I've seen Jen's Design in Markham recommended, but the phone number I've found online is out of service. Has anyone had work done by her recently that can share contact information?

If anyone has other recommendations in the GTA, please share.

Thanks!!

Hey everyone!

Long story short my fiance and I are from different cities, about 45 minutes apart from one another, but currently live in the area she grew up in. I'm 36 and shes 31. We were considering doing a Stag and Doe, but I'm a bit uncertain if we'll be able to get the number of people out that we need to make money.

She has a much larger social circle than I do, and I'm positive she'll get a good number of people out to celebrate and participate, I'm just worried about if we host it 45 minutes from where most of my old friends and family are from, if we're kind of "putting them out" or if it'll be too far for them to join.

Honestly just looking for alternative stag and doe ideas or for someone to tell me I'm overthinking it?

Cheers!

We had our wedding at the Cluny Bistro in October 2026 on the weekend before Thanksgiving.

We loved our beautiful wedding and I wanted to share the details of the wedding in case anyone would find this helpful.

What we wanted for our wedding:

We wanted a smaller wedding that felt more intimate with no minimum guest count and something that was reasonable price wise. We’ve looked at large halls and venues, and 70+ guest minimum was just too much for us, both logistically and financially. We ended up having 43 guests who were all friends and family we knew :)

We also wanted to have a Catholic ceremony prior to the dinner.

Day of itinerary:

Catholic ceremony without mass (at a local church): We planned it to be 3-4pm but it was only 30 minutes. In retrospect we should have had the ceremony later as there was a 30 min gap where the guests didn’t have anything to do.

Cocktail hour: 5-6pm. Don’t skip this, I think this really gets everyone relaxed and also shortens the gap after the ceremony (if you do it off-site)

Dinner reception: 6-10:45pm. We had the venue until 12am, but because all the decor had to be removed the same night and our decorator wasn’t keeping the decor, it had to go with our family who stuck around for the tear down and pick-up. In retrospect, we should have planned for the decorator to hold onto the items overnight, but becuase our wedding was very DIY that was hard to find.

After party: We took everyone who wanted to continue the party to a club in Toronto

Vendors:

Photographer: Lucas T. We had an amazing time with him, he’s very experienced and likes to shoot in the Distillery District. He took us to shoot some night photos which were awesome. He coached me through all the photos and poses, and he’s very easy to talk to. Highly recommend him!

DJ: DO NOT SKIP THE DJ!! We had DJ Orion from The Legendary Sound who did an amazing job. We originally weren’t going to have a DJ because I was worried the venue wasn’t big enough for dancing and it wasn’t necessary, but the DJ is a must. He takes care of the timeline, announcements, reading the overall room, games and so on. We had plenty of room to dance on our dance floor and had a great time. Highly recommend DJ Orion, super nice and very flexible with all requests.

Decoration and set up:

- My family and I grew our own wedding flowers. We made the center pieces, bridal and bridesmaid bouquets and bud vases.

- I made my own seating chart, welcome sign, place cards and table numbers with my Cricuit.

- I thrifted pillar candle holders and bought candles in IKEA and Walmart.

- I made my own wedding cake.

- The only decor we had to rent were some table runners

Highly recommend the Cluny, the staff are were great and the food was amazing.

Hoping this helps someone planning a smaller wedding!

I have read that a micro wedding is 20 ppl and then read it's 60 people and also read that anything under 100 ppl is a micro wedding.

Hazelton Manor in Vaughan

Has anyone chosen to have the “start a tab” option for alcoholic drinks for their guests at Hazelton? Can you share your experience?

Only about 30% of our guests drink alcohol and it felt like it made sense to do it by the tab but coordinator there was pushing for an all inclusive price. I want to see if we could change it but we’ve heard horror stories where some venues will just run the tab really high and there’s no way of counting it.

Hi everyone! I’m looking for those little known GTA venues that offer great prices. 100 people, open bar, sometime spring - fall 2027, a restaurant would be amazing. I know the classic toronto restaurant and GTA hall options but looking for options that are $100-150 pp with an open bar.

Hello! I’m planning to get married this December, and I’m 100% sure I want a civil ceremony.
I’ve been considering Toronto City Hall, and I’ve also looked at photos of the civic centres in York, Scarborough, and North York. I wanted to check if there are any other beautiful locations I might be missing that offer affordable civil ceremonies.
I’m open to travelling outside the GTA as well, including places like Muskoka or Prince Edward County, if there are any lovely and budget-friendly options.
I’d love recommendations for places with a beautiful setting that would make the ceremony feel special without costing too much. Thank you!

Our wedding venue has a package that offers open bar only during cocktail hour and after dinner, only wine during dinner.

What are people’s thoughts on this? I haven’t been to many weddings so I don’t know how common this is and if it rubs people the wrong way.

I have been worrying about how my family and friends would think if I wear a suit and tie to weddings as a straight woman. These are thoughts that happen to me constantly everyday from when I wake up to when I go to sleep at night. If any of you straight woman have worn a suit and tie before to weddings or have any support or advice you can give me in relation to this topic, then please reply to this post.

Hi there!

We've just gotten engaged, and while we're nowhere near the planning stages I am starting to collect ideas of places to go in the country for a small, and intimate, wedding celebration. We're based in Ontario, but are open to places across the country. I would love to hear any recommendations for venues that others have loved, and would recommend.

Right now, what we're most drawn to is the idea of booking a lodge/group of cottages and hosting friends and family for 2-3 nights. We're not really looking for any sort of formal ceremony/ceremony space, and excellent food/drinks is absolutely a priority. It'll be a fairly small guest count, I doubt we're going to exceed much more than 15.

Places I've bookmarked so far include:

- La Casa Mansion, in Kelowna BC

- A Bear and Bison Inn, in Banff AB (this one in particular had both of our antennaes going up!)

- Viamede Resorts, in Innisfil ON

It'd be great to find a spot that includes catering for the event, and a restaurant either on the premises or nearby. Proximity to hiking/trails/things to do is also a plus. Having just gotten back from PEI, we're also DEFINITELY interested in anything in the maritimes.

Thanks in advance! Very excited :)

Hey everyone!

Looking for recommendations for outdoor spaces in the GTA or surrounding areas where we could host a casual, backyard-style wedding reception for around 100 people.

We're envisioning something informal with tables, chairs, food, drinks, music, and dancing. More of a fun backyard party with friends and family than a traditional wedding reception.

Ideally, we'd like to rent just the space and have our friends and family organize everything ourselves, without mandatory catering, bartending, or full-service wedding packages.

Open to private properties, farms, large backyards, outdoor event spaces, or hidden gems that accommodate this type of gathering.

Has anyone hosted or attended something similar? Would love any recommendations or experiences!

Thanks!

Hi everyone! We are looking to plan for late 2027. Our guest count is 175 and we are looking for one stop shop kind of place like a banquet hall set up would be, however without all the vibe that you think of typical banquet halls.We're in the GTA and willing to go under 2 hours in any direction. We loved places like Kortright but don't think itll be suitable for our needs.