Here you can ask general questions, and discuss all parts of the wedding planning process. Feel free to vent!

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How much do you guys usually pay for buffet service and/or open bar?

Can anyone who attended a wedding at Shangri-La Toronto comment on what food entree choices were served and if they have any pictures? How were the portion sizes? Trying to narrow down which options to pick for upcoming food tasting!

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Is it possible to know if someone was already married in Canada? Any public search domains to look for ? I googled and couldnt find anything.

Hi everyone! We don't have an exact date/year yet for our big day but have been discussing what kind of venue/theme we'd want. We're located in the GTA and planning to have max. 50 people at the wedding. We've looked at quite a few places online but it seems there's an abundance of rustic/country style venues— which neither of us want 🥲 I have nothing against it, but neither of us love that exposed wood + brick/barn look, especially with square arches. It seems super popular now which makes the hunt even more difficult. I'm genuinely willing to consider anything else because we don't have our minds set on any other particular style. Any advice is appreciated!

Hi all, a good friend of mine is getting married next weekend in the GTA and she’s having an outdoor wedding. I totally missed this detail and now I’m panicking since the dress I have is sleeveless (thankfully it’s floor length).

What do you wear when it’s about 10 degrees outside and looks okay with a formal dress??? I was thinking maybe just wearing a scarf over my dress but don’t know how warm that will be. Is wearing a jacket an option? Do ladies just wear a jacket with their dresses??

Pls help!!! Thank you!

Does anyone have experience with these venues in Hamilton? Thanks!!

Getting married August 2027 in Niagara region! Having a really hard time finding a makeup artist that is available/ willing to do makeup for just the bride and one other + a bridal trial beforehand.

Any suggestions??

I have some trips scheduled over the next few months to Toronto and Vancouver. Does anyone know any good places to shop for a wedding jumpsuit? Or places that sell unique or funky wedding dresses or sets?

I want to wear something unique, fun and stylish for my wedding next fall. I’ve seen some things online but would prefer shopping in person for such an important purchase.

Hi everyone,

I need some assistance/recommendations for companies/people that assist with wedding set up and tear down. I am doing a lot of things myself and just need someone’s help with setting up the wedding the day of and then tearing it down after. I don’t need all the extras of a coordinator, and I’m also not looking to pay that big price tag. Let me know your recommendations and thank you in advance!

Hello! To all the South Asian brides, who did your hair and makeup? Price range is 2-2.5k (lower would be nicer, but trying to be realistic).

In particular, I’m looking for someone who actually studies faces and caters makeup to the clients features. I have a rounder face with soft features, and I feel like these faces don’t get posted often. It’s also nice when they artists takes the time to get to know the bride and their needs. Not a fan of harsh blush/contour (rules out a lot artists 😭).

Also, how did you settle on a muah? As great as their work looks online, it’s always been hard for me to envision what that would look like me. I’m petrified of spending so much only to be disappointed.

Thank you!

Hi Everyone!

Me any my fiancée are trying to find a outdoor cocktail reception area for around 120 people in June. Some of the prices I've been seeing have been seeing have been insane. Can anyone suggest some places 10k for just the venue and under for it, we're looking for something with some nice greeneries and a good atmosphere.

Hey folks! I just had my wedding this weekend for less than $8k in Cambridge, Ontario and quality certainly was not compromised on so I wanted to share a list of amazing vendors. I’m not affiliated with any of these people but I’ve seen a lot of budget posts lately and thought I’d share my finds.

Venue: Waterloo regional police association rec centre (they also do the catering and bar service. Have an outdoor ceremony space and giant hall)

DJ: MRK entertainment! He has a lowest price guarantee and he was affordable and amazing! We weren’t even going to hire a dj but we’re so glad we did. He made sure to play all the songs we requested and took time to really understand our tastes and the vibe we wanted for the wedding. He was also super friendly and personable

Photographer: Doug Wolters Photography. If you want quick and organized service, amazing quality and unbeatable prices, Doug is your guy! We haven’t gotten our wedding pics back yet but our engagement shoot photos were amazing and he did a good job at making both of us that hate being in front of the camera comfortable. He also knocked out our cocktail hour photos in ten minutes leaving us plenty of time to mingle

Officiant: ceremonies by Lee (Lee Burton) provided a to the point and sweet personalized ceremony! She was super organized with reminders of what we needed to do when.

Make up: Ashley Macbeath makeup. Wildly affordable and talented, super friendly and made all my girls comfortable!

Hair: Ivana from Painted Hair Studio. I see another stylist at her salon for my regular hair appointments and I hired Ivana because I wanted someone I trust. Her services were affordable and her talent is straight up wild!!

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..

UPDATE: Thank you to those with helpful tips and info. I have found some beautiful venues with quotes under 30k for 150ppl

1. Paradise Banquet Hall
   
2. The Avenue
   
3. Durham Convention Center (Absolutely stunning, I have videos and pics)
   
4. Deer Creek
   
5. Ajax Convention centre
   
6. Paramount Event Center

I clearly didn’t do a good job. I was looking at the most common venues like Arlington estate 😳 I’m sure there are so many great venues. And I definitely didn’t realize doing a Friday or Sunday wedding or even an April wedding vs a June wedding makes so much of a difference omg!

Looking for wedding make up artist recs for Vancouver, specifically with easy-Asian make up experience thanks!

I love planning as i'm very type A, but wedding planning is STRESSFUL. I'm seeking suggestions from anyone who sees this for venue ideas in the GTA or even about 60 mins from Toronto. My fiance and I want a medium sized wedding, as we see these prices are INSANE and dont want to blow what we've saved one day.

that said, we have our ceremony booked, but we're looking for reception venues that hold about 50-60 guests and have room for dancing. PLEASE HELP! our budget is 20k.

We're planning to have a small, intimate civil ceremony at Toronto City Hall next summer 2027 and are trying to decide between two different reception options and looking for input based on experiences ... The planning analysis paralysis is getting too real :') do these ideas even make sense with a 25k budget?

Option A) we keep the whole day more intimate and low-key by hosting a celebratory lunch or dinner at a night restaurant with immediate family and close friends (35-50ppl) after the ceremony. We thought it might also be fun then to hit up a live music spot with friends and do a night out in lieu of traditional ceremony dancing with anyone who wants to go (would be max 20 of the younger folk) and end the night at a great hotel.

Option B) rent a larger space like a brewery and do high quality tapas/ cocktail-style reception with open bar drinks and dancing on site. For this option we'd look to have a bigger party of 60-90ppl and a bit more of that regular wedding feel.

Does anyone have recommendations on restaurants, breweries or garden-like spaces in the city that could accommodate either of these ideas??

For those who had a small ceremony and then a larger reception, what was your experience like? Any regrets or tensions from people who didn't get to participate in the ceremony?

TIA for any leads, thoughts, opinions!

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! 😊

Out of our 50 person wedding, about four guests didn't give a congratulatory card. What is the wedding etiquette for sending thank you cards? Do you only send them to those that brought a gift or a card? Or do you send them to everyone as a thank you for coming? I always assumed that if you were given something physical, whether it was a card, money, or a gift of some sort, that you then send a thank you card in return. It feels weird to send it to someone who showed up empty-handed.

Hi everyone!! I’m currently considering Ancaster Mill (Governor’s Room), and would love to hear if anyone had or attended a wedding there!!

We love live music, so I’m curious how the room works if we'll have a band, or whether that is even possible.

I’ve seen an 85-decibel sound limit mentioned while researching online, but I’ve also read from many commentors or DJs saying it mainly applies during dinner to avoid disturbing neighbouring celebrations, and isn’t usually applied during party time.

If anyone had any knowledge i would love to hear about your experience!!

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.

Looking to host 90-100 guests for a small pre-wedding event (mehndi). But want to save on costs so does anyone know a party room we can rent for $500 or less? Preferably with some chairs there. No tables needed