r/WeddingsCanada

Hey guys, anyone have any good photographer recommendations?! I’ve seen a lot of wedding photographers that are just kinda mid… Me and my fiance want a good yet affordable photographer.

Thank you for your help in advance! (located in GTA)

Hi!

Recently got engaged and I’ve started looking into potential venues in the GTA. Not sure if I’m being realistic in regards to what we’re looking for but ideas and feedback is appreciated :)

I have a 20k-30k budget for max 120 people. We prefer a hotel event space or other type of event space (not a convention hall) and would prefer to get outside catering. Any recs? Thank you :)

My Fiance and I are currently looking for a summer/fall 2028 wedding.

Ideally we would want ceremony and reception at the same venue. I am looking for something with an aesthetic exterior or in a surrounding area as such.

Budget for the venue would be under 25k. Guest count is between 70-75 people.

We are touring the Pearle in September and that is at the top of my list.

Any help would be appreciated!

What are people currently paying for wedding DJs in the GTA?

I’m curious what the going range is and how much pricing varies based on what’s included. If you’ve recently received quotes or booked someone, what was the price, how many hours did it cover, and did it include MC services, sound, ceremony audio or lighting?

HAIR BY BFRIEE : Instagram is hairby.bfriee — I would strongly encourage future brides to seek hair from any other businesses available in Nanaimo (there is many). This has been the worst experience I’ve ever had in the service industry. Completely ruining my wedding experience. Brandee suggested that I book a bridal hair trial, and based on our conversations, I believed the trial was part of my wedding service. At no point before or during my appointment was it clearly explained to me that I would be charged separately for both the trial AND the wedding day. Had the full cost been explained beforehand, I would have made a different decision. I specifically asked for a contract and was never provided one. I was never asked to sign a contract, never provided cancellation/refund terms to agree to, and never agreed to a non-refundable retainer or deposit. The only document I received beforehand was a PDF showing packages etc that I could read if I wanted to. I asked her the cost for me and me only, and the cost if I had bridesmaids. I then explained that I only wanted to arrange bridal hair for myself because I couldn’t commit to services for my wedding party. After completing the trial/consultation, I was sent an invoice totaling $892.00, including charges for extension rentals for both my trial and wedding day and 5% GST and 7% PST which in BC you can not charge PST on Bridal Hair Styling as hair styling is classified as an exempt personal service. All of this was particularly confusing, especially considering her website advertised complimentary extension rentals for 2026 island brides. When I brought this up to her she said “that isn’t a promo anymore”.. meanwhile it’s being advertised on her website.

I paid the invoice because it was an open invoice sent to me. I did not realize doing so would later be treated as though I had agreed to cancellation/refund terms that had never been provided to me. When I raised my concerns, I requested to cancel the wedding day service 7 days before my wedding. I wasn’t asking to be refunded for a service I had already received. In fact, Brandee offered me $375 back for the completed trial and I declined because she performed that service and deserves to be compensated for her time. She then asked for time to process my request, this was at 6:15pm. I waited until 10pm and reached out again, she replied saying she removed her offer of the refund for $375.00 and can offer me a refund of $22 for mileage…. What the fuck. Then today, she offered me $172.00 ($150 for my wedding hair extensions and $22 for mileage). She is all over the map. All I wanted refunded was the portion I had prepaid toward my wedding day service that had not yet been performed. During our conversations afterward, Brandee told me that she normally uses a contract and retainer for wedding bookings and acknowledged that pricing and the appropriate documentation should have been communicated beforehand and that is something she needs to work on. Unfortunately, those steps weren’t followed with my booking, yet I am still being denied a full refund for the unperformed wedding day service.I was additionally told that refunding me would affect her assistant, who had apparently been booked for a full wedding day although my hair was booked from 6am-8am with no assistant.. While I understand that businesses have staffing commitments, I don’t believe an internal staffing arrangement that I was never involved in should become my financial responsibility—especially without a contract or cancellation policy ever being provided or agreed to. This has now turned into days of back-and-forth communication during what should have been one of the happiest and most exciting weeks leading up to my wedding. Instead, I’ve spent an incredible amount of time and energy trying to resolve a payment dispute over a service that hasn’t even occurred. What is most disappointing is that I tried to handle this reasonably. I didn’t demand money back for the work she actually performed. I respected her time and wanted her compensated for my trial. I simply asked to cancel the remaining service with seven days’ notice and be refunded for the portion of the service I would no longer be receiving. Brides deserve transparent pricing, clear expectations, written contracts, and cancellation/refund policies BEFORE money changes hands—not after a disagreement arises.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t my experience and based on our communications I don’t believe I am the first. She has just begun working on the Island.

I have retained my invoice, our written communications, and screenshots of the website information referenced above.

My partner and I are looking to get married in June (2027). We've been together for 13 years and have been putting it off, we decided owning our cars and house were more important. Neither one of us wants a big traditional wedding so we're trying to think of alternatives.

We are located in the Hastings Prince Edward Area of Ontario (between Toronto and Kingston). We are looking for something that can accommodate 20 people and requires as little planning as possible. I've considered elopement places but the ones I find have a smaller guest limit than we'd like. We are both terrible planners so I am hoping to find a venue that will take care of as much as possible for me.

To make things even harder we would ideally like something that won't break the bank. I'm not opposed to a small ceremony somewhere with pictures and then having the reception in a restaurant. I just don't want to have to be responsible for tables, chairs, flowers, arbour, etc.

I appreciate any help/suggestions you can give. Feel free to ask follow up questions (writing this sleep deprived and may have missed some details).

Hi all,

I am wondering for those who have gotten married already, did your mother in law get ready with you and the bridesmaids?

Hi everyone!
I’m looking for wedding venue recommendations for 2028 and would love to hear what venues you’ve come across that fit this vibe!
My dream is an indoor/outdoor wedding. Ideally an outdoor cocktail hour followed by dinner indoors or in a glass pavilion/greenhouse style space. I LOVE the glass pavilion look because it gives that outdoor feel while still having protection from rain. I’m not really interested in open tents or traditional banquet halls. And the ceremony space doesn’t really matter to me as we’d be getting married in a church, so I’d only be using the venue for the cocktail hour, dinner, and reception. My guest count would be approximately 150 ppl. My initial budget for the venue alone was 30k… until I started researching and realized that’s unrealistic and venues are a lot more expensive than that…
Something like Harding Waterfront Estate is pretty much my dream venue, but I’d like to research all the possible similar venues before committing to it.
I’m located in the GTA and would prefer somewhere within 1.5 hours (the closer the better), and of course affordable options are very welcome and encouraged haha!
Please send me any venues you think would match this vibe!

Hi everyone! Getting married in Sept 2027 in Toronto (Broadview Hotel). Trying to decide on a makeup artist (ideally with a team to do my bridal party). I have reached out to a few but am unsure/feel like I haven’t done my due diligence.

One (whose portfolio I really like) has quoted me ~$4600 for ten people (bridal rate is $800 and bridal party is $300 each plus travel etc). I am aware that is on the higher end of things. I am planning on paying for my bridal party’s makeup.

1. am I nuts for even considering this amount? In the grand scheme of things I can afford it but it just….seems like a lot! The bridal package comes with a lymphatic massage for example. Do I really need that?
2. if you have recommendations for an artist plz let me know! If it matters I am a white woman with dark hair and blue eyes - I want my eyes to be the emphasis with dewy skin and i am open to a look that is a little less traditional/more fun.

Thank you in advance!

Does anyone know someone that can help with setting up centerpieces for the day of the wedding? We're looking for within Toronto

TLDR: Both were fabulous!

I got married recently at the KPL and wanted to share my experience, since I couldn’t find any reviews online when I first started looking into the process.

I reached out in January to discuss a summer wedding, and they had lots of availability for their “Ceremonies in the Stacks” wedding. Here are some general things:

• Ceremonies are only offered on Friday evenings when the library is closed. (Guest arrival 6pm, ceremony 6:30pm. The ceremony is half an hour, and you get another half hour for photos.)
• The guest list is technically limited to 60 but you can go up to 100 if you add $2/chair for every chair over 60.
• The best part: The “arch” where you get married is two bookcases, and you fill out a form letting the librarians know your favorite books/your hobbies, and they fill your shelves with relevant books for you and your partner. You can also bring your own personal books and items. We had a TON of compliments on this.
• We got to take super cute pictures in the library stacks.
• I worked with Melany, but a whole team had access to the emails I sent to her, meaning I almost always had a response within 24 hours or max 48 hours. 
• The cost is listed as $1300 plus HST. We ended up paying $1745 in total, including HST, SOCAN, and the piano tuning fee. You don’t need to tune the piano if you’re using recorded music but it’s mandatory if you hire musicians (which we did). 
• The cost includes two security guards and one library staff member onsite during the wedding. 
• We hired Strings and Ivory for the music, and they were awesome. The fee includes one custom song (i.e. they will learn a song for you instead of only using their song list). Cost was 1k for violinist and pianist to play before, during, and after the ceremony.
• We were assigned an officiant (we didn’t get to choose) but she was lovely. 
• We needed to buy insurance; this cost us $300, but I think you can get it cheaper.
• We had fabulous feedback on the library. It’s a beautiful space, easily accessible, lots of natural light.

 

And for the Lancaster Smokehouse:

• Our reception was in the Lancaster Loft, the private upstairs room. No elevator, unfortunately.
• Neil was fabulous and incredibly easy to work with, very fast response times. 
• We chose the most expensive meal package plus passed appetizers, and we had a tooooon of food sent home with us. 
• Vegetarian plated meals are available (since the buffet mains are obviously meat-focused).
• Food reviews were awesome. 
• Cost was just under 6k for food plus $800 for open bar.

We spent the night at Langdon Hall. Super expensive but a fun experience.

Other vendors were Trina Koster photography (highly recommended) and Four Seasons Flowers in Guelph (Joanne did a great job with the bouquet, centerpieces, and the flowers linking the two bookcases. She also delivered and set up the flowers in Kitchener, which was great.)

Our overall cost was just under 20k for 60 people. It was a shockingly stress-free experience. We could have cut costs (no musicians, less food, no Langdon Hall) but we were very happy with our choices.

So I went to my first official wedding dress consultation today in the GTA, and overall it was a great experience! But is it just me, or did I completely misjudge what a $3k wedding dress budget gets you these days? 😂

I always thought $3k was already kind of a middle-ish budget for a wedding dress. I remember when spending $2k felt like A LOT, so I figured $3k was lowkey accounting for inflation 💀. But at the small shop I went to, $3k was considered more on the lower end of their wedding dress price range.

I know there are definitely beautiful dresses under $3k, but why am I having such a hard time finding one in the GTA that isn’t a sample/off-the-rack dress?! I’ve been browsing different bridal shops and their websites, and something just isn’t clicking.
I specifically want an A-line that isn’t super lacy, and apparently that is MUCH harder to find than I expected without going over $3k 😭. I’ve also looked at Azazie, but unfortunately their wedding dresses just aren’t really my style.

Am I crazy, or is $3k genuinely considered a lower wedding dress budget now? And GTA brides, where are you finding your dresses?! 😭

Btw. I’m worried I’m late into the dress game because my wedding is in late April of next year 😩

Hi! I’m very recently engaged but we’re already being asked about a wedding date. We’ve agreed on Spring 2028 but that’s about it. I’m just wondering how early we should be looking in to venues and vendors and booking?

Any advice is appreciated. We’re located in the GTA but have talked about having our wedding in other parts of Ontario.

Thank you!

Which places in the GTA offer a box of different cakes & frosting that you can take home to try. Let me know what you paid and did you get your cake from there?

Our tamil hindu wedding was in 2025. We booked Nithy from ConceptsbyNithy as our wedding photographer. He was a pleasure to work with the day of our wedding but when it came to providing his work, there was such lack of communication and delays for no reason. His contracts says we will receive photos within 6 months. We kept having to reach out and nag him. When it came close to our 1 year anniversary he completely ghosted us for an entire month. We called multiple times (could not leave voicemails), we texted him, messaged him on WhatsApp and emailed him. I called an old friend that had booked him in 2024 for her wedding to see how her experience was. She had a very similar experience and told us they were going to reach their 2nd year anniversary and still did not receive her photos.

We had no choice but to message his wife on Instagram and tell her what we experienced. She didn't respond but he messaged us back within minutes of reaching out to her.

When he responded we gave him a month to get the photos which would be by our 1 year anniversary and said we will have take legal measures otherwise. He gave us our photos back at 11pm the night before our wedding anniversary. Looking at the photos I was so disappointed my husband did not get enough groom shots and all the photos that were nice were editted and already posted on his Instagram.

Through all of this we learned that he posted 10 pictures from the wedding day right away which makes us ( the couple) believe we were going to get such beautiful pictures given at the end.... just to be disappointed that these would be some of the few only nicely editted photos we'll have.

Hi everyone! I was wondering if anyone has had their wedding/reception in a condo party room and their experience of it?? We are thinking of having a small intimate reception of less than 30 people and not spending crazy money (about 5k) and wondering if that’s doable? Would love some advice on how to go about planning something like this? Thank you!

Hi everyone! 😊
I’m looking for recommendations for affordable wedding venues in Ontario for a Hindu wedding for max 50ppl.

Ideally, I’m looking for a venue where we can have the Hindu ceremony (mandap) and reception at the same location on the same day, preferably ceremony outside and reception inside. so we don’t have to arrange transportation between two venues.

We’re trying to keep the wedding relatively budget-friendly, so I’d love to hear about:
💰 Affordable venue options
🍽️ Whether catering is included or if outside catering is allowed
🕉️ Whether they allow Hindu ceremonies/mandaps
🕐 Same-day ceremony + reception logistics
👰 Approximate cost/package price, if you know it
📍 Anywhere in the GTA, Brampton, Mississauga, Hamilton, or surrounding areas

If you’ve had your wedding at a venue like this, I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience and approximate total cost!

Has anyone gotten married at hotel x in the last few months and have any recent experience to share? I’m getting married in a month there.

I am just a curious bride to be wondering how are brides/grooms paying for their wedding with the average wedding price being at least $30K or more in high cost of living area. I feel like everything is so expensive as someone who lives in the GTA and I can't even begin to think how people are paying for their wedding. I do not want to be sinical but it is truly  just 1 great amazing day that will leave you with alot of memories, but still it is just a day and then it is gone and so is the money.

Are you saving up a year or more in advance?

Is it going on a credit card, line of credit,?

Are family helping to pay?

Are people opting to elope because it is cheaper?

Are we having a smaller micro wedding due to the cost?

I am just curious and this is also insightful for those including myself who feels completely lost and shocked with the cost of having a wedding. Thanks.