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Clauds
Frequent user August 2020 Ontario

Ceremony quickly approaching. Officially panicking

Clauds, on June 29, 2020 at 13:59 Posted in Plan a wedding 0 7
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I’m getting married on August 7th with a reception to follow next year. I thought upon the update to allow 50 people for an outdoor wedding that my venue would let me use the grounds to host a small ceremony.


Turns out this is not the case and I still don’t have permission to do this. I’m thinking the venue doesn’t want me to host anything until next year as they keep saying they need more info from the government before allowing anyone on the grounds.
My plan B was to hold the ceremony at a park but it turns out the city of Toronto is no longer issuing permits. My only option now is to purchase a micro-ceremony package from a hotel/botanical garden. These packages are only for 10 guests and would cost extra on top of everything else.
I don’t know what to do. Do I just go to a park and hope no one will be around to enforce rules? Where is everyone else holding their ceremonies this year (if still getting married)?

7 Comments

Latest activity by Vinod, on July 2, 2020 at 15:37
  • Vinod
    Top August 2017 Ontario
    Vinod ·
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    There are alternative choices for ceremony spots if you are wanting to have a small guest list count.

    Church if it works for you both.

    Golf courses not holding any restrictions and still have a reception after if allowed in their hall.

    Parks if you can get a spot without any interruptions.

    Front lawn of your home with your guests parked along the curbside.

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  • Megan
    Frequent user April 2021 Ontario
    Megan ·
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    I know it's not in Toronto, but I think the Tiffin Centre in Barrie is offering outdoor ceremonies only for a reasonable price:

    https://www.nvca.on.ca/Pages/Weddings.aspx

    It's a conservation centre and it's beautiful and rustic. Or do you know anyone that has a fair size back or front yard? We got married on our front lawn.

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  • Tay
    Frequent user July 2021 Ontario
    Tay ·
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    I would look into golf clubs/country clubs. Most of the ones I looked into around the GTA-H ceremony site usage fee was $600-800. I would contact them to see if they're willing to arrange something.


    Are you only looking for somewhere specifically in Toronto?
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  • Amelia
    Master October 2020 New Brunswick
    Amelia ·
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    We've been calling and emailing parks to see what their requirements are. The spot we loved will be closed for the season to vehicles, but they recommended a spot for the ceremony and said we can walk to a few spots for photos.


    Are there any parks that aren't municipal that might be outside the permit rules? Are there golf courses, botanical gardens, within driving distance that could be an option to use their outside space?
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  • Hank
    Featured September 2021 Ontario
    Hank ·
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    I can't speak for the venue, but they probably laid off their staff and don't want to hire people back just for cleaning furniture used in their outdoor spaces. Probably a not worth their effort for cost kind of thing.

    How about golf courses? Or country clubs with outdoor spaces? There's also cottage country if you're willing to leave the GTA.

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  • Clauds
    Frequent user August 2020 Ontario
    Clauds ·
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    I'm agnostic and my fiancee is atheist so a church wouldn't really fly. We really had our heart set on an outdoor ceremony. Our florist had agreed to setup our arch and petals as well.

    At this point I'm just confused as to why our venue won't let us use the outdoor grounds when we'd be well under 50 people.

    I guess I'll keep researching my options. I wish the government would have just kept the # at 10. We could have just eloped. Moving it to 50 just got our hopes up only to let them down again. Too bad I don't know anyone with a farm or big backyard.

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  • Hank
    Featured September 2021 Ontario
    Hank ·
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    Are you absolutely set on an outdoor wedding? If you find a church, you're technically allowed 30% of the room's capacity as long as everyone is physically distancing.

    I highly urge you to NOT try and wing a ceremony at a park without a permit. Not only would you be obstructing the community's use of the park illegally but by-law officers are out in full force to ticket any offenders under the Emergency Act.

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