Cost of a wedding

Congratulations on your engagement! Planning is exciting, but also a little overwhelming. I read somewhere that the average cost of a wedding in Canada is around 30 000$ (which is outrageous!) so we had to start by having the budget talk... not only what we could afford, but what we were willing to spend. Then it's a good idea to figure out what aspects are important to you, and where you can be a little more forgiving with budgets. The venue is always going to be the big thing, but you can find a lot of venues that will offer a lot incorporated into the price (caterer, ceremony, reception, decor, etc.) If there are things that aren't so important to you, like flowers, or centre pieces, then you can always do lots of DIY's, or just forego things completely! We even debated not doing bouquets and having the bridesmaids carry lanterns instead... there are lots of ways to cut costs! Just make sure to do your research, and get lots of quotes/prices before booking anything!

Hi Charlotte, congratulations on your engagement! I am getting married just outside of Toronto (Uxbridge) and I would definitely suggest looking just outside of the city as there are tons of options and great prices. In terms of budget, like all the other ladies have mentioned, just sit down and figure out the top that you can spend, and work from there. Look for venues that include everything in the price (facility fee, food, bar, tables, chairs, linens, etc) as this will help you out a lot and you won't have to calculate every single aspect as it will just be included in the one price. I read somewhere that the average wedding can cost up to $50,000 today, which is so expensive! In terms of saving money, really do your research when it comes to other vendors (DJ, Photographer, Florist, Decor, whatever it may be) I had one florist that was going to charge me $4500 for almost what another was charging me $1500, plus I was renting decor off of the $1500 florist, so i was getting way more and still was sending less. If I had never done my research and contacted my florist, I would have been out $3000. Keep us posted!

Could also look into doing your ceremony somewhere that'll match your theme, and then a hall for the reception.

View quoted message Will do! Thanks

Maybe look into doing something low cost, like renting a hall and you can do your catering yourself or hire someone. That what I did and its way cheaper!!

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No Problem! My sister had the big family wedding 2 years ago, so I was able to squeak by with having a smaller one. We invited 120 and have a total of 88 guests coming, which is perfect for us!

The bathrooms we would have had to rent port-o-potties since the property didn't have a bathroom on site...which was another reason I had to say no...can't imagine having to deal with that the day of my wedding!

One thing I forgot to mention - when looking at venues, ask if gratuities and corkage fees are included in the price they give you - those things can be extra costs that aren't anticipated.

Have fun planning!

View quoted message Hi Andrea! Thanks for taking to time to help. If I could do all this for 20k I will be beyond happy. I tried having a guest list of 100 but because I'm african it has grown to 200-250 ...and that's the happy compromise with my mom, it could have been alot more. Also I can't imagine having to pay for bathroom , that's basic human rights lol .
My partner and I can afford 40k but I would really like to stay under because there's life beyond the big day and we really want to buy a nice home a year after and I would hate to look back and say "I can't believe we spent 40k on a party and now can't buy a house " you know?
Again thanks for taking the time to reply to me! Beyond appreciatedCharlotte

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Oh I am so happy that I could help and Congratulations to you too! Reach out to me anytime if you want to run through vendor ideas or questions since we are in the same area!

View quoted message Hi Ashley! CONGRATULATIONS on your upcoming wedding! Thanks so much for the advice. I will definitely broaden my search to Scarborough and Ajax. I just got off the phone with my mom and we discussed Ajax as a possibility. THANKS

View quoted message Thanks for responding Lesley. Great advise. We can afford 40k but I don't necessarily want to spend that much. I would rather stay at 30k or less. I guess instead of using the cost of venues to determine my budget (which is what I've been doing hence my budget changes) I should make a budget for venue and shop within it. Thanks

My FH and I are getting married at the Ajax Convetion Centre and it was the most reasonably priced venue that we found in the Durham Region Area. It isn't that far from Toronto so it might be worth a look! We are getting married in March on a Friday so we have a discounted rate for Friday Winter weddings and the price was $100 per plate which included almost everything for the venue.

View quoted message Will do! Thank you Jen!

View quoted message Hi Bethany! Thanks for taking the time to respond! I will definitely widen my search. Guests will have 10months to figure out their transportation. It's only foe one day. Thanks again !

Toronto is particularly expensive. I live in Calgary and it's expensive here too. One place was 15,000 for 50 guests. We went outside the city into the mountains, remote location, and it was 6500 for 50. Literally half. Keep shopping around. I don't know cheaper places in Toronto myself, but keep looking. Even if it's just outside Toronto

From what I've heard Toronto can be pricey. It really all depends on the venue you choose and the food. Keep looking around. Go to more than just a few places.

Congrats and welcome! You and your fiancé need to have a budget chat and figure out what you can reasonably spend. If you have friends who work in certain industries, they may be able to put you in touch with their peers and you can maybe swing a discount. I would also say that you should look at venues outside of central Toronto to drop the price tag a bit. Big city centres tend to cost way more than other places. Also don't forget to look at some alternative venues like restaurants, libraries, museums etc.

It can definitely get pricey, especially in the Toronto area!

The best way to reduce cost would be to have a smaller wedding. I know that isn't always an option for people who have large families, but it's a great way to minimize cost.

Depending on the size of the wedding, $20, 000 can be average cost for everything. But you could easily go way beyond that depending on options that you choose. And certain in-demand venues charge a premium for space. One place we wanted was asked $4000 just for the space and that was without any tables, chairs, linens, tents, washrooms (yes, washrooms!) and then adding a dinner that can be between $40-100 per plate depending on choices and liquor on top of that. All those things add up. Finding a venue that covers all furniture you'll need for the ceremony and reception is definitely a big help with costs.

One thing you can try doing: Take a look at your monthly budget and see how much you can realistically put aside per month into a special wedding fund and figure out what that works out to be the month before your wedding (you may need to start paying vendors since a lot of them require full payment before your wedding date). Then make that your budget and work from there. That's how we chose out budget. Things that didn't fit in (ex: having a seating chart professionally made) became DIY projects for us to save on cost.

Do lots of research, get lots of quotes so you have a basis for comparison! And remember to have fun

Congrats on the engagement!
Like Lesley said, figure out what you can afford. We had been talking about getting married for a long time and so we discussed this kind of thing a lot. We both wanted a very intimate wedding because we preferred less people but also because it saves us money. We had wanted to do a 5000$ wedding but it quickly turned into 8k lol. We were prepared for it though as we had saved the money. We chose a venue that provides the catering as well so that saved a bit.
We looked into a park wedding or historical site wedding as those are very cheap. You just have to pay a small fee usually. So if you're not opposed to an outdoor wedding you could always do something like that.
Best of luck with the planning!

It can be so expensive! I would figure out how much you can afford (including anything your parents are contributing) and then look for a venue within that budget. Good luck!