Niagara Falls Wedding?

I'm having my wedding in Niagara Falls because that's where I live but many of the FH family is from Toronto. To make things easier for guests I have everything in one venue. Once they get there they don't have to do anything except move from one room to the next. Our venue offered discount rate for anyone wanting to spend the night. We have a separate room for ceremony and one for reception. Using the separate room they don't need to rearrange for the reception. There is always a place for guests to sit and relax.

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That's just how I define it lol but I find it a useful definition!

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Hey Allison,

Thank you so much for your input!! Wow, was I mistaken about what a destination wedding really was. I understand a lot more now!!

Hey Andrea!

Personally, I would not consider Niagara Falls a "destination wedding" from Toronto, but it's definitely out-of-town for some! I agree with Kelsie and have a hotel block for those coming from Toronto, who might not want to make the 1.5 hour drive back that night (reasonably!).

For us, we're in Thunder Bay and our wedding is in London - it's a destination for us, but it's definitely closer for our guests (family and friends). Lots still will stay overnight to not drive 2+ hours after the wedding. Most guests can drive into London the morning of, some are coming in the Friday before.

I feel like a destination wedding requires most/all guests to drive/fly in the day before (i.e. at least 3.5 hours away). Whereas out-of-town, you can drive in the morning of, and leave the next day (1-3.5 hours away).

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Hey Vinod,

You've made some really good points about the travel and distance issues. I would prefer to have my wedding in Toronto but a lot of places are way too expensive. I want a reasonably priced venue, even if I have to DIY quite a bit. Thank you so much for your input

I'd consider a destination wedding to be out of the country or towards Ottawa or Montreal side.

Niagara Falls would be considered local and just as good as Toronto to have your wedding. Keeping in mind that traffic for the timing you wish to have may reflect how much more time your guests have to travel from the airport or the city. I would stick to Toronto itself as the prices would be the same for what you would get.

Room blocks for your wedding day is a good thing since your guests can book their rooms and your not paying for the extras unless the hotel has that flaw in their contract.

Hearing your guests are from Toronto itself, it seems easier for the travel and distance to be closer for you to arrange the trips and set up too.

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Hey Tori,

Thank you so much for your input!! I was originally thinking about having the wedding at a banquet hall here in Toronto, but omg talk about high prices! Fiance and I are simple people, we need a simple venue that can be elegantly dressed up. So now we're looking at renting community centre rental rooms. Lots of DIY involved but it seems like a cheaper option. And then I figured maybe we should have our wedding outside of the hustle and bustle of Toronto to save on money!! Sigh... I'm going to keep looking! Thanks a bunch!!!

Personally, I think that for it to be considered a destination it has to either be 3 hours of driving - or it would have to be somewhere expensive.

I see the drive from Toronto to Niagara is 1.5 hours so that would say no to it being a destination and just a long car ride - BUT if they stay the night there then I would think (never been) that it would cost more than a normal hotel as it's somewhere world known.

I like what Kelsie has suggested with the room blocks and letting the guests know NOW that they have just 8 months to come up with more than wedding presentation.

Only other thought would be to pay for a bus shuttle to shuttle people to and from the wedding! I am having my wedding about 45 minutes outside the city and have offered a shuttle to pick people up at a hotel that I have a room block at and drop them off there too. It's a little bit of money out of my pocket but I'm saving more on the wedding by having it out of the city.

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That's very true, Kelsie!! Thank you for the great advice!!

I don’t think people will decline a wedding in Niagara Falls, especially since you’re getting married on a Saturday.

Many people may want to stay over though. I would give people notice that the wedding will be in Niagara and also reserve some hotel blocks so guests can book a room to stay over.

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Wow, that place sounds sort of cozy. I might check it out! Thank you

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Hey Meaghan,

Thank you so much for your feedback! That's true, people will most likely decline no matter where we have it, but I really thought people would more so decline if it's in Niagara because of the distance! Thanks so much

I should add -- we almost chose to get married at the Little Log Chapel in the Niagara region. There isare so many beautiful places around Niagara.

I definitely would not consider that a destination wedding. There may be people who decline, but there will be people who decline regardless of where you have it. That isn't a ridiculous drive by any means. I'm sure most of your guests have gone on a day trip to Niagara Falls anyway.