Wedding Venues
When planning a wedding you will need a place for the ceremony and usually a place for the reception (perhaps using the same room for both). The reception might involve a banquet or light refreshments. If you are not being married in a church, using its facilities and hall, a number of excellent resources for finding a wide variety of venues is available below.
Where you hold your wedding ceremony influences not only its atmosphere but also every aspect of the manner in which your wedding service is designed. People can only move where there is room to move. They cannot process down an aisle where none exists. If the wedding venue you choose includes challenges to the movement of the bridal party a wedding rehearsal may be advisable.
Since many venues add so much atmosphere to the event, choosing your venue wisely and appropriately to the tone and theme of your wedding will add much to the event.
Choose a wedding venue appropriate to your wedding theme and tone
The theme and tone of your wedding should conform to your personalities and budget as well as be comfortable for your guests. So early in your wedding planning you should consider the atmosphere most appropriate to you and your wedding. On this basis you move forward to book the Officiant, the ceremony and reception locations and the wedding planning team appropriate to this theme. You are limited only by your imagination, from traditional to adventuresome.
Choose a venue appropriate to the size of your wedding and the needs of your guests
A crucial aspect of bringing the vision of your wedding to fruition is the venue you choose, whether to accommodate an intimate gathering for a few close friends or a blockbuster celebration for all members of your extended family and everyone you and your family have ever met, or perhaps something in between these. Whatever, it is important that you agree on the size of the wedding and that you choose a venue to accommodate the number of guests and the services necessary to the style and theme you have chosen. (And book it early as they tend to fill quickly.) While viewing prospective venues exercise your imagination—picture how you can transform it into the unforgettable location of your dreams.
Many grand wedding venues are available
Grand hotels, opulent banquet halls, ornate gardens, beautifully restored historic sites infuse wedding celebrations with awesome ambiance. Clubs and lodges rent halls which can be decorated tastefully to your theme. Golf courses usually have specially designed wedding venues blessed with spacious views of rolling hills and greens.
Wedding venues on a budget
A limited budget may call for more ingenuity as more elaborate venues elude your financial grasp. Don’t despair. I’ve officiated some really beautiful weddings in backyards, public parks, gazebos, restaurants, community centers, bed and breakfasts.
Perhaps there are large homes with substantial garden lots that might be available if you ask. You could possibly approach the owner concerning how much they would charge for the use of their grounds for a wedding with your number of guests, at your time, for a specified period of time. The worst that could happen is that they say, “No”, which would leave you no farther back than you were when you started. Best case scenario, they might ask little or no compensation for its use and even be complimented that you asked. Having invested time and money into the beauty of their residence, owners of gardens are generally pleased that their efforts are appreciated by others. Thinking outside the box might prove less expensive than venues designed for weddings. If you choose an outdoor venue, however, it would be wise to have an alternative in your plans should it be necessary.
Be creative. If your funds are limited, stay within your means. You can even enlist friends and family to assist with preparations and catering.
Outside Wedding Venues
Wedding venues located in the great outdoors are very attractive but are vulnerable to weather complications that no one can control. If you choose such a location, it is always wise to have an alternative, more sheltered, covered or indoor location in mind, in case the undesired or unimaginable happens. Having this alternative close to your outdoor venue is important, especially if your wedding is large or your guests are coming from a distance and/or are unfamiliar with the territory. Placing signs in the outdoor location directing them to the alternate at a distance from the outdoor venue rarely works as well as you would like, as it means added travel time for your guests, probably making a number of them late. To prepare for this possibility you will also need plastic signs with waterproof text, as paper board signs will usually sag and perhaps run in the wet.
Smaller, more intimate weddings seem able to manage last minute changes better than larger ones, as guests can be phoned and redirected. For this it is always wise to collect the cell phone numbers of your guests in case this should be necessary, as you can contact them en route.
Some locations will offer the possibility of an indoor alternative. There may be added cost to this, but, since it is such a precious occasion, your wedding, the expense could be worth it.
Indoor Wedding Venues
Venues that are covered or indoor are more dependable, usually with a less expansive feel, but with a more easily managed atmosphere, decoration and temperature. They also extend the “wedding season” beyond the summer months.
Even if the size and budget for your wedding is small, there are many beautiful places that you can access at reasonable expense.
It’s your wedding. Do it your way.
Local Wedding Venue Possibilities
Ajax / Pickering
4 Seasons Golf and Country Club Claremont
Carver’s Cottage
Deer Creek Golf and Country Club
Kinsmen Heritage Centre
The Lake House
Pickering Museum
Perfect Little Moments
Clarington
Clarington Older Adult Centre
Bowmanville Rotary Park
Port Darlington Marina
Port Newcastle
Oshawa
Harmony Creek Golf and Country Club
Holiday Inn
Jubilee Pavilion
Kedron Dells Golf and Country Club
Kinsmen Valley Park
Lakeview Park
Oshawa Botanical Gardens
Parkwood Estates
Port Darlington Marina
Southwoods Bed and Breakfast
Skorski Polish Hall
Ontario and District Shrine Club, Oshawa
Royal Canadian Legion
Woodview Community Centre, Oshawa
Trillium Trails
Port Perry
7 Mile Island
Jester’s Court Restaurant
Nestleton Waters Inn
Port Perry Waterfront
Scugog Shores
Scarborough
Guildwood Park
Miller Lash House
Qsiss Banquet Hall
Rosetta McLean Park
Scarborough Golf and Country Club
Bluffer’s Restaurant
Toronto and north
Donalda Club
Edwards Gardens
Estates of Sunnybrook
Inn on the Park
Le Parc Banquet Hall
Maple Downs Golf and Country Club
Richmond Green Park (Mill Pond Park)
Uxbridge
Foster Memorial Temple
Lakeridge Links
Skyloft
Uxbridge Meeting Hall
Uxbridge Museum
Wooden Sticks Golf and Country Club
Wyndance Golf and Country Club
Whitby
Carruthers Creek Golf and Country Club
Cullen Central Park
Heydon Shores Pavilion
Rotary Sunrise Park
Rotary Centennial Park Pavilion (Booking: Iroquois Centre 905-668-7765)
Royal Ashburn Golf and Country Club
Trafalgar Castle
Whitby Curling Club
Royal Canadian Legion