Pop-up weddings, CN Tower, Museums,Galleries, Monuments, Parks and Gardens

It would be wonderful to be able to just turn up at your favourite location and hold a pop-up wedding.  After conducting weddings for almost 1500 people, I have lots of opinions on pop-up, guerilla, flashmob, and other surprise weddings.

Primarily, it is very difficult to hold a popup wedding in public museums and monuments and all those locations where you met, or hung out.  Most public institutions have guards, and lots of closed -circuit television. They understand what you are doing, and they will come and ask you to stop.  This is also the case with wedding photography, as they will also stop anyone who is trying to do engagement or wedding photos without a permit.  THIS IS WHY you do not see millions of wedding or fashion photographers in your favourite museum, monument (such as Union Station) or gallery.  They do this after hours, or they pay LOTS of money for the privilege.

You can certainly buy a permit for a wedding at Allan Gardens, the beautiful 19th century conservatory.  You CANNOT try to hold a popup there without a permit, as the long-suffering guard's job is to stop you.  The same with the Guild in Scarborough, the music garden, the Toronto Botanic Garden, and parts of the islands.  You cannot hold a wedding on the main UofT campus (around Hart House Circle), as you will be stopped.  You will be stopped quite firmly in the Distillery.  Also, parts of the Brickworks. It is the JOB of the guards to come and ask for your permit.

Please read the post on park weddings.  It's a Catch-22:  you must have a permit for a park wedding - BUT, the parks department will not issue permits for all parks.  The problem is that many weddings abuse the locations (bringing too many people, chairs, high heels, confetti, etc.) and the parks department can't supervise locations not set up for weddings.  YOU may have the best intentions in the world to be respectful, but other people have ruined things for you in advance. This is why High Park has now banned all weddings - because bad people treated it as an event space, not a park.

SO.  Here are some ideas. The CN tower (like Grand Central Station in NY)  will allow you to come in and stand in a corner and have a teeny wedding.  You have to buy admission for everyone anyway, so as long as it's short and you don't bother anyone, it's possible. The tourists will smile, or ignore you, or squeeze around you. You cannot do this at Ripley's, tho you can book the party room and then get tickets for all (which I think come with the booking).

You can't use Queens Park (the front of the building), tho you can use Queen's Park PARK, behind the legislature (by King Eddy).  You cannot use the AGO, but you can book the lovely library in the Grange and have a wedding by the fireplace AND HIGH TEA!  You can also use Grange Park BEHIND the ROM. You cannot do Casa Loma without a permit, but you can pay lots of money for a private wedding in the Conservatory at Casa Loma.  The ROM is all on closed-circuit TV.  Don't try it.  But you can use philosopher's walk, beside the  ROM, and then you inside and take some romantic cell phone pix. 

A legal wedding takes some calm, and some time.  It's not like the movies.  Basically, you need 25 minutes, and some peace and calm, and a place to hear, where your witnesses can also hear properly.  Then you need to sit down and sign all those papers. You must also document the wedding with a photo, in case you need to prove this for a non-traditional wedding.  So you need to be able to take at least cell phone photos.

SO, it's best to find a quiet place for a little legal wedding and THEN go and take some post-wedding photos in your fave location.  Or, try talking to your favourite restaurant or bar, and see whether you can have a quiet corner at 4pm between service, for a 'little private event' , and then stay for food and drinks!  Don't say the word "wedding" at first, just say 'celebration'.  Many locations will be happy to give you your 20 minutes and sell you some prosecco and nibblies.

We might also be able to slip into your nearby small parkette, or some friendly spaces like Trinity Bellwoods, Riverdale, etc.,, with a handful of people.  But for a larger event (over 12 people ) find a location which issues permits:  Allan Gardens, Toronto Botanical, Music Garden, etc.  Ask me.

Please write me with your ideas and I'll try to help.  Little popup weddings are great fun, as long as we can relax and hear and do things properly.  And not bother OTHER people, of course.   Your wedding should be fun and memorable, not fraught with being chased out of your favourite location.

Wedding Ceremonies & Formal Photography - Permits & Rentals - Parks, Forestry & Recreation | City of Toronto

Wedding Ceremonies & Formal Photography - Permits & Rentals - Parks, Forestry & Recreation | City of Toronto
We've gotten several enquiries about Park weddings for this year.  Here's the info page again (above, and a short link here) bit.ly/1daSbin   (or call parks office from 311). 
Note the Rules:
Facility listings:  Parks

Rates:"Rates for wedding ceremonies and photography are approved by City council.  Rates can be adjusted at anytime, please discuss the permit rental rates directly by calling (416) 392-8188."

How to Apply for a Permit

To obtain a permit or get further information on rates and availability, call 416-392-8188 and press 1, Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 4:00pm. Payment by VISA, Mastercard or American Express is
accepted over the phone. You can also book your permit and pay by cash or certified check in person by visiting your local permit office.

Wedding Ceremony Parks List

this is from the City of Toronto Website
"Toronto Parks, Forestry & Recreation offers many beautiful outdoor parks and indoor facilities available for your stand-up wedding ceremony.
NOT ALL PARKS ARE AVAILABLE FOR WEDDINGS.
"Please note that ceremonies are stand-up only, no chairs are permitted. Accompany your ceremony with soft taped music or a live  non-amplified trio"

MUSEUMS:
The parks list above does not include green space associated with Historical locations, such as Colborne Lodge, Todmorden Mills, Fort York, etc.  You'll find those facilities under MUSEUMS. We had a great wedding on the steps of Spadina House, with guests in the front lawn. (Reception held at another location.)  The Couple booked a permit for the steps of Spadina house. Another couple is holding a wedding AND the small outdoor cocktail reception at Spadina, (as you have to book a minimum of 3 hours for the space). 

The above city parks and museum list does not include Riverdale Farm, Dufferin Grove, Campbell House, the Children's Peace Garden, the Toronto Island clubhouses, Black Creek, Kortwright, and other green places you can also rent for weddings. Some of these are managed by community groups, and you can apply to them for an event. You can obtain a photography permit at the Brickworks and hold a small wedding in the ravine, for instance.

NOTE: very small informal weddings in a park are sometimes possible, please write to me directly. But for any group larger than a dozen or so, you will need to consider a proper permit, a photography permit, or permission.  Drop me a line :-)

Parks, Forestry and Recreation : Permits - Wedding Ceremonies and Photography

Parks, Forestry and Recreation : Permits - Wedding Ceremonies and Photography
Here is a new web page for booking Toronto Parks for weddings and events. (Note all the typos, my goodness!)
* Application Start Date:Apply for your 2011 wedding permit beginning November 1st, 2010.
* Permit Season: April 30th to October 30th

I'm not sure what the booking season means, if you want a nice winter wedding any any of these locations...

They have also lowered the capacity of the Music Garden from 40 to 20, as well as reducing the capacity of St James to 40. Please note our other post on Sunnyside, as this is also a problematic location.
I'm not sure the prices are current (I think Allan Gardens is about $104 instead of $96) but call to make sure. I also don't know WHERE the location on the Toronto islands for 100 people is -- or the Ashbridges Bay location. If you find out, let me know!

"Green" elopement locations in Toronto

...are very hard to find.  The parks dept would like you to book the BIG parks, and won't issue permits for the small ones for weddings.  So you can hold a small informal elopement for a handful of people, if you are discreet and happy to fade into the less well known areas of parks, or the Rosedale Ravine, or Cherry Beach, or the Spit, etc. You could even discreetly gather on a NON-busy day at the foot of this pretty bridge on Center Island - which looks just like Bow Bridge in Central Park.  Indoors, you can rent Allan Gardens conservatory for a small wedding (they say up to 40? seems crowded) and it's reasonable and very lovely. 

But if you're dreaming of a bigger bunch of people in a sylvan glade, you may have to go out of town, to the Toronto Islands, or the Kortwright - though I disapprove of chairs in a forest [amended: we had a lovely simple wedding at the Kortwright where simple wooden chairs were on the path].

You could bring a folding chair for granny, but the rest of you should simply stand around and leave no footprint... The Toronto Regional Conservation Authority books most of the pretty places, including Black Creek Village (which also offers a glade and a green).   The largest 'downtown' gathering option seems to be Woodbine "Millenium" Park, which holds 100 people, or so says the Parks Department. Kew Gardens gazebo is up to 50 people - all standing, of course, and the St. James Park (gazebo) downtown is 40 people. You can book the fountain at Center Island for 100 people, but need to ask the island authority first. Otherwise, the Music Garden has lowered its capacity from 40 to 20 people,.

Part of the problem with park weddings is the number of people who have gone before you and ruined it all - bridezillas with chairs and high heels and videocams and altars and arches and rice... So naturally, the caretakers of our common spaces try to minimize the damage, and have restricted weddings to easily monitored spaces.

How about a friend with a great backyard?
Or go camping!
The Brickworks is nice, tho you MUST get a permit.
Ask me about Todmorden Mills - outside of mosquito season.
Sometimes there's permits for Riverdale Farm.
I like RIVERDALE PARK, - also ask me (small groups, tho).
Also the green roof at the Big Carrot.

Allan Gardens for an intimate wedding

is lovely.  Soft and warm in the cold winter.  And very few people wandering about in mid-day, mid-week.  Rather magical stepping into the conservatory from the dank grey outside.  There was another fashion photoshoot happening in the south gallery; we were in the domed center. 

Be sure to book it for your event, don't just turn up, as the staff will have to refuse you.  Also, please write me if you're considering this, as I have some advice on the type of permit to save $$>

  Info on our locations page

Here's a few more Allan weddings:

NOTE:  in 2016, the Banana trees and palms at Allan Gardens got hit by frost, when the power went out.  BUT, that means the other plants to more light.  Here is a 'vine lady' sculpture from the Toronto Garden show which is occupying the main palm court area...