Weddings in Toronto
Toronto weddings tend to go one of two ways. Some families want the city itself: a hotel ballroom downtown, portraits by the lake, out-of-town guests staying in the same building. Others want the space and parking of a banquet hall in Scarborough or Etobicoke, with room for a long guest list and a long night.
Both work well. The choice usually comes down to guest count, how many relatives are travelling in, and whether the elders want to drive.
The nikah is often the most personal piece. Many couples hold it at a masjid with close family, sometimes days before the reception, then host the walima at a hotel or hall. When the reception is very large, a small nikah lunch in a private dining room keeps the ceremony intimate.
Downtown hotels can book far ahead for Saturdays from June to September, and so can the larger Scarborough halls. Give yourself a year or more if you can.
Banquet halls to look at
Four very different rooms, from a 1929 ballroom to a hall with free parking for a thousand guests. The capacities are each venue’s own published figures.
- Fairmont Royal York (Front Street West, downtown): a historic hotel whose Ballroom has been restored to its 1929 decor. The hotel lists space for up to 1,670 guests across its event rooms.
- Hotel X Toronto (Princes’ Boulevard, by the lake): the Victory Ballroom holds up to 500 and can be divided into two separate spaces. The Princes’ Gates Ballroom holds up to 300.
- Old Mill Toronto (Old Mill Road, west end): 16 event spaces, a candlelit chapel and a Secret Garden for outdoor ceremonies. Parking is paid, in a lot across the street.
- Scarborough Convention Centre (Torham Place, Scarborough): five ballrooms and three private bridal suites, for up to 1,200 guests, with complimentary parking.
For your nikah
Toronto has masjids in every part of the city. A few well-known ones:
- Islamic Foundation of Toronto (Nugget Avenue, Scarborough): its website says its imams are licensed marriage officers who perform the nikah and take care of the paperwork.
- Jami Mosque (Boustead Avenue, west end): described by ISNA Canada, which runs it, as the oldest existing mosque in Toronto.
- TARIC Islamic Centre (Beverly Hills Drive, North York).
- Masjid Toronto (Dundas Street West and Adelaide Street East, downtown), a Muslim Association of Canada centre.
Ask the masjid office about booking, the imam’s requirements and how much space there is for guests. Plenty of families hold the nikah at home instead, with an imam and the two families in one room.
Getting there and parking
The subway and streetcars reach most downtown hotels. The Scarborough and Etobicoke halls are easier by car. The 401, the Gardiner and the Don Valley Parkway carry most wedding traffic, and all three can be slow at rush hour.
For relatives flying in, the UP Express runs from Pearson to Union Station in about 28 minutes, with stops at Weston, Mount Dennis and Bloor. A downtown hotel becomes an easy base for guests from abroad.
As a rough guide outside rush hour, downtown to a Scarborough hall takes about 30 to 45 minutes, and central Mississauga to a west-end venue about 20 to 30.
Parking is where downtown and suburban venues differ most. Downtown, expect paid garages or valet, and tell guests in advance on the invitation or wedding site. At Old Mill, guests park in a paid lot across the road. The Scarborough halls tend to have large free lots, which is kinder to elders and to anyone carrying gifts.
In winter, the waterfront gets cold and windy fast. Schedule outdoor portraits in the early afternoon, before the light goes.
Local tips
- The City of Toronto takes bookings for wedding photography at listed parks and gardens, including Edwards Gardens, the Toronto Music Garden, Toronto Island Park, and the Allan Gardens and Centennial Park conservatories.
- Those bookings are a minimum of two hours and start on the hour. Build them into your timeline so the photographer isn’t rushing between the nikah and the reception.
- The conservatories limit group size, to as few as 10 people in some greenhouses. Bring the bridal party and leave the wider family at the venue.
- If your reception is in Scarborough or Mississauga, a downtown hotel walima the next day gives visiting relatives a second, quieter celebration in the city.
How we plan in Toronto
A Toronto wedding can mean two or three venues across the city in a single weekend. One coordinator carries all of it, and every vendor answers to us rather than to you, from decor and henna to sound, media and cars. You keep your attention on your family. Begin planning