Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

Any fellow Ontarians? Looking for elopement ideas.

sirbenson

sirbenson

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Apr 12, 2010
Messages
229
Hello!

Upon the suggestion of a fellow PS'ers in the BWW forum, I hopped on over to Hangout to see if there are any PS'ers from Ontario. I am looking for elopement ideas in Ontario. Someoene pointed out a PS'ers wonderful San Fran elopement to me and I fell in love with the idea:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/our-elopement-story-pro-pics.97046/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/our-elopement-story-pro-pics.97046/[/URL]

I looooove both SF City Hall and the beach photos. So stunning.

I'm a little short on ideas for how to achieve something as gorgeous here in Ontario. I haven't travelled much in my own province (sad, I know) so I don't know of any great B&Bs, wineries, lake/beach front cottages/inns where I could arrange something similar. I'm also not aware of any city hall even half as gorgeous as the one in SF.

So, if you are familiar with a great little place in Ontario please spill the beans. It'll either be JUST the two of us eloping OR we may decide to bring our MOH/BM and their SOs. I'm also open to the idea of eloping in Quebec, even BC if arranging the license isn't too much trouble. I'd even be open to the same SF City Hall/beach set up that mia1181 did but I'm not sure what the deal is for Canuks getting married in CA.

Advice please :)
 
Hi there! I'm not from ON but I've been living here for the last 8 months and have also researched a few ideas for wedding venues in the area. One of my FAV places is a bed and breakfast that I've fallen in love with (aside from the castle in Toronto, but that's not in our budget) is the willow pond bed and breakfast.
http://www.willowpondbedandbreakfast.ca/weddings.html

Also, there are a LOT of nice wineries in the Nigeria region to check out. If your looking for a very small place to get married, theres a room here that holds MAX of 18 people, which includes the bride and the groom. However you don't need any decorations because it's so beautiful. They have their own chapel and the place is beautiful! The room I'm referring to is the royal oak room. I wish I could cut our list down to 16 guests! ETA: It has other rooms that hold more guests, but I was thinking small scale, there is one other room that holds around 50 and other rooms that hold many more!

http://www.oldmilltoronto.com/

Another place I looked at was this place
http://www.goodearthfoodandwine.com/goodwine

I haven't done to much research on just the couple eloping, but most of these would work for that as well!

Good luck and congrats!
 
Hey, we're planning a small wedding in Ontario (so not an elopement, but 20 guests) and we're doing it in Niagara-on-the-lake. The area is gorgeous. There is obviously a lake and quaint inns all over the place. Also some great bed and breakfasts. We are having our wedding at a winery and using Kettle Creek Weddings for our officiant. I think they have elopement options so it might be worth consulting with them and seeing what they suggest.
 
Unfortunately a lot of the nicer properties in the area are owned by the Vintage hotel chain and they are very very difficult to work with.
 
Sorry to chime in again, lol.

If I were eloping in the area I would probably contact the city about booking the gazebo on the lake. Its right across the street from the Shaw club inn and spa. They have some fab rooms and their restaurant is fantastic.
 
Thanks for the ideas.

redrose: Willow Pond looks adorable. It would definately makea for a quaint elopement. Its a bit too country for my liking though and a lot would depend on the weather. I'm familiar with The Old Mill and to me, it has a bit of a banquet hall feel. Its also quite a busy place AFAIK. Good Earth etc. looks interesting! I've never heard of that one, will check it out a bit more.

chemgirl: I haven't done much research yet so haven't run into comments about the Vintage Hotel group. Could you expand on why they are so difficult to work with? And just wondering which winery you chose for your own wedding? I'm not sure how wineries are set up but is the event largely dependant on good weather? Where will you be taking photos?

Thanks!
 
chemgirl said:
Sorry to chime in again, lol.

If I were eloping in the area I would probably contact the city about booking the gazebo on the lake. Its right across the street from the Shaw club inn and spa. They have some fab rooms and their restaurant is fantastic.
Click to expand...

Great, thanks for the heads up!

I'm always nervous about booking things that are weather dependant though....I'll check it out....on the city webiste I suppose?

Do you reocmmend the Shaw Club Inn and Spa?
 
So I checked out the gazebo and I love it! I also love the pics of old town NOTL or historic buildings in the area. I thought of something though....if I'm so worried about weather being good enough to take pics, are there good indoor backups in the area in the case of a rainy day?
 
sirbenson said:
So I checked out the gazebo and I love it! I also love the pics of old town NOTL or historic buildings in the area. I thought of something though....if I'm so worried about weather being good enough to take pics, are there good indoor backups in the area in the case of a rainy day?
Click to expand...

I got married at the gazebo at Niagara-on-the-lake. You aren't allowed any chairs, tents etc at the gazebo. So only book it if you are sure that you would be okay if it happens to pour. Since you live here, you know you can't really trust the weather!

I looked into back-up options and didn't really find anything suitable. Some wineries do have an option for on-site weddings, but most only allow the ceremony to be post 6pm. Also, I believe you need to book a reception with them. There are some small chapels in the area that do cater to couples that are eloping, or have small weddings, so definitely look into that.

Have you looked into the Laurentians? If you're eloping, that would be such an amazing spot. If you don't want to go that far, try Muskoka. And if you want even closer, then Picton would be a great choice as well.
 
redrose229 said:
Hi there! I'm not from ON but I've been living here for the last 8 months and have also researched a few ideas for wedding venues in the area. One of my FAV places is a bed and breakfast that I've fallen in love with (aside from the castle in Toronto, but that's not in our budget) is the willow pond bed and breakfast.
http://www.willowpondbedandbreakfast.ca/weddings.html

Also, there are a LOT of nice wineries in the Nigeria region to check out. If your looking for a very small place to get married, theres a room here that holds MAX of 18 people, which includes the bride and the groom. However you don't need any decorations because it's so beautiful. They have their own chapel and the place is beautiful! The room I'm referring to is the royal oak room. I wish I could cut our list down to 16 guests! ETA: It has other rooms that hold more guests, but I was thinking small scale, there is one other room that holds around 50 and other rooms that hold many more!

http://www.oldmilltoronto.com/

Another place I looked at was this place
http://www.goodearthfoodandwine.com/goodwine

I haven't done to much research on just the couple eloping, but most of these would work for that as well!

Good luck and congrats!
Click to expand...

While I was the one that earlier mentioned Good Earth, it is not a place I would suggest. It's a relatively new winery, their first set of bottles came out earlier this year. And they're a little in the middle of no where, so this wouldn't be my first suggestion to someone new to the area. Just my opinion.
 
I've been to the restaurant at the Shaw Club and it was fantastic. My fiance was a vegetarian at the time and they had no problem going off menu for him. It was a very good experience with fantastic food (I had scallops). We were initially planning a small wedding so were considering using their king suite for a home base. It was expensive, but very nice. They have several room options on their website.

http://www.shawclub.com/niagara-on-the-lake/hotel.asp

We are using Pilliteri winery for our wedding. They don't really do weddings as a rule, but ours is so small they are willing to treat it like a private luncheon. http://www.pillitteri.com/

We found the Vintages hotels to be gorgeous, but annoying when we tried to book. All of their set meals were for 40 people or more. They also would not host a ceremony if we did not use them for our food. We started to run in to issues when we wanted to book Chateau des Charmes for the wedding. They are affiliated with the Vintages brand and use Vintages chefs. They told us over the phone that they would be pleased to host a dinner for 20-25 people and gave us a quote. The actual contract was for 1000$ more than the quote and they were going to charge for 40 people regardless of our numbers. They said they had the guest minimum since they were bringing in an outside chef, so we decided to contact the chef's restaurant directly and attempt to use the Piller and Post hotel for the ceremony and reception (this is the chef's usual location). The quote didn't change at all. My fiance then contacted them on behalf of his company to look in to the rates for booking a corporate event at either location. They gave him contracts with food for 20 attendants and offered things like linens etc. that were not offered for the wedding. It really soured us. The Vintages chain also didn't listen to us and wouldn't offer selections from their seasonal menu etc. We weren't allowed a cocktail hour without using them for our meal. I realize that weddings are expensive for the venue, but they were also charging a 500$ wedding fee on top of food, alcohol, and linens.

And there's my rant about them, hehe.
 
chemgirl said:
I've been to the restaurant at the Shaw Club and it was fantastic. My fiance was a vegetarian at the time and they had no problem going off menu for him. It was a very good experience with fantastic food (I had scallops). We were initially planning a small wedding so were considering using their king suite for a home base. It was expensive, but very nice. They have several room options on their website.

http://www.shawclub.com/niagara-on-the-lake/hotel.asp

We are using Pilliteri winery for our wedding. They don't really do weddings as a rule, but ours is so small they are willing to treat it like a private luncheon. http://www.pillitteri.com/

We found the Vintages hotels to be gorgeous, but annoying when we tried to book. All of their set meals were for 40 people or more. They also would not host a ceremony if we did not use them for our food. We started to run in to issues when we wanted to book Chateau des Charmes for the wedding. They are affiliated with the Vintages brand and use Vintages chefs. They told us over the phone that they would be pleased to host a dinner for 20-25 people and gave us a quote. The actual contract was for 1000$ more than the quote and they were going to charge for 40 people regardless of our numbers. They said they had the guest minimum since they were bringing in an outside chef, so we decided to contact the chef's restaurant directly and attempt to use the Piller and Post hotel for the ceremony and reception (this is the chef's usual location). The quote didn't change at all. My fiance then contacted them on behalf of his company to look in to the rates for booking a corporate event at either location. They gave him contracts with food for 20 attendants and offered things like linens etc. that were not offered for the wedding. It really soured us. The Vintages chain also didn't listen to us and wouldn't offer selections from their seasonal menu etc. We weren't allowed a cocktail hour without using them for our meal. I realize that weddings are expensive for the venue, but they were also charging a 500$ wedding fee on top of food, alcohol, and linens.

And there's my rant about them, hehe.
Click to expand...

Uh. That is incorrect information. Chateau des Charmes is NOT affiliated with the Vintage hotels AT ALL. If you book a wedding with CDC, you have a choice of a few different chefs that they work with. How do I know this? Well, for one I had my reception there. And we went with Treadwell....not Vintage.

Definitely agree CDC is expensive, but in my opinion they were well worth the money. Ofcourse, wouldn't be the case for an elopment or a small immediate wedding!

We also did a post wedding brunch at the Pillar and the Post and they were absolutely amazing to deal with. We ended up having one no-show to the breakfast and they didnt even charge us for that person (even though, technically, you have to give your final numbers a few weeks before the wedding).
 
kama_s said:
chemgirl said:
I've been to the restaurant at the Shaw Club and it was fantastic. My fiance was a vegetarian at the time and they had no problem going off menu for him. It was a very good experience with fantastic food (I had scallops). We were initially planning a small wedding so were considering using their king suite for a home base. It was expensive, but very nice. They have several room options on their website.

http://www.shawclub.com/niagara-on-the-lake/hotel.asp

We are using Pilliteri winery for our wedding. They don't really do weddings as a rule, but ours is so small they are willing to treat it like a private luncheon. http://www.pillitteri.com/

We found the Vintages hotels to be gorgeous, but annoying when we tried to book. All of their set meals were for 40 people or more. They also would not host a ceremony if we did not use them for our food. We started to run in to issues when we wanted to book Chateau des Charmes for the wedding. They are affiliated with the Vintages brand and use Vintages chefs. They told us over the phone that they would be pleased to host a dinner for 20-25 people and gave us a quote. The actual contract was for 1000$ more than the quote and they were going to charge for 40 people regardless of our numbers. They said they had the guest minimum since they were bringing in an outside chef, so we decided to contact the chef's restaurant directly and attempt to use the Piller and Post hotel for the ceremony and reception (this is the chef's usual location). The quote didn't change at all. My fiance then contacted them on behalf of his company to look in to the rates for booking a corporate event at either location. They gave him contracts with food for 20 attendants and offered things like linens etc. that were not offered for the wedding. It really soured us. The Vintages chain also didn't listen to us and wouldn't offer selections from their seasonal menu etc. We weren't allowed a cocktail hour without using them for our meal. I realize that weddings are expensive for the venue, but they were also charging a 500$ wedding fee on top of food, alcohol, and linens.

And there's my rant about them, hehe.
Click to expand...

Uh. That is incorrect information. Chateau des Charmes is NOT affiliated with the Vintage hotels AT ALL. If you book a wedding with CDC, you have a choice of a few different chefs that they work with. How do I know this? Well, for one I had my reception there. And we went with Treadwell....not Vintage.

Definitely agree CDC is expensive, but in my opinion they were well worth the money. Ofcourse, wouldn't be the case for an elopment or a small immediate wedding!

We also did a post wedding brunch at the Pillar and the Post and they were absolutely amazing to deal with. We ended up having one no-show to the breakfast and they didnt even charge us for that person (even though, technically, you have to give your final numbers a few weeks before the wedding).
Click to expand...

Chateau wouldn't give me any options for chefs. Maybe I wasn't speaking to the right people! I also found Piller and Post to be very accomodating for a lunch or breakfast. We are actually considering them for the day after breakfast. They just get a bit more picky when it comes to ceremony + reception.

ETA: we actually asked Danielle for other menu options and she sent the same set of menues...three times
 
Is there a link to this gazebo that you guys are referring to? It sounds nice and might even work for our ceremony location if we can find a reception site near by that can do 25 people or so.

And I'm from good old Iowa, so the "country" feel of the willow pond is what makes me adore it so ::) But I understand not everyone grew up where the corn fields are! :bigsmile:
 
Wow, thanks for all the additional advice and very detailed info. I have to admit that its a bit overwhelming but mainly because I've been at the laptop for the last 5 or 6 hours or so and I'm exhausted ::) I wish I would have started researching after I got engaged 6 months ago. Glad I got the advice to post in this thread :)

It sounds like the easiest thing to do would be a true elopement bc if we start bringing people with us we have to plan for dinner and drinks or some type of reception even if a small one. We do have mixed feelings about how some family members would feel if we eloped. But we have stronger feelings about not wanting to go through all the hassle (and $) that comes along with a wedding that is not an elopement.
 
chemgirl said:
Chateau wouldn't give me any options for chefs. Maybe I wasn't speaking to the right people! I also found Piller and Post to be very accomodating for a lunch or breakfast. We are actually considering them for the day after breakfast. They just get a bit more picky when it comes to ceremony + reception.
Click to expand...

You know, looks like you're right. I went to their website and they only have the Vintage hotel chefs listed. I tied the knot last summer, and I had over 6 chefs to choose from. I chose Treadwell because I knew I wanted them even before I was offered the options.

I definitely recommend Pillar and Post for your day after brunch. We booked the Olde Library, it was beautiful and intimate...and very vintage!
 
kama_s said:
chemgirl said:
Chateau wouldn't give me any options for chefs. Maybe I wasn't speaking to the right people! I also found Piller and Post to be very accomodating for a lunch or breakfast. We are actually considering them for the day after breakfast. They just get a bit more picky when it comes to ceremony + reception.
Click to expand...

You know, looks like you're right. I went to their website and they only have the Vintage hotel chefs listed. I tied the knot last summer, and I had over 6 chefs to choose from. I chose Treadwell because I knew I wanted them even before I was offered the options.

I definitely recommend Pillar and Post for your day after brunch. We booked the Olde Library, it was beautiful and intimate...and very vintage!
Click to expand...

CDC is beautiful. We went there for our first date and we were disappointed that they weren't more flexible for small parties. We currently live in Hamilton and we still stop in to pick up wine when we're in the area. I love their gewurtztraminer.
 
If you just want a romantic event with your husband-to-be, I really suggest you contact Springbank and see what they can offer. I'm not sure if I can promote them like this since we know the owners, but I am not getting anything out of this and I really enjoyed my time there.

By the way, I'm not sure if you mentioned where you are located? I'm from North Bay and I have lived in Toronto and Hamilton. My FI is from Burlington, but has lived in Montreal before moving back to Ontario. As such, I know a lot about northern and southern Ontario. Heck the ex had a cottage in Bracebridge (the Muskoka area) so I've spent a decent amount of time there as well. I am available to give any info I can.
 
Thanks for the additional ideas.

When I compare some of the places in NOTL in terms of it being a true elopement vs. us having a few guests it seems really expensive if you have guests, even if just a few. Some places seem to reserve their wedding services for bigger parties. At least that's the impression I got. Also some "packages" seem loike good deals but they include things I wouldn't even want: bouquet, bouteniere (sp?), massages, manicure, etc. as an example.

Also when I look at some of the B&Bs that are top rated in TripAdvisor, they look rather......ahem, hokey? The style seems more something along the lines of what my parents like. DOn't get me wrong, the area is gorgeous but some of the decor of these B&Bs on the inside is quite tacky. Also, some of them have a very private home feel so much so that I'd feel like I was moving in with a stranger's family for the weekend. If I'm going to elope and ditch our families I don't wanna stay in someone's home for the weekend and have their family be a part of it. I'm not sure if I'm getting across what I mean :confused: Also, it wouldn't seem right to marry out of someone else's home. The hotels have a less intimate feel but I like some of the decor (Shaw Hotel, White Oaks) of the rooms. Seems more glam.

I'm starting to confuse my own self now :shock: Seems like the small intimate places are too "stranger's family" like and the bigger hotels less intimacy. Well we could always stay somewhere where we liked the rooms, have the ceremony somewhere intimate and then go for dinner just the two of us wherever we please.

For the record I'm fromt he suburbs just north west of Toronto (Vaughan). Chemgirl if you think of anything else, please share :)

I'm gonna check out Springbank now....
 
Too bad Springbank website isn't working....it asks for sign in details. ??

Also, I haven't mentioned this yet but I'm a vegetarian. Are the most of the top rated restaurants in NOTL vegetarian friendly?

This elopement research is so exciting! BUT everytime I do research with the plan of having guests join us things start to get complicated. Since we all live in Ontario (his side mainly in London, mine near Toronto) it seems like IF we elope in Ontario we have to invite a few people (even if just like 10 people). Whereas if we get out of the province our excuse for eloping (in addition to all the other good reasons we have) could be that we didn't want to inconvenience ppl to come with us :)

Any Ontarians get married in California? I'm still really loving the SF City Hall, beach photos idea but I'm not sure if the hassle of two Canucks marrying in USA would be worth it.
 
Springbank is sort of "old fashioned" looking, but not tacky. It looks like you stepped back in time 100 years. So yeah...it doesn't look eighties, but its not trendy or anything.
 
I just noticed that as well...but it works if you google "springbank house"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top