How to Plan a Wedding in Toronto & the GTA

The budget at a glance

Most GTA couples spend between $35,000 and $70,000 for 100 to 150 guests. The split below shows where that money usually goes for a wedding of about 120 guests. Percentages are shares of the whole budget; the dollar ranges are before tax and come from the same quotes as the wedding budget guide. Prices vary by date, season and venue, so treat them as a starting point rather than a promise.

A note on tax and service charges: in Ontario, HST is 13% and applies to almost every line above. Most venues add an 18% service charge or gratuity to food and bar as well, so a $150 per-person menu is closer to $200 once both are added. Ask each venue to quote with tax and service charge shown as separate lines, and ask whether the service charge itself is taxed, before you compare one room with another. To see what your own number buys, run it through the wedding budget splitter.

The planning checklist in brief

The order matters more than the dates. These are the milestones that hold the rest of the plan together; the full wedding checklist breaks them into tasks you can tick off as you go.

• 12 to 18 months: set the budget and a hard guest maximum, then book the venue, photographer and music. Popular Saturdays go first.
• 9 to 12 months: book the caterer if the venue allows outside catering, the officiant, florist and videographer. Order attire. For cultural ceremonies, confirm the officiant and the order of ceremonies with both families.
• 6 to 9 months: book entertainment, rentals, transportation and a hotel room block. Send save-the-dates.
• 3 to 6 months: menu tasting and bar package. Apply for an AGCO Special Occasion Permit if the venue is unlicensed. Collect every vendor's tech rider and certificate of insurance.
• 8 to 10 weeks: send invitations.
• 4 to 8 weeks: RSVP cut-off at three weeks, then the seating plan with dietary codes and the run of show. Pick up the marriage licence from a municipal office; it is valid for 90 days anywhere in Ontario.
• 10 to 14 days: final numbers to the venue and caterer.
• The week of: pay balances, prepare tip envelopes, pack the emergency kit and hand the run of show to your coordinator.

A sample wedding-day run of show

This is a typical Saturday with the ceremony and reception at the same venue. Shift the times to suit your ceremony and sunset, and keep the owner column: every cue needs one named person, not "someone". Build your own from the run of show template.

Cultural ceremonies in the GTA

The GTA hosts weddings from almost every tradition, and many combine two. Each family practises differently, so treat the notes below as questions to raise early, not rules. The planning problems are mostly logistical: how many days, how many guests, what the venue allows and what the kitchen can serve. The cultural weddings lesson goes further.

• Multi-day weddings. South Asian weddings often include several events across a week, such as a mehndi, a sangeet, the ceremony and a reception, each with its own guest count, caterer and dress code. Budget and book them as separate events, and expect the reception guest list to be the largest.
• Fire, procession and drums. Some ceremonies include a small sacred fire, and some arrivals include a procession with dhol drummers. Confirm in writing that the venue permits an open flame indoors or out, and where a procession may form and how loud it may be. Check municipal noise rules for outdoor sound.
• Tea ceremony. A Chinese tea ceremony is often held in the morning, at a family home or a private room, before the banquet. Give it its own block on the run of show and its own photographer time.
• Religious timing and catering. Jewish weddings are commonly not scheduled on the Sabbath or certain holidays, so Saturday events may start after sundown, which changes the timeline in summer. Kosher, halal and vegetarian menus may require a certified caterer or supervision; confirm the venue allows outside caterers before you sign.
• Long dinners and late nights. Italian, Caribbean and Persian receptions often run multiple courses and dance late. Look for venues with curfews past 1 a.m. and kitchens that can handle family-style or station service.
• Large wedding parties. Filipino ceremonies may include sponsors and a large entourage, and a Persian ceremony may centre on a sofreh that needs a table and setup time. Count them in the processional, the seating and the photo list.
• Guest counts. Cultural weddings of 250 to 500 guests are common in the GTA. Banquet halls with in-house catering and late curfews are often the lowest-friction choice.

Entertainment that fits the day

Music carries the evening; entertainment fills the gaps. The gaps that need it most are the cocktail hour, the photo hour when guests wait for the couple, and the lull after speeches. A close-up magician or a strings trio suits the cocktail hour, a short roaming or spectacle act covers the photos, and cultural performers such as a dhol group, a lion dance or a steel pan band can mark an entrance. Send every performer's tech rider to the venue, and check ceiling height before booking anything aerial. More ideas are on the wedding entertainment page.