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Venue with or without catering??

jessicatong86jessicatong86 member
First Comment
in Canada-Ontario
Hi everyone! 

My fiance and I are currently looking for a wedding venue in and around the GTA.  While I can't say we are particularly picky, we just wanted something a bit more unique than your typical banquet hall.  So far we've sort of favoured places that have "all inclusive pricing" ie. venue/menu/ all inclusive bar but I am curious whether going for a venue and getting it catered separately would be more or less expensive.  Personally I thought steam whistle brewery looked like a super fun space but it really came with nothing (no tables, chairs, glasses, cutlery, plates).  It just seems like a lot of extra fussing which sadly neither of us have the time or energy for. Other places like 2nd floor events come with a bar/ tables/ chairs/ cutlery etc but needs to be externally catered for food and charge a 15% landmark fee.  It sounds like it would cost more per head but has anyone ever experienced it where it has actually saved them money? Just getting overwhelmed at how much our smallish wedding (125 people) is going to cost!!! If anyone has a suggestion on any particular venues we'd really appreciated it! like I said, we are very open to any ideas. Please help!! Thanks in advance! :D 

Jess & Matt
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Re: Venue with or without catering??

  • amorosojamorosoj member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    Hi Jess!

    We also thought Steam Whistle would be a great venue and I was really set on somewhere you can bring your own booze, food etc. We experienced sticker shock with a lot of them!! It truthfully did start to feel like an all inclusive venue may be the way to go....but we did start to find some neat venues without landmark fees/and with equipment etc. Some of these include St. Lawrence Market Kitchen and City of Toronto venues: St. Lawrence Hall (King and Jarvis), Todmorden Mills (on Pottery Road) and Assembly Hall (Kipling and Lakeshore) where we eventually booked. For caterers I also experienced sticker shock when looking at some of the places with preferred caterers, but with a bit of hunting I found some great caterers which were a bit more reasonable. 

    If you want to go with an all inclusive venue, there are some cool ones out there...one that might work for you is Granite Brewery (capacity of 120). It was too small for our wedding, but it seems like  a great deal. http://www.granitebrewery.ca/privateevents/weddings/

    Good luck!! 
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  • jessicatong86jessicatong86 member
    First Comment
    Thanks for responding and for great advice!! 
    Anyone else have a similar experience? 
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  • heatheremandersonheatheremanderson member
    Name Dropper First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment
    We wanted an all inclusive venue (somewhere to do the ceremony/reception and  pictures).
    We looked at quite a few places (Old Mill Inn, Kortright Center, Fantasy Farms) and chose Kortright in the end.
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  • jessicatong86jessicatong86 member
    First Comment
    Yes we looked at Kortright too! Really beautiful grounds! We ended up choosing The Doctor's House not too far away :)
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  • yellowdaisies84yellowdaisies84 member
    Name Dropper First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment
    Have you considered having a winery wedding in the Niagara region? Highly recommended based on the experience of our small wedding and others we've attended! Friends of ours went to a wedding at Steam Whistle and RAVED about how much they loved it, just as a side note.
    "It's always better when we're together." -Jack Johnson
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  • KahlylaKahlyla member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    I realize this is an older thread, but we were married at Enoch Turner Schoolhouse. They provided the chairs, everything else can be handled by an outside caterer. The space was unique and charming (Toronto's first free school!) and I would say it kept our costs down in the long run, in part because we were able to self-cater all our own beverages, with no corkage fee. There is a gorgeous park and garden nearby as well, and we did most of our pictures there beforehand and just walked over. Good luck!
    image
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  • teejaxteejax member
    First Comment First Anniversary
    You've probably decided on a venue by now but I thought I would chime in for other brides with a similar question. I just had my wedding last month and I'm now trying to share as much of my experience as possible while it's still fresh in my head. My wedding was at Credit Valley Golf in Mississauga. I consider this a unique venue because of the breath taking valleys you overlook as you do your ceremony. The pictures of this place does not do it justice, you have to see it in person. The other benefits of CVG are: you get an all inclusive pricing which includes your linens, moneybox, cake knives, chair covers etc, it's an exclusive venue so you dont have to worry about other weddings, they have a high standard of service (they were organized, food was hot and tasty, drinks were good, and the servers were pleasant). Most of my guests gave raving reviews on the venue itself and the food. We had a longer than usual cocktail hour but the guests didn't mind and it's because of the views. It also helped that we had a hot sunny day for their outdoor patio. My favorite part of this venue is driving with my hubby in our own golf cart down into the valleys for our pictures. We were able to spend some alone time before the reception. The only drawback to this venue is that you might find it on the expensive side but it is worth every penny.
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