Canada-Ontario

Rustic Venue

Hey all,

My fiancé and I are planning our wedding for mid September, 2015 and are looking for a beautiful rustic venue - preferably post and beam style, but somewhere close to a hotel.  We are located in Toronto but most of our family is in South Western Ontario.  I would prefer a venue where I can bring in my own vendors but if the venue has delicious food as well as a beautiful setting, that is always a plus!
Please let me know.

Thank you!
Caitlynn

Re: Rustic Venue

  • Hi Caitlynn,

    Congratulations! If you are considering some Toronto venues, I do have a few suggestions:

    1. Fantasy Farm http://www.fantasyfarm.ca/ It doesn't quite have the post and beam style, but it is a beautful venue and it doesn't feel like it's in the GTA at all. They have their own in house catering. I'm not sure about the proximity to hotels.
    2. Enoch Turner Schoolhouse http://www.heritagetrust.on.ca/Conservation/Buildings/Enoch-Turner-Schoolhouse-(Toronto).aspx Since it is a heritage building they have a list of approved caterers. In that sense, it may make your planning easier. Again, I'm not sure of the proximity to hotels. Definitively not post and beam, but absolutely full of rustic charm
    3. Uncle Tom's Cabin http://www.heritagetrust.on.ca/Conservation/Buildings/Uncle-Tom-s-Cabin-Historic-Site-(Dresden).aspx This venue is in Dresden and is aslo a hertiage building. For me, this is what I envision when you say rustic with post and beams. It may be easier for your guests to get to. You are limited to their approved caterers, and I don't know about hotels.
    4. Black Creek Pioneer Village http://www.blackcreek.ca/v2/private-functions/weddings/ This was my first choice venue, but they were booked over 18 months in advance and DH and I did not want to change our date. It is beautiful and history, so there is great photo opportunities. Again, you can only use their caterer. The downside is there really aren't hotels in the area.
    5. Old Mill http://www.oldmilltoronto.com/weddings-social-event-venue/ This is the venue dear and I booked. We loved it. It doesn't have post and beams, but it is 100 years old and full of character and charm. We also appreciated the fact that we could do everything there as they have a chapel for the ceremony, a beautiful backdrop for photos, and the reception room. Similar to Fantasy Farms, they only allow for their own in house catering, but you may bring in cake. They also run an inn on site, so your guests could stay there. The rooms are pretty pricy though, so DH and I block reserved rooms at the Holiday Inn on (Bloor and St. George) as both locations are easily accessible by subway.

    I think you will find most venues to not allow outside catering, as the reception meal is how they make most of their money. That doesn't mean that food will be subpar though!

    Good luck and happy planning!

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  • Congrats on your engagement!

    I also looked into a couple of the venues that @ahyatt87 mentioned, and I might be able to offer a couple of other ideas.

    1 - Black Creek Pioneer Village: I thought that this would have been a really cool venue, however I didn't like that in some cases you and your guests may have to walk a bit of a ways between locations on site (which might happen anyways at another venue, but good to keep in mind). In addition, depending on when you want to have your wedding there may be regular visitors there as well, which I wasn't crazy about. I believe they do have catering in house.

    2 - Old Mill: We looked at this venue, but it just wasn't right for us. They generally have multiple weddings a day, so it could be a bit hectic. That said, the fact that they can do multiple events may very well mean that they can book you for September 2015. Personally, I also feel that some of the function rooms need a facelift. It is really conveniently located; it's reasonable close to a couple of highways and very close to the subway. My office has had some meetings there and apparently the food is good.

    Other suggestions that I can offer:

    1 - King Valley Golf Club: This is where my fiance and I booked. It's not as rustic as you may be looking for, but it's very bright and airy and it's north of Toronto and has beautiful views of the golf course. I don't know quite how to describe it, but it feels sort of vintage without feeling rundown? If that makes sense? There are no good pictures on their website, but lots of images on google if you're interested. Their catering is apparently amazing, our photographer was really excited that our wedding is there, which is a great sign in my book!

    2 - Markham Museum: I considered this location but didn't visit it as we fell in love with King Valley. It looks somewhat rustic and a bit old-school. Not right in Toronto, but might be an option.

    You could also search for historic estates in Toronto (like Sunnybrook Estates, which we also looked at; the buildings aren't really rustic but the location is very green and doesn't feel at all like Toronto); a lot of estates have been converted into event spaces and there may be some just outside of the city that have the rustic feel you're looking for.

    Good luck, and happy planning!

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  • You may want to google Estate Venues they have 2 venues, one is very rustic with really old outbuildings
  • I vote the Markham Museum-allows outside catering and with the right decor, the rustic feeling can be balanced with modern!
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