Elopement and city hall wedding by car, in one paragraph
An elopement or city hall wedding in Toronto is a wedding for two (plus the two witnesses the law requires): the civil ceremony at Toronto City Hall's Wedding Chambers (the marriage licence from the Registry Services counter at City Hall or a civic centre, the chamber booked online for a fifteen-minute ceremony on a weekday or a Saturday, the Nathan Phillips Square photographs after — the Financial District guide's Queen and Bay), or at the 905's civic centres (Mississauga's, Vaughan's, Markham's, Brampton's, Oakville's — the cities pages), or an officiant at a location (the Bluffs, the Islands, the Music Garden, a rooftop, a Niagara vineyard, a Muskoka dock); the couple's car for the day — an S-Class, an SUV, a vintage car, or a stretch for two — on the hourly from the getting-ready to the hotel; the photographer's loop of the city after (the wedding day timeline article's ninety minutes for two); the dinner for two or for eight; the hotel night (the Toronto luxury hotels guide); and the arithmetic — a car for a day against a two-hundred-guest wedding's fleet.
The elopement is the wedding the black car trade likes best — one vehicle, one couple, one chauffeur who is the day's driver, witness (sometimes), photographer's assistant and bell captain, and a schedule that fits in a morning — and Toronto makes it easy: a marriage licence in an hour at a counter, a Wedding Chamber at City Hall bookable online for a weekday morning, an officiant who will meet a couple anywhere, and a city whose photographs need no venue. This guide covers the licence and the chamber, the City Hall day and the square, the 905's civic centres, the officiant-at-a-location elopement, the couple's car, the photographer's loop, the dinner, the hotel night, the witnesses, the destination elopement, the weekday advantage, the winter elopement, the budget arithmetic, and a worked elopement.
The licence and the chamber
The marriage licence: Ontario's, issued by any municipality — Toronto's Registry Services counter at City Hall (100 Queen Street West, the ground floor) or the civic centres (North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, York), two pieces of government ID each, the fee, an hour, valid for ninety days anywhere in the province; the City of Toronto's marriage services page has the fee and the hours. The Wedding Chambers: City Hall's two chambers on the third floor, booked online (the City's system) for a fifteen-minute civil ceremony performed by a City officiant on weekdays and, at a premium, Saturdays, with up to a chamber's capacity of guests (the small chamber seats a handful; the large one a few dozen), the fee, and the two witnesses the Marriage Act requires (the chauffeur has been one); a couple books the chamber weeks ahead for a Friday and months ahead for a Saturday in June. The prom article's and the wedding limo guide's vehicles are the same fleet at a different scale.
The City Hall day and the square
The car at the couple's home or the hotel at 9:30 (the Fairmont Royal York is two blocks away; the Four Seasons ten minutes), the drop at City Hall's Queen Street door (the Queen Street curb between Bay and York has a lay-by; the King Street corridor's rules are a block south and do not apply) at 10:40 for an 11:00 chamber, the chauffeur waiting on Bay Street or in the Nathan Phillips Square garage's lane, the ceremony's fifteen minutes, the photographs in the square (the arches, the reflecting pool, the Toronto sign, the Old City Hall clock tower across Bay — twenty minutes, and the TIFF guide's September festival crowds are on the square's stage some days), the Old City Hall's steps, and the car at the curb at 11:45 for the loop.
The 905's civic centres
Mississauga's Civic Centre (the Mississauga page's Square One — the civil ceremonies in the Council Chamber's foyer or the Great Hall, the Celebration Square's photographs), Vaughan's City Hall (the Vaughan page's Major Mackenzie — the civic square), Markham's Civic Centre (the Markham page's Highway 7 — the pond and the gardens), Brampton's City Hall (the Brampton page's Wellington Street — Garden Square), Oakville's Town Hall (the Oakville page's Trafalgar Road — and the lakeshore's photographs ten minutes away), Burlington's (the Burlington page's Brant Street and the waterfront), Ajax's, Pickering's, Whitby's, Oshawa's (the Durham cities pages) — each issues the licence and performs the civil ceremony on its own schedule, and a 905 couple's car is a home-to-civic-centre-to-lakeshore-to-dinner loop on the hourly.
The officiant-at-a-location elopement
A licensed officiant (a wedding officiant registered with the province — the Ontario officiant search lists them; the humanist and the interfaith officiants, the retired judges, the ministers who will) meets the couple anywhere the proposal planning article's locations list: the Bluffs' lookout at 8 a.m. before the crowds (the Scarborough guide), the Islands' boardwalk with the ferry timed (the Islands article), the Music Garden, the Brick Works, High Park's cherry trees in May, the Distillery's lanes, a rooftop bar's terrace (the Thompson's, the Broadview's), Casa Loma's gardens (by arrangement), a hotel suite (the Hazelton and Park Hyatt's), the ROM's steps at dawn — with the chauffeur's car at the closest curb, the officiant and the photographer in their own cars or in the couple's SUV's third row, the ceremony's fifteen minutes, and the loop after. The privacy and discretion article's standard covers a couple who have told no one.
The couple's car
An S-Class (the quiet, the photograph at the curb), an Escalade (the dress's room, the photographer in the third row), a vintage car (a 1960s Rolls-Royce or Bentley from the stretch limo page's partners — the photograph), or a stretch for two (the champagne under the stag and bachelorette article's licence — the stretch limo page's four-hour minimum covers the day); the wedding limo guide's decorations rule (the ribbon on the mirror, nothing on the paint), the in-car amenities article's water and tissues, the flowers on the seat, and the hourly from the getting-ready to the hotel's porte-cochère — five to seven hours. The chauffeur is, on request, the second witness (it has happened many times, and dispatch assigns a chauffeur who is glad to).
The photographer's loop
The wedding day timeline article's ninety-minute photograph loop for two: the square, the Old City Hall's steps, the Financial District's Bay Street canyon, the Distillery's lanes, the Harbourfront's promenade, the Yorkville side streets, the Bloor West and High Park gardens, the Bluffs, the Islands' skyline, Graffiti Alley, the Beaches' boardwalk — the photographer in the front seat or the third row, the chauffeur's curbs at each stop, the CN Tower loop article's Bremner lay-by for the tower shot, and the car as the prop in half of them.
The dinner
For two: the fine dining article's tasting rooms — Alo, Edulis, Canoe's window, Scaramouche's hill, the 360 — or the anniversary and date night article's three acts with the dinner as the second; for eight (the witnesses, the parents who were told): a private room at a Yorkville or a King West restaurant, the Fairmont Royal York's Library Bar for the toast; the chauffeur at the corner and the hourly holding.
The hotel night
The Toronto luxury hotels guide's porte-cochères — the Four Seasons, the Hazelton, the Ritz, the Shangri-La and the St. Regis, the Royal York two blocks from City Hall — with the bags in the trunk since the morning, the suite ready (the concierge told it is a wedding night; the hotels do things), and the chauffeur's last door; the Pearson page's honeymoon flight the next morning on the how early to book article's schedule.
The witnesses
Two, over eighteen, any relationship — the couple's friends, the parents, the photographer and the officiant's assistant, two strangers in the square (it happens), or the chauffeur; the out-of-town witness (the sister from Calgary) is the Pearson page's arrival the night before and the Billy Bishop page's from Montreal, and the visiting clients itinerary article's hospitality pattern covers a witness's weekend.
The destination elopement from Toronto
Niagara Falls: the Niagara day trip article's ninety minutes, the falls' Table Rock or a Niagara-on-the-Lake vineyard (the wine tour article's wineries perform ceremonies), the Ontario licence valid there, the officiant met at the location, the dinner in the old town, the hotel or the drive home. Prince Edward County: the County article's two and a half hours, the Sandbanks or a winery's barn, the multi-day hire article's weekend. Muskoka: the Muskoka article's dock at a lodge, the two hours, the weekend. Blue Mountain: the Blue Mountain article's summit or the village's chapel. Stratford: the Stratford Festival article's river and a play after. The chauffeur drives, waits and, in the County, is the witness.
The weekday advantage
City Hall's chambers are cheaper and emptier on a weekday; the rush hour article's 11 a.m. is the day's quietest hour; the restaurants have the corner table; the hotels have the suite; the photographer's rate is lower; and the hourly's weekday rate has no Friday-or-Saturday-evening minimum — a Tuesday elopement in October is the trade's easiest booking and the couple's best value. The how much does a black car cost article works the day.
The winter elopement
A January City Hall wedding — the square's rink in the photographs, the Christmas Market and holiday events article's lights in December, the coats over the dress for the outdoor shots and the SUV's warmth between them, the winter driving article's roads, the Distillery's covered lanes and the Casa Loma conservatory for the indoor loop, the Fairmont Royal York's lobby, and a dinner by a fire; the chambers are empty in January and the hotels are at their lowest.
The budget arithmetic
A two-hundred-guest wedding's transport is a stretch, a Sprinter for the party, two coaches for the guests in waves, the parents' sedans and the wedding guest shuttles article's coordinator; an elopement's is one car for six hours on the hourly — a tenth of the wedding's transport and a fiftieth of the wedding — and the engine quotes it in a minute; a couple who elope and throw the party later (the engagement party and shower article's hall, the corporate holiday party article's logistics) book the party's transport then.
A worked elopement
A Cabbagetown couple, a Tuesday in October, the 11:00 chamber at City Hall. Booked two weeks ahead: an Escalade on the hourly, 9:30 to 4:30, the photographer in the third row, the sister from Calgary (a witness) landed Monday night on the Pearson page's run, the second witness the couple's neighbour. 9:30: the Escalade at the Cabbagetown home — the dress, the suit, the flowers on the seat, the bags in the cargo for the Royal York. 10:35: City Hall's Queen Street lay-by; the chauffeur to the Bay Street curb. 11:00–11:15: the chamber. 11:20–11:45: the square — the arches, the pool, the sign, the Old City Hall's steps. 11:50–1:30: the loop — Bay Street's canyon, the Distillery's lanes, the Music Garden, Graffiti Alley, the Bremner lay-by for the tower shot — the photographer's fourteen stops. 1:45: a King West lunch for four (the sister, the neighbour). 3:30: the Beaches' boardwalk for the last light. 4:30: the Royal York's York Street door, the bags to the suite, the chauffeur's "congratulations." Wednesday 6 a.m.: the honeymoon's Terminal 1 run. Seven hours, one vehicle, two witnesses, no seating chart.
Elopement quick reference
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| The licence | Any Ontario municipality; Toronto's Registry Services at City Hall or the civic centres; two IDs each; an hour; valid 90 days province-wide |
| The chamber | City Hall's Wedding Chambers, 3rd floor; booked online; 15 minutes; a City officiant; weekdays and (premium) Saturdays; 2 witnesses |
| The 905 | Mississauga, Vaughan, Markham, Brampton, Oakville, Burlington and the Durham civic centres — licence and ceremony on their own schedule |
| A location | A licensed officiant anywhere — the Bluffs, the Islands, the Music Garden, a rooftop, a suite, a vineyard, a dock |
| The car | S-Class, Escalade, a vintage car, or a stretch for two; the hourly from the getting-ready to the porte-cochère (5–7 h); the chauffeur as witness on request |
| The loop | 90 minutes for two — the square, Bay Street, the Distillery, the Harbourfront, Yorkville, the Bluffs, Graffiti Alley, the tower |
| The dinner / the night | A tasting room for two or a private room for eight; a luxury hotel's suite with the bags in the trunk since morning |
| Destination | Niagara, the County, Muskoka, Blue Mountain, Stratford — the day trip or the multi-day hire |
| The weekday | Cheaper chambers, empty roads at 11, the corner table, no evening minimum — a Tuesday in October |
| The arithmetic | One car for six hours against a wedding's fleet — a tenth of the transport, a fiftieth of the wedding |
Booking an elopement
The hourly chauffeur page books the day; the engine takes the chamber's time and the loop's stops in the notes; the Pearson page the witness's arrival and the honeymoon's departure; the stretch limo page the vintage car. Book a City Hall Friday three weeks ahead and a Tuesday whenever.
