Today I’m excited to share Maria and Jacob’s intimate Cluny Bistro wedding! Cluny Bistro is a stylish restaurant in the heart of the Distillery district featuring modern French cuisine. The event space at the restaurant is located at the back, so even though you cannot buyout the whole restaurant, your wedding is still very private. You also have access to the patio in the warmer months. It is a great space for an intimate wedding, and the food is delicious especially if you like French food. A bonus point is that you also get a permit to take photos in the Distillery for booking your wedding here. Although all restaurants in the district have that benefit.
Maria and Jacob started their day with getting ready at the Broadview Hotel. Then we did some photos at Eastbound Brewing Co, which is where they went for their first date! Then we did some portraits around the Distillery where their pup Jerome joined us for a bit. And then it was on to the wedding ceremony and reception.
It was an intimate evening full of good food, their nearest and dearest, and lots of laughter and happy tears. Here is Maria and Jacob’s wedding story.
I’m excited to finally share Katie and Gordon’s eclectic and heartwarming Granite Brewery wedding today! From the moment Katie told me they wanted to go standup paddle boarding for their engagement photos, I knew their wedding was going to be very unique! And unique it was!
The moment I saw Katie’s wedding dress, I was blown away. I’ve never seen such a unique wedding dress before, mostly because it wasn’t white at all. Katie didn’t want to look like a “bride” on her wedding day, she just wanted to look like herself. Katie was certain about the fabric she wanted to use from the beginning – a beautiful sheer organza with floral print. Florals was definitely the theme. Katie’s dress designer Breeyn then hand sewed embellishments over the patterns on the back of the gown to create more vibrancy and added little insects. Then there was this incredible veil made by her friend and designer David, it was inspired by Cinderella’s veil (Katie & Gordon got engaged at Disney)! Katie completed her look with real dried flowers painted onto her nails, and a beautiful bouquet inspired by 1920’s wedding bouquets.
Then there is the wedding itself. The rain forced us to have the ceremony under the awning instead of in the garden but that didn’t dampen the joy of the occassion. Katie is the only bride I’ve photographed who walked down the aisle to the theme song of Star Wars. Gordon, and everyone were very pleasantly surprised! Wayde, their officiant, had one of the most touching ceremonies I’ve witnessed. And the evening festivities included one of the funniest Lip Sync Battles I’ve ever seen. So all in all, the day was a lot of fun.
Thank you so much for inviting me to the Granite Brewery to share in and document your special day Katie & Gordon! It was such a pleasure to be a part of it. Here’s the story of their wedding day.
As a couple looking to get married in Toronto, there are lots of options ranging from beautiful grand manors to vineyards in Niagara to rustic farms. But if you are looking to have a wedding in the urban setting of the city, then Toronto restaurant wedding venues are the perfect option!
You might think that buying out a restaurant for a wedding would be very expensive (I used to think that). But in reality, it’s often a lot more economical compared to having your wedding in a more traditional type venue. Not to mention, the restaurant would already be decorated and often you don’t need to do that much more to dress it up. Your fees already include the space, food, and furniture. And the best part? If you are a food lover, having your wedding at a restaurant with food you love can make a big difference compared to food typically served at a more traditional banquet hall.
I always thought that your guests are most likely not going to remember what kind of centre pieces were at your wedding, but they’ll remember things like if the food was good and how the atmosphere of the venue felt. As a photographer, I often remember the food (the really good ones as well as the really bad ones). If you value the food and the experience and less about having a show, then having your wedding at a restaurant could be a very interesting option.
Below are some of my favourite restaurant wedding venues in Toronto:
Located in the historic Distillery District, Archeo is one of a few venues in the area. It features high ceilings, exposed brick walls and wooden beams. You can use the courtyard for your ceremony during warmer months, or if you just need a reception space, the indoor restaurant area is perfect. It’s an intimate and warm atmosphere.
See more of Peter & Jennifer’s intimate wedding at Archeo here.
Located in historic Cabbagetown, F’Amelia serves up hearty Italian fare. The layout of the restaurant is so fun with big windows and a veranda-style dining area at the front as well. The decor is also charming. The only thing that I think they can perhaps improve on, is to keep the patio area used for ceremonies more clutter-free.
More photos of Camille & Jeff’s wedding at F’Amelia here.
3. The Harbord Room
I’m including The Harbord Room here even though it is now closed :( Just to give you an idea of what is possible around the city. The Harbord Room was the perfect little space for a really intimate wedding of 30 or less. The courtyard was perfect in the warmer months and feels more like an intimate family gathering than a wedding.
Love French food? Love French Bistro style? Le Select is a great space for intimate weddings with two private dining areas and a cute courtyard that can be used for your ceremony.
You can see more of Lianne & Tristan’s Le Select Bistro wedding here.
5. Drake Hotel Café
The Drake has several options for weddings. The Café is a great space for 30 seated or 45+ cocktail style reception. Plus you can stay at the Drake hotel for getting ready (see photo below). As a photographer, the only thing I didn’t like was that having your ceremony on the Café patio might mean that the sidewalk ends up being your background (which can be very distracting in the resulting photos). But you should be able to use the café as the background instead.
You can see more photos of Chrissy & Gareth’s wedding at the Drake Café here.
I’ve shot a couple of weddings at Mildred’s now. The food here is really good! Located in Liberty Village, the space is very modern and features an open kitchen.
You can see more photos of Denis & Kim’s wedding at Mildred’s here.
Of all the O&B restaurants, my favourite for a wedding is Auberge du Pommier. Though it’s located in a bit of a random location (right by York Mills station), the food is excellent and you can use the courtyard for your ceremony. The space is very charming and has lots of natural light.
You can see more photos of Helen & Adam’s wedding at Auberge here.
And just for fun, here’s one a bit further away, but in the beautiful setting of Prince Edward County!
A historic property, it also features guest rooms that you can stay in to get ready. The ceremony space outdoors is lovely and the food here is delicious!
As far as choosing a venue for intimate weddings in Toronto, there are definitely lots of options. I’ve never photographed one at F’Amelia before until Camille and Jeff’s intimate and heartfelt wedding there in September. It’s a lovely restaurant that serves delicious Italian food in the Cabbagetown neighbourhood of Toronto. For their wedding portraits, we just walked around the neighbourhood and I absolutely love the feel of the area, so charming!
Camille and Jeff met while going to university at McMaster. To bring everything full circle, when Jeff proposed, he brought Camille back to the place where it all started. Life presented them with an opportunity to bond intensely fairly early on in their relationship when they lived for a few months in Tanzania together and then backpacked through east Africa. To spend so much time together 24/7 in a new and very different environment must have been challenging but also very enriching. I think this experience definitely paved the way for them to go on adventures together. I think no matter how long you’ve been together, it’s always important to experience new things together.
My favourite thing from their wedding was their personal vows during the ceremony when Jeff said that Camille is still the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen. And the way they looked each other while the other said his/her vows was really sweet.
Thank you so much Camille & Jeff for having me photograph your wedding day and document your story! I hope these photos will forever serve as reminders of how much you love each other & love being together, and the love you are surrounded in by your friends & family. xo
Thanks Terry for second shooting this one with me!
