"Green" wedding locations in Toronto

Most 'wild' locations in Toronto are only suitable for small, informal weddings. For big weddings (over 20 people) you must book the large sites (Botanical Garden, Kortwright@Guelph, Edwards, etc.) as mentioned in the BlogTo article mentioned below.) or places like the Algonquin Island clubhouse/beach, or choose a destination/event location with a garden, such as the Donalda Club, McClean House, various Country Clubs, Sunnyside, the Old Mill, Black Creek Village, etc.

We wrote about smaller green locations HERE, including
parks, the Toronto Islands (wards and hanlans by preference), Allan Gardens, Kew Gardens, the Music Garden (now limited to 20 people), Cherry Beach, the spit, hidden bits of High Park & the Ravines, Ashbridges, Humber, bits of Taylor Creek, the Rouge, and of course the Brick Works - mostly big events, but investigate!

Wedding Chairs in Forests - not!

Well, OK, for your granny.  But everyone else can stand. This is from a post about Green Spaces in Toronto, here. But in general, whether it's in national parks, heritage locations, waterfronts, or gardens, an outdoor green ceremony should be simple, short, and respectful of the location.  Which means NO CHAIRS, in Central Park, in Algonquin Park, in the wilderness.

The worms will thank you, too, and the leafcutters.

Checklist for a green wedding from the Toronto Botanical Garden

I found this nice green wedding article on the frugalbride.com. It was written by Kristin Campbell at the Toronto Botanical Garden. Botanical Gardens are great location for weddings & receptions, if they have the facilities. It would be an interesting task to see if weddings at Botanical Gardens, or City or National Parks are actually -- GREEN! Take this list to YOUR Botanical Garden and see what they say...

Here are a few criteria: Facility on public transit. Bike racks! Green roofs, green cleaning products, WATERLESS URINALS (!), green caterers, local sourcing, no disposable items, etc.

Here's another post with even more ideas

Green Bride in Toronto

Here is a beautiful Toronto bride on her way to her wedding on Algonquin Island for a lovely outdoor wedding. My daughter alerted me to this week's article in the Toronto Globe and Mail on green and diy weddings, as she knew the lovely bride. Sarah mentioned in the paper's blog that they forgot to credit her photographer: Derek Wuenschirs, so please go look at his site!

There are some good links in the article, including TheWeddingCo.com, a Toronto-based group who are also a sponsor of the Martha Stewart PopUP Wedding Chapel in Brooklyn - where we're going to marry a few lucky couples at the end of June. The WeddingCo people are sponsoring a global DIY wedding project called The Crane Chandelier Project they are collecting 5000 origami cranes from engaged couples, and donating $.50 per crane to cancer research. More info soon.

I'll also add Winnipeg's BotanicalPaperworksto our paper suppliers, and some of the other links on this Globe article to our various categories.

Green wedding locations: National Parks

Here is a link to the original post about GREEN WEDDING LOCATIONS, including a discussion of whether to use parks and wildlife areas.

The big national parks now charge a fee for weddings, and for wedding photography. There is no national list of which parks charge. You have to check with the individual parks, and see what their fee rate is and their regulations, but in general the fees are modest, and the regulations seem reasonable, mostly about $50.

[NOTE: Make sure you're on the real park website, which should be a nps.gov address. Some commercial websites copy the NPS sites, which is how I came upon "Honeymoon Cabins in the Park", and found these little mountain abodes in the Great Smokies: "Love Shack", "Me Tarzan You Jane" they also offered "Burnin'Love", featuring a fireman theme and a red and black outdoor jacuzzi... what's not to like? (grin) ]

Here are some of the parks which offer/charge wedding permits:

Acadia
Brice Canyon
Carlsbad Caverns(not over 20 people)
Channel Islands(too delicate?)
Delaware Water Gap(may book historic chapels)
Devil's Tower(Close Encounters!)
Grand Teton (may book chapels)
Great Falls (Potomac)
Great Sand Dunes
Hawaii Volcanos (unbelievable!)
Mount Rainier
Natural Bridges
Great Smoky Mountains
Pictured Rocks
Yellowstone
Yosemite

Some National Historic Sites also allow weddings - from Harpers Ferry, to Hyde Park, to Carl Sandburg's home. These permits are more expensive, but still much lower than commercial sites. They usually only include access to the garden or outdoor sites, but the fees are in the $300 range, which is less than the Brooklyn Botanical Garden.

Canadian Provincial Parks:
British Columbia: "You do not require a Park Use Permit to hold a wedding ceremony within a provincial park HOWEVER you do need permission from our Regional Office. Please contact our Victoria office at 1-866-433-7272 ext. 3 so that we can direct you to the appropriate Regional Office for the specific park you are interested in"

Park locations in Ontario Ontario parks need to be contacted individually. Some have event spaces or lodges for rental use, some will let you use the park space.
Also consider private gardens and conservatories, like the Arboretum at the University Of Guelph.

Toronto: The Parks Department will issue the COUPLE (not the minister) a permit for a ceremony OR photography. Usually about $90 per hour for ceremony, $45 for photography. My favourite place? Edwards Gardens Greenhouse.