Wedding Planning: OUR VENUE!!!

Hey Everyone! I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. It's a rainy Sunday here in Toronto and I'm taking full advantage by hibernating inside :) I am finally able to announce the venue for our wedding since we finally signed the contract and are all set to go! We are both super excited since we'll be getting married next winter in front of a fireplace at .... HART HOUSE (at the the University of Toronto)!!!

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As I mentioned earlier, the fiance and I met when we were both students at UofT. We spent a lot of time together on campus and both have many memories of the times we spent at Hart House (both together and separately). When we visited the venue we knew almost immediately that it would be where we would get married. It was pretty funny because I had basically decided that Balzac's would be perfect and didn't want to go for our tour of Hart House. That all changed when I realized that the room we would get married in had two fireplaces and is basically perfect for a winter/xmas wedding. I love xmas and think that there is something really romantic and magical about winter. I can't wait to be photographed in front of the gothic style-buildings on the UofT campus. I'm picturing a candlelight dinner and hot chocolate! I'll definitely be doing a post soon about my inspiration and vision for the wedding.

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Alright, let's talk business ... what really sold us on this venue is that the catering is all done in house. The other venues we considered would require us to get a catering company and we really value the convenience of not having to do all that work. Also, we get a wedding planner to help us plan our day. Our planner, Devon, has an amazing personality and I trust that she'll make sure everything runs smoothly. She'll also be the one helping me set up the decor and so far her ideas are great! We liked Balzac's but it really was too small for us. With the 40 or so guests we're hoping to have we would have to forgo a sit down diner and do only cocktails. Not happening! Another plus of going with Hart House is that we get access to a whole wing of the building, which includes two rooms right across from one another. Our guests will be able to move from room to room and hit the dance floor or lounge on a couch if they feel like it. I was originally concerned about seeing other brides on my big day but for now we are the only party booked on our wedding day and it's likely it'll stay that way since we are getting married super close to Christmas. 

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Don't worry, we won't be using these ugly floppy chairs lol!
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We went back and forth on our decision for a few weeks but this had nothing to do with the venue and was more about finances and budget than anything else. We are both happy with our decision and feel like a huge weight has been lifted now that we have a venue and a photographer! Not bad given the wedding is still over a year away :) I am excited to move forward with the planning and it all feels so much more real now that we have a date!