Elopement
How to Elope in Toronto: Licence, Officiant, Where, and Cost
How to elope in Toronto, step by step: the $180 licence, finding an officiant, every place you can legally marry, what it costs, and real Toronto elopements.
Eloping in Toronto is simpler than most couples expect. A licence, an officiant, two witnesses, and a room or a patch of grass. That is the whole legal list.
I have photographed it in a lot of forms. Anushka and Anthony at the City Hall Wedding Chamber on a Tuesday. Abdullah and Nadia on the lawn of the Toronto Music Garden with the CN Tower behind them. Nidhi and Derek in the Greek Theatre at Guild Park with her parents kissing her cheeks. Harsh and Payal between the Toronto Islands, the downtown streets and a restaurant booth. Same legal steps, completely different days.
This is the guide I give couples who ask me how to do it. If you already know how and want a photographer, my Toronto elopement photographer page has the packages.
Eloping in Toronto at a glance
Marriage licence: $180 from the City of Toronto, no HST. Apply within 90 days of the wedding.
Officiant: Included at the downtown City Hall chamber and at Old City Hall. Everywhere else, you arrange your own.
Witnesses: Two, aged 18 or older.
Where: A City wedding chamber, Old City Hall, a City park with a booking, a backyard, or a restaurant.
Legal minimum cost: About $547 at the downtown City Hall chamber: the $180 licence plus $325 plus HST, officiant included.
Photography: My Civil Ceremony package is $501.25 for up to 2 hours. The Elopement is $901.25 for up to 4 hours.
Step 1: Choose where you will marry
This decides everything else, including whether you need your own officiant.
| Where | Fee | Officiant | Guests | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto City Hall Wedding Chamber, 100 Queen St W | $325 plus HST | Included | About 22 | Privately run, Monday to Saturday |
| Old City Hall, 60 Queen St W | $337.95 incl. HST, 30 min | City staff | Not published | Select Thursdays, book at marriage@toronto.ca |
| City civic centre chambers (North York, Scarborough, York) | $136.85 incl. HST, 30 min | Bring your own | 22 to 40 | Open every day, book on toronto.ca |
| A City park, like Toronto Island Park or Guild Park | From $260.07 per hour | Bring your own | Up to 30 to 100 | Roughly May 15 to September 30 |
| A backyard or a restaurant | None from the City | Bring your own | Your call | No City booking needed |
The full comparison of the city chambers, with addresses and hours, is in my Toronto City Hall wedding guide. Old City Hall has its own guide. For an island ceremony, read my Toronto Islands wedding guide.
Step 2: Get your marriage licence
The licence comes from the City of Toronto and costs $180. Fill in the online application, then book an in person appointment at City Hall or the North York Civic Centre to have it certified and pay by debit or credit card.
Each of you brings two pieces of original, unexpired government ID showing your legal name and date of birth. Health cards and SIN cards do not count. If either of you was married before, bring official proof of divorce. You apply within 90 days of the wedding, so do not get it too early. The details are on the City’s marriage licence page.
Step 3: Arrange the officiant
At the downtown City Hall chamber, the officiant comes with the booking. At Old City Hall, City staff perform the ceremony. Everywhere else, the civic centre chambers, a park, a backyard or a restaurant, you arrange an officiant who is authorized to perform marriages in Ontario and pay them directly.
This is the real cost difference between the options. The civic centre chambers look cheaper at $136.85, but the room comes without anyone to marry you.
Step 4: Bring two witnesses
Ontario needs two witnesses aged 18 or older to sign the register. A sibling and a best friend is the classic pair. The downtown chamber does not provide witnesses, so line yours up early.
Step 5: Book the ceremony and your photographer
Book the ceremony first. Weekday late mornings at City Hall and summer weekends in the parks are the first to go. Then book the rest of the day around it.
I keep my elopement packages simple. The Civil Ceremony is $501.25 for up to 2 hours: the ceremony and a portrait walk nearby. The Elopement is $901.25 for up to 4 hours, for couples who want the dinner or a second location included. Both are on my elopement page.
What to do after the ceremony
This is the part that makes an elopement feel like a wedding.
A portrait walk. From City Hall, Nathan Phillips Square, Old City Hall and Osgoode Hall are all within a ten minute walk, and none of them need a permit for a small session. Sonia and Achyut, and Jashan and Dhillon, both did this exact loop after their City Hall ceremonies.
A second location. Harsh and Payal split their day between the Toronto Islands and downtown, where a streetcar slid through the background of their portraits.
A long lunch or dinner. Some of my favourite elopement frames are in a restaurant booth after the vows, when everyone finally relaxes.
Before you plan a location, check the permit rule in my Toronto photo permits table. Most are free for a couple and a camera. A few, like Casa Loma, are not.
Real elopements I have photographed
- Anushka + Anthony: the City Hall Wedding Chamber, then Nathan Phillips Square.
- Sonia + Achyut: City Hall, then Old City Hall and Osgoode Hall.
- Jashan + Dhillon: City Hall and Osgoode Hall.
- Abdullah + Nadia: the Toronto Music Garden on the Harbourfront.
- Harsh + Payal: the Toronto Islands, downtown, and lunch after.
- Nidhi + Derek: the Greek Theatre at Guild Park and Gardens.
- Alex + Aziz: TD Centre and Commerce Court.
- Mitali + Purv: a quiet ceremony in Kawartha.
Is eloping right for you?
Eloping suits couples who want to be married, not to host. If the legal ceremony and two or three people you love are the whole point, Toronto makes it easy and affordable. Plenty of couples elope now and throw a bigger party later. Eloping does not close that door.
If you are planning a small wedding with a reception instead, my intimate wedding page is the better place to start.