Toronto City Hall Wedding Guide: Ceremony, Planning, Photos & What to Expect

Planning a Toronto City Hall wedding? They’re one of my favourite ways to get married in the city.

They can be simple without feeling insignificant, intimate without feeling rushed, and they give you the freedom to build the rest of the day around exactly what matters to you. For some couples, that means a ceremony followed by portraits and dinner with family. For others, it includes getting ready at a downtown hotel, a first look, drinks, cake, wandering through the city together, or a full afternoon of celebrating.

I’ve photographed Toronto City Hall weddings for more than a decade, and one thing I’ve learned is that there really isn’t one correct way to plan one.

If you’re considering getting married at Toronto City Hall, here’s what you should know before you start putting the day together.

Which Toronto City Hall Wedding Location Is Right for You?

When couples say they’re getting married at “City Hall” in Toronto, they can actually be talking about a few very different places. I’ve photographed civil weddings at Toronto City Hall at Nathan Phillips Square, Old City Hall, and North York Civic Centre, and each one has its own look, atmosphere and practical advantages.

There are other City of Toronto wedding chambers as well, but these are the three I can speak to from firsthand experience. I don’t think there is one “best” option. It comes down to the experience you want, what makes sense for you and your guests, and how you want your wedding photographs to feel.

Toronto City Hall at Nathan Phillips Square

If you picture a classic Toronto City Hall wedding, this is probably the location you’re imagining.

Toronto City Hall sits right in the middle of downtown at 100 Queen Street West, overlooking Nathan Phillips Square. The Wedding Chambers are on the third floor of the East Tower. Because you’re already downtown, it’s incredibly easy to build more of a wedding day around a relatively short civil ceremony.

The building itself is one of Toronto’s most recognizable landmarks. Finnish architect Viljo Revell designed it as a dramatic break from traditional civic architecture. When it opened in 1965, its curved concrete towers, circular council chamber and sculptural modernist design looked completely different from the City Hall it replaced.

From a photography perspective, that’s one of the things I love most about it. It gives us strong architecture, concrete, symmetry, open space and unmistakably Toronto backgrounds without the building feeling overly traditional. And because you’re already in the centre of downtown, we aren’t limited to photographing everything in one spot.

The ceremony chamber itself is lovely and feels appropriate for an intimate wedding without feeling like you’re simply signing paperwork in an office. Afterward, we can photograph family, move directly into portraits, walk through downtown or continue elsewhere for drinks, dinner or whatever you’ve planned next.

There’s also underground parking at Nathan Phillips Square, which makes it relatively straightforward for couples and guests who are driving.

I would choose Toronto City Hall if: you want the most recognizable downtown Toronto experience, like modern architecture, want lots of variety nearby, or want to build an afternoon around your ceremony without spending a lot of time travelling between locations.

Old City Hall

For something completely different, Old City Hall feels exactly like its name suggests: historic, grand and very Toronto.

Architect E.J. Lennox designed Old City Hall, which was built between 1889 and 1899. Its heavy stone, arches, carvings and iconic clock tower give it a completely different feeling from the modern City Hall across the street. The City currently makes Old City Hall available for civil wedding ceremonies subject to availability.

The ceremony I photographed there felt much more historic than the wedding chamber across the street at the current City Hall.

The room itself was large, which I loved as a photographer. I had space to move and photograph the ceremony from several vantage points rather than being confined to one small area. That gave me a lot of flexibility to capture not only the couple but reactions from family and the architecture of the room itself.

The biggest thing I would be prepared for here is time.

One thing to know about Old City Hall is that the timing is quite structured. You’re generally asked to arrive no more than 15 minutes before your ceremony, and there isn’t really an opportunity to use that time for portraits inside. Your ceremony booking is 30 minutes, followed by approximately 30 minutes afterward for photographs.

Because Old City Hall is such a popular wedding location, that post-ceremony photography time is fairly controlled so multiple couples and their photographers aren’t all trying to use the same spaces at once. I would plan on making the most of that window rather than expecting unlimited time inside, and then continue portraits outdoors and around the surrounding downtown area afterward.

I would choose Old City Hall if: historic architecture is a major part of what you love, you want your ceremony to have a more formal or old-Toronto feeling, or the character of the building itself matters to you.

North York Civic Centre

North York Civic Centre is a completely different experience again – quieter, more modern and decidedly more uptown.

It’s one of the City of Toronto’s three municipal wedding chambers, alongside Scarborough and York Civic Centres. Unlike the privately operated Wedding Chambers inside downtown Toronto City Hall, the City rents the North York chamber itself in 30-minute blocks and couples arrange their own authorized officiant.

The ceremony chamber is relatively simple and modern, which can be really nice if you don’t want the ceremony space itself to feel overly ornate or traditional.

What surprised me when photographing there was actually the area around it. There are some genuinely good options for photographs nearby. In the spring, it becomes particularly beautiful when the cherry blossoms are blooming.

That means you can have a civil ceremony and still create a really lovely set of portraits without necessarily feeling like you need to immediately drive downtown afterward.

Parking is also available right across the street, which can make the logistics easier for couples and families who aren’t interested in navigating downtown Toronto on the wedding day.

To me, North York has more of an uptown City Hall wedding experience. It feels a little calmer and less tourist-heavy than Nathan Phillips Square, while still giving us enough around the Civic Centre to make the photography feel intentional.

I would choose North York Civic Centre if: North York is more convenient for you and your guests, you prefer a quieter setting, like a simple modern ceremony space, or want the possibility of incorporating seasonal greenery and blossoms into your photographs.

So, Which Toronto City Hall Should You Choose?

I wouldn’t choose based solely on which ceremony room looks best in photos.

Think about where you live, where your family is coming from, what you’re doing before and after the ceremony, how important downtown Toronto is to the experience, and how you want the overall day to feel.

Toronto City Hall gives you the iconic downtown experience and modern architecture.

Old City Hall gives you history, character and a more formal architectural setting.

North York Civic Centre gives you a quieter uptown option with straightforward logistics and some lovely outdoor possibilities nearby.

Whichever one you choose, a civil ceremony doesn’t have to feel like a stripped-down version of a “real” wedding. We can still build a day around it that feels complete, personal and very much like the two of you.

What Do You Need to Get Married at City Hall in Toronto?

Whichever location you choose, booking a ceremony and being legally ready to get married are two separate things.

You’ll need a valid Ontario marriage licence for the ceremony, along with two witnesses. The marriage licence is something you obtain ahead of time – it isn’t automatically included simply because you booked a City Hall ceremony.

I recommend getting the administrative pieces sorted well before the wedding day. A City Hall wedding may be smaller and simpler logistically than a large traditional wedding, but you still don’t want to be wondering where your marriage licence is while you’re trying to get out the door.

For current requirements, fees and identification rules, I would always check directly with the City of Toronto before applying, since those details can change.

City of Toronto Marriage License information

Do You Need Witnesses for a Toronto City Hall Wedding?

Yes – you’ll need two witnesses for your legal marriage ceremony.

They can be family members, friends, or other adults who are there with you. And if you’re planning something really small, don’t panic about needing to invite extra people just to fill the role.

I’ve actually acted as a witness myself for a City Hall couple who only brought one guest with them. It’s not something I’d suggest relying on without discussing it ahead of time, but it’s a good example of how truly intimate these weddings can be.

Your witnesses will sign the marriage documents during the ceremony, and for smaller weddings they often end up being a meaningful part of the story of the day too.

What Happens When You Arrive for Your Toronto City Hall Ceremony?

The process is pretty straightforward.

At the downtown Toronto City Hall Wedding Chambers, once you arrive and check in, they’ll confirm a few details about how you want the ceremony to run.

In my experience, they’ll ask things like:

• whether you want to walk in to music
• whether you’ve written your own vows or would prefer the standard vows
• any other small ceremony preferences they need to know before bringing everyone into the chamber

Then you wait until your ceremony time and they bring you in.

The whole thing is intentionally simple, which means you don’t need to arrive with a complicated ceremony plan unless you genuinely want one.

How Early Should You Arrive?

This is one of those things that varies slightly depending on which location you choose.

Toronto City Hall at Nathan Phillips Square

I would plan to be at the Wedding Chambers about 15 minutes before your ceremony.

But that does not mean walking through the front doors of City Hall 15 minutes beforehand.

Toronto City Hall has security screening, including metal detectors, before you can head upstairs. If there’s a lineup, that can eat into your buffer very quickly.

I would aim to be going through security at least another 10 minutes before that, just to give yourself room.

So, for example, if your ceremony is at 3:30 PM, I would want you:

• going through security around 3:05 PM
• upstairs at the chamber around 3:15 PM
• ceremony at 3:30 PM

You may sail straight through security and end up with extra time.

That is a much better problem than standing downstairs at 3:22 trying to get your guests through security.

Old City Hall

For Old City Hall, I would plan to arrive around 20 minutes before the ceremony.

That gives you time to enter the building, make your way upstairs and arrive at the check-in area around the 15-minute mark.

From there, you check in and wait until you’re called into the ceremony space.

And because the timing inside Old City Hall is fairly structured, I would not build a timeline that assumes we’ll use that arrival period for portraits.

Think of it as:

arrive → get upstairs → check in → breathe → get married → 30 minutes of photo time after

North York Civic Centre

North York Civic Centre is the easiest of the three in this respect.

There isn’t the same City Hall security process to factor in, and I haven’t encountered any unusual arrival logistics there.

I would still never recommend arriving at the exact ceremony time – weddings are not the occasion to discover that someone can’t find parking – but it generally requires less logistical padding than downtown City Hall.

What Should You Wear to a City Hall Wedding?

I’ve photographed couples in traditional wedding gowns, sleek modern dresses, short dresses, suits, jumpsuits, veils, no veil, colour, completely classic looks and outfits that felt much more fashion-forward.

One of the things I love about civil weddings is that there isn’t the same pressure to follow every traditional wedding expectation.

A small wedding doesn’t mean you need to dress casually, and choosing City Hall doesn’t mean you have to wear a traditional wedding outfit either.

If you want the gown, wear the gown, and if you’ve been dreaming about a great suit, wear the suit. If your perfect wedding outfit is a chic mini dress and incredible shoes, that can look amazing against Toronto’s architecture.

Think about how your outfit works with the rest of your day, too. If we’re going to spend an hour walking through downtown for photographs – hello, concrete – shoes you can actually move in may save your life. Bring a second pair if you need them.

How Much Photography Coverage Do You Need for a City Hall Wedding?

This is probably one of the biggest misconceptions about City Hall weddings:

A short ceremony does not automatically mean you only need an hour of photography.

The ceremony may be brief, but the ceremony is only one part of the day. The amount of coverage that makes sense depends on what you actually want photographed.

For some couples, two hours is perfect. That can give us enough time for the ceremony, family photographs and portraits together afterward without turning the day into a full wedding production.

With more time, we can begin telling a much fuller story.

Three or four hours gives us room to tell more of the story. That might include getting ready, a first look, details, a more relaxed portrait route, time with family, drinks, cake or part of dinner afterward.

And honestly, one of the biggest benefits of having a little more time is simply not feeling like everything needs to happen immediately.

I never want a City Hall wedding to turn into:

Ceremony! FAMILY! GO GO GO! PORTRAITS! DONE!

just because the ceremony itself was short.

You’re still getting married and you should get to actually experience it.

A Two-Hour City Hall Wedding Might Look Like:

I would make this a little visual timeline rather than paragraphs. Something like:

3:15 PM — Photography begins / arrivals
3:30 PM — Ceremony
3:50 PM — Family photographs
4:15 PM — Portraits together
5:15 PM — Photography ends

The exact timeline changes depending on your ceremony time, location, family size and what you want from the day, but this gives you an idea of how much can comfortably fit without rushing.

You can see my current Toronto City Hall wedding photography collections here.

Where Can You Take Wedding Photos After a Toronto City Hall Ceremony?

One of the biggest advantages of a civil wedding in Toronto is that your ceremony location doesn’t have to dictate the entire look of your photographs.

Depending on which City Hall you choose, the season, weather, available time and the style you’re drawn to, we can create something that feels modern, historic, green, urban, editorial, candid – or a combination of all of those things.

For downtown weddings especially, we can create a surprising amount of visual variety without travelling too far.

I don’t take every couple through an identical route. I’d rather choose a few locations that fit you and the time of day. We can photograph those well and leave enough space for things to unfold naturally, rather than trying to collect twelve Toronto landmarks simply because they’re nearby.

What Happens After a City Hall Wedding?

This is one of my favourite things about them:

Whatever you want.

City Hall can simply be the ceremony in the middle of a much bigger-feeling day.

I’ve photographed couples who went for dinner with family, stopped for drinks, celebrated at a hotel, cut cake, walked through downtown, took the streetcar, grabbed food together, or simply spent some time wandering around the city before meeting everyone again.

You could:

Have lunch with ten people.

Book a private room at a restaurant.

Have champagne & cake cutting back at your hotel.

Go somewhere sentimental to the two of you.

Meet a bigger group of friends later.

Or go home, take your shoes off and order the best takeout you can find.

There really isn’t a rule, and I think that’s part of the appeal.

A traditional wedding often comes with an entire structure already attached to it: getting ready, ceremony, cocktail hour, introductions, dinner, speeches, dances.

A City Hall wedding gives you permission to ask:

What do we actually want to do once we’re married?

And build the rest of the day from there.

What If It Rains on Your City Hall Wedding Day?

Toronto weather is Toronto weather.

I never build a wedding photography plan that only works if the sky behaves perfectly.

If it rains, we adjust. Sometimes that means shifting the order of things, and sometimes we work under cover. Sometimes we use umbrellas and sometimes we wait ten minutes and Toronto suddenly decides it’s sunny again. And sometimes we photograph in the rain because it actually looks fantastic.

The bigger thing is not allowing a weather forecast to convince you that your photographs are doomed before the day even starts.

One advantage of working with someone familiar with City Hall weddings is that the plan doesn’t need to depend on one exact spot at one exact time.

What If Nathan Phillips Square Is Busy?

Assume there will be something happening downtown.

Nathan Phillips Square is a public civic space. Depending on the day, there may be events, festivals, crowds, demonstrations, skating, construction, road closures or just a completely ordinary Saturday in Toronto where somehow seventeen things are happening at once.

I don’t think that needs to be viewed as a problem. I photographed a couple during the FIFA celebrations this year – it was completely fine and you couldn’t even tell. Sometimes that energy actually becomes part of what makes the photographs feel like the city.

And when something truly isn’t workable, we change direction. This is also why I like discussing photography plans before the wedding rather than deciding everything once the ceremony ends.

I can check what’s happening downtown, think about your timeline and build enough flexibility into the plan that we have options.

Planning Your Own Toronto City Hall Wedding?

I’ve been photographing Toronto City Hall weddings for more than a decade, and they remain some of my favourite celebrations to photograph.

I love the combination of intimacy and city energy – a short ceremony followed by a day that can become whatever the two of you want it to be.

My City Hall wedding photography begins with two-hour coverage and includes help planning your photography timeline and figuring out how to make the most of the time we have together.

Explore my Toronto City Hall wedding photography collections

Want to see how a City Hall day can come together? Take a look at this real Toronto City Hall wedding.

Planning a larger celebration instead? Explore my Toronto wedding photography.