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| - I wish there was a way to give this place two ratings.
My Husband and I were married here (ceremony and reception) this year.
The venue itself is awesome. I give it 5 stars. It's steps from Yonge Street, beautiful inside (deceptive from the outside), accessible, beautiful decor and the rental cost which is not applied to your total bill as it is at many venues, includes the use of all of their house-owned furnishings (leather couches, cocktail tables, Chiavari chairs, etc.) and bar glassware.
As anyone who has planned an event or a wedding knows, there are many hidden costs and it matters not where you go. So in addition to the rental fee, you pay for a security person (this is apparently an OLGC requirement where there is alcohol being served), a floor manager, a coat check person and bar staff. At an hourly rate higher than market, this can add up, of course. Plus there are taxes, gratuities, "landmark fees"- your guess is as good as mine, and other additional overcharges.
There are things to know about this space. I give it 3 stars for these reasons. First, there is no parking (welcome to Toronto, I guess) but there is a Green P lot next door. It just means your guests have to pay, which isn't ideal and isn't the case at downtown hotel venues. The venue does not provide food catering services but does provide all of the bar services. This is fine if you like food and were stoked to find the perfect menu from the perfect caterer. The problem, you see, is that this venue has a list of "approved" elite caterers. Ones that I would never use. I had to have my selected caterer go through the process of being approved which was annoying, but it all ended up fine.
There are also approved rental companies, DJ services (just one...hmm), etc. It seems too incestuous and "friends helping friends" to me, but what do I know. All of the sound and lighting equipment is right there, in the DJ booth (the place used to be a bar/nightclub) but if you choose to bring in your own DJ, they can't use any of it. They have to set up a second DJ booth so that effectively, you have two.
As far as staff, the bar staff were all amazing and helpful. The doorman was great. The manager, on the other hand, was clearly about the bottom line and couldn't respond to e-mail enquiries in anything that would be considered a timely fashion but could requisition his bill for overages the second your wedding was over, literally and then have the balls to follow up about your payment of it a week after sending it when, especially if you are in the business of weddings, you should know that PEOPLE ARE ON THEIR HONEYMOONS. Seriously? He was insistent and rigid on a bunch of things which we didn't know about until after our deposit had been made and could not be refunded. He claimed he was saving us money here, there and everywhere which, after going over-budget, didn't seem to be the case. He also had a terrible memory for details and I had to re-confirm things with him umpteen times. If I did this in my profession, I would have been let go long ago.
So, while the venue is beautiful and there is some value in going with a place where you don't have to haul a bunch of expensive rentals in (though we did have to rent many things, including linens), the front line person to deal with is less than favourable. But if you have your heart set on the venue, it's probably still worth it to go with it. Just make sure to put on your game face right from the beginning so he knows you won't be "had".
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