Step 3: Getting Married

Looking for a place to hold your wedding ceremony? Book a wedding chamber at a civic centre. The City has three wedding chambers located at the North York, Scarborough and York Civic Centres. The rental is for the room only and does not include an authorized marriage officiant.
Book a Wedding Chamber

To get married in Ontario you will need a marriage licence, an authorized marriage officiant and two witnesses.

  • You can obtain a marriage licence by appointment only.
  • Your marriage must be performed by an officiant who is authorized by the Province of Ontario to properly and legally perform marriages. For a list of authorized officiants please visit Service Ontario.

There are two types of marriage ceremonies, religious and civil.

Religious marriage ceremony

  • An authorized religious officiant marries you.
    • The officiant may offer different types of ceremonies, including non-denominational.

Civil marriage ceremony

  • A judge, justice of the peace or an authorized municipal clerk marries you.
    • This type of ceremony is not currently offered by the City of Toronto.
  • May be offered by other municipalities in the Greater Toronto Area
  • You cannot be married at a court house in Toronto or at any of our offices

Once you have your marriage licence you can get married anywhere you like. You can have a marriage ceremony at home, a restaurant, a banquet hall, a place of worship, a park or a number of City of Toronto facilities.

Civic centre wedding chambers

The City has 3 wedding chambers located at the North York, Scarborough and York Civic Centres. Wedding chamber rentals are for a minimum of 30 minutes at a cost of $133.50 for each 30 minute booking. The rental is for the room only and does not include an authorized marriage officiant.

Wedding Chambers (opens in new window)

Museum and cultural venues

City museums and cultural centres represent a range of historical periods and architectural styles, many set within beautiful natural surroundings. Venues can be rented for a variety of functions including weddings and wedding photography.

Museum & Cultural Venues (opens in new window)

Conservatories, parks and gardens

The City has many beautiful sites for wedding ceremonies and photography, including indoor conservatories, parks and outdoor gardens.

Conservatories & Gardens (opens in new window)

The person marrying you will:

  • perform the marriage ceremony
  • complete the marriage licence
  • have you and your witnesses sign the marriage licence
  • give you the Record of Solemnization of Marriage (this is not an official marriage certificate)
  • send the completed marriage licence to the province of Ontario to be registered

You can order a marriage certificate approximately 10-12 weeks from the date your marriage took place.

If you get married outside of Ontario, your marriage will not be registered in the Province. You will not be able to request a marriage certificate from the province of Ontario. Make sure to obtain a marriage certificate from the jurisdiction where your wedding was performed.

Getting married in another province

  • Check with the Vital Statistics office in the province or territory in Canada where you want to get married.
  • Inquire with the municipality, city or town in which you are getting married for specific information on applying for a marriage licence as policies and procedures may differ.

Getting married outside of Canada

  • Eligibility and marriage requirements differ from country to country. Check with the Canadian representative (opens in new window) in the country in which you are getting married for more information.
  • Some countries require proof that you are not currently married, often called a Letter of Non-Impediment.
  • A Letter of Non-Impediment (marriage search) will only confirm whether or not a marriage is registered for you in Ontario.
  • You can apply to do a marriage search online through Service Ontario (opens in new window) (see applying for a marriage certificate) or download the request form.

Request for Marriage Certificate or Search (opens in new window)