Toronto City Hall
Toronto City Hall is an unlikely place to witness the enduring power and beauty of marriage. Most people have a city hall wedding because they want something simple. They imagine they will sign a few papers in a dowdy office and that’s it. The reality is something else altogether. Toronto City Hall has a little wedding chamber on the third floor. Their, in house officiants, sort out all the details within twenty minutes. They go out of their way to make it a special moment. They play music. Offer you the option to walk down the aisle. They talk about marriage as a loving partnership but customize it. Whenever I photograph weddings here, the readings are always unique and relevant to the wedding at hand.
Eyes mist over, voices tremble. A mystery unfolds. The two emerge not just married under the laws of the Province of Ontario, but somehow transformed. Toronto city coordinates about 40 to 50 weddings a week. Some are spur of the moment, others arranged by family. Some couples arrive in shorts and T-shirts, others decked out in gorgeous saris or sharp dinner jackets. My couple today married during their lunch break. They work at a shop in Eaton Centre next door. And instead of eating, they got hitched.
Photo Session
I do a few Toronto City Hall elopements during the year. Most of my couples book me for two hours. This allows enough time to get married and take some photos with your attending guests/witnesses. Afterward, I take the couple on a little local tour of the city. This route is customized based on the couple’s personality and weather conditions.
For Mirta and Ahmed, we started out at the wedding chambers for their civil ceremony. After the ceremony we did a quick stopover on the Toronto City Hall rooftop. It offers a nice view of the city skyline. However, when we realized how cold it was outside, the remainder of their photos were inside Toronto City Hall. Luckily they have a small gallery on the second floor that makes for some great photos. You just have to get a little creative with composition.
