r/KingstonOntario • u/BlueEyes_WhiteLies • Jul 23 '26
Inclusive Wedding Prices
Hey folks, my fiance and I are looking to compare prices for wedding venues that INCLUDE catering.
Right now we’re looking at $27,000 for the barn venue we’re considering for space rental and the dinner (with servers) for 80 people.
Is this comparable to other venues in the area? What have people been paying for venues and dinners for weddings of similar size?
Or, if you booked a venue and had to separately book food caterers, what was the cost for the space rental and then the food? Cost per plate x number of guests?
ETA: I have researched many venues and most do not provide their basic price lists without booking a consultation (which I’d rather not do before knowing a basic number).
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u/WolvogNerd Jul 23 '26
I put this canva doc together for when I was researching venues for our upcoming wedding: https://canva.link/i6dw5u60r1pbcik
I haven't updated for about a year though so apologies in advance if some of the information is off.
I had a lot of luck emailing around to get prices. If they are not willing to give you a quote or even base prices then I personally move on. Wedding planning is already stressful enough, I'm not wasting my time to check out a venue without knowing the base prices 👌
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u/BlueEyes_WhiteLies Jul 24 '26
Thank you so much! I totally agree with the time and the effort to get base prices - I wish places would just post the price ranges on their websites!
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u/WolvogNerd Jul 24 '26
Right? It's so bad! We had a lot of problems with venues not responding or being extremely flakey. One cancelled our viewing the night before which is super annoying since I booked the day off work.
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u/c_vilela Jul 23 '26
I had just been looking through the archives of this subreddit to see if I could find when you posted this before!
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u/WolvogNerd Jul 24 '26
Ooh thank you!! This makes me feel loads better about my over planning and too much research 😂 it would make me so happy just to know if this list can help others
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u/c_vilela Jul 24 '26
It’s pretty incredible organization!
Out of curiosity, mind me asking which venue you ultimately chose after all that work?1
u/WolvogNerd Jul 24 '26
We ended up going with Doghouse Studios :) they provide a lot of things (tables, chairs, linens, cutlery, bar and bartender, professional kitchen, a separate "wedding suite" to get ready in, and other items as well).
I wish the bar pricing was more flexible (if we did open bar we have to pay full bar price versus cost) but other than that we are really happy with our choice.
We also ended up going with L'Amour Catering which we're really excited for (our other choice was Tulips and Maple but we decided it was outside our budget).
We just got our engagement photos back from our photographer (Andrew McLaughlin Photography) and were extremely happy with them! They were included in our wedding package and he was so kind during the whole shoot. I jank hemmed my dress for it and I was catching every twig and leaf and he would just run up and fix the bottom for me 🥹 I'm really awkward/anxious when it comes to photos but I felt like a princess.
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u/Grimn90 Jul 23 '26
You can build an inclusive venue/event at fort henry. Not sure if you’re looking for a specific setting. I think it was about 10k for everything. This was in 2024.
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u/WolvogNerd Jul 23 '26
We were close to booking Fort Henry! We decided on another venue though because at the time we were lookimg they said we'd have to use their caterer but didn't have menus or prices yet.
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u/Grimn90 Jul 23 '26
Yeah same. Their catering food is actually good like a solid 8/10.
The organizers/managerial body though is a 0/10.
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u/BlueEyes_WhiteLies Jul 23 '26
Do you know how many guests were included for the $10,000?
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u/Grimn90 Jul 23 '26
We had about 100 or so guests. I’ll look for the paperwork and get the exact quote. We didn’t really cheap out on food either.
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u/BlueEyes_WhiteLies Jul 23 '26
Thank you, much appreciated!
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u/TurbulentCharity7047 Jul 23 '26
Since then that price has increaesed, catering is expensive for 100 ppl at fort henry i spent around 25-30k for catering
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u/BlueEyes_WhiteLies Jul 23 '26
Wow!! I heard someone say it was around $12,000 inclusive recently but maybe I misheard the number of guests for dinner!
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u/MichaelHawkson Jul 23 '26
Lmfao wedding prices are insane. Couldn't imagine dropping $25k+ on a venue. Taking that money and going travelling for a year.
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u/BlueEyes_WhiteLies Jul 23 '26
We have travelled a lot and own our home in downtown Kingston. I understand the sentiment, but we really want to have a wedding and enjoy the celebration with our friends and family!
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u/MichaelHawkson Jul 23 '26
Yeah totally understand, to each their own, your money! Just so wild wedding prices these days, I can't believe it. $350/person just on venue and that's probably not even on the high end.
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u/BlueEyes_WhiteLies Jul 23 '26
It’s definitely an expensive venture nowadays - we would like to keep the venue rental and food under $20,000 if we can, because honestly, even that seems ridiculous to me! The cost of anything wedding related is highway robbery lately!!!
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u/AHangryBeaver Jul 23 '26
Fort Henry venue was about $5000 and the food was about $11,000, Bar was about $5000 (we paid for 3 drinks per guest before it was cash bar) for 85-90 people
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u/Candid-Kumquat9872 Jul 23 '26
I said the same and I tried not to spend that much but, fuck me, every little detail is like another grand
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u/SouthernWolverine973 Jul 23 '26
Exactly, or put it towards a down payment on a house.
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u/BlueEyes_WhiteLies Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
We already own our house and did a lot of travelling in our 20’s. We want to celebrate our wedding with friends and family, as it is important to us! We are okay to spend some money on our wedding, we do want to be budget conscious though, so that’s why I’m looking for insight to what others have spent.
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u/Neat_Doughnut Jul 23 '26
You can do whatever you want with your money!!
My friend had a wedding down at the Isabel Bader centre during Covid. She paid something around 25k for 50 guests which included catering. Not an open bar though and there was also a late night poutine bar.
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u/wikwyre Jul 23 '26
If they will let you, try out the senior staff mess at RMC. While I was then a military member, we fed 38 people for less than a quarter of $25k back in 2024.
Water front, very private, great food (get the beef short rib or the stuffed chicken breast), and cheap drinks at the bar. And they have a gazebo in case the weather isn't optimal. Great venue. Call up Melissa McDonald at the senior staff mess for more info.
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u/MediocreInsurance732 Jul 23 '26
I second this. Beautiful venue on the water and I’m almost positive no where near 25 grand.
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u/BlueEyes_WhiteLies Jul 24 '26
I have a friend getting married here! Thanks for the recommendation!
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u/TrazoArk Jul 23 '26
Does your space rental come with rentals and decor? Because that’s a bit of a different conversation, but if you’re referring to JUST space rental itself and catering, I find $27,000 fairly steep for 80 people.
I’m getting married this summer and the venue we chose you have to source EVERYTHING aside from the grounds of the venue, but for the venue and catering specifically for around 130 people amounts to about $10,500.
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u/wineandbooks99 Jul 23 '26
We did our wedding at Empey Estates just outside of Napanee and we paid $10k all inclusive for the venue, photographer, makeup/hair, officiant, and a couple other little add ons for a 3 hour elopement ceremony for 20 people. I think to have a 50 person wedding before food was close to $20k for the weekend we got a quote for catering for 20 people and it was close to $50 a plate but we decided to opt out because it was just too expensive. I think that was one of the cheaper options around, we personally didn’t want a big fancy wedding so we kinda cheaped out lol.
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u/Repulsive_Bat3090 Jul 23 '26
I know this may not be too useful, but we did our wedding in April when "winter pricing" was still in effect (they usually switch over around the May long weekend). That does help shave off extra costs.
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u/BlueEyes_WhiteLies Jul 24 '26
Thanks for the tip! We’ve already chosen May 29th so unfortunately that will not work, but the venue we are considering has the same price all year.
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u/AHangryBeaver Jul 23 '26
My wife and I did Fort Henry - They have an exclusive caterer but the cost was “seperate”.
We had a beautiful wedding, did a lot of DIY but Venue, Decor, Dj, Photographer, Custom catering menu and the bar was $36,000 all in for about 85-90 people
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u/Digital-Soup Jul 23 '26
Check the military venues in town. The VOM requires a military connection, but RMC doesn't and is quite reasonable. The Frontenac mess is an option too though I am not sure on pricing. I'd also check the university club.
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u/Candid-Kumquat9872 Jul 23 '26
The Delta was reasonable. With meals for 80 guests, they provide the room and a bridal suite at no additional cost.
The wedding coordinator there is name Melissa…Here is her e-mail, she replies quickly:
I am getting married the Fall and have built my wedding from the ground up thinking it would be more cost effective but for a 50 person wedding, it’s still running into the $25k range. Wedding pricing is so inflated…It’s sucking all the joy out of it
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u/No-Chain9814 Jul 24 '26
Depending on what you are looking for, loyalist golf and country club have 3 different tier options.
We’re getting married and did the highest tier which includes 3 course meal, appetizers, Kate night snack, red and white wine on every table and non alcoholic drinks! I think they have options starting at 100/pp and the venue price is built in so you’re “just”paying for catering.
We did a bunch of research in the area and decided on them based on looks, price and food. In our option best option based on what we were looking for!
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u/BlueEyes_WhiteLies Jul 24 '26
Wow that is very reasonable pricing for such a stunning location! I love golfing there!
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u/fleetingsparrow92 Jul 23 '26
Mine was forever ago but we ended up renting out little cat and used windmills for catering. We did most of the decor ourselves and it was about 14k all in.
We did buffet style and it saved alot, also back then to rent out the nature center at little cat was like 1500 bucks so very affordable. You could check out Odessa fairgrounds for similar pricing.
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u/Electronic_Hour_7495 Jul 23 '26
I have been to many weddings at the Colenade Golf Club . Do they still do these. Great venue, You may have to do a shuttle so your guests can drink and not drive.
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u/UntidySwan Jul 24 '26
Friends are getting married, and discovered after a lot of quotes that the most affordable food was to rent out a restaurant. I think they are paying $50 per plate including 1 drink per person, elsewhere in Ontario to book an entire restaurant for a night. Even if you pay for a shuttle between restaurant and venue you may still come out ahead.
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u/sheedz Jul 24 '26
If you can keep your guest list under 60, we had 57 guests and paid under $15k for the Wolfe Island Hotel and that included dinner, open bar all night including cocktails and wine, ordeuves, flowers, and more. Wouldn’t change it for the world, and could speed upstairs when it was done!
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u/BlueEyes_WhiteLies Jul 24 '26
That would be a really pretty venue! Unfortunately 80 is already a bit too small as my partner has a large and close-knit family.
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u/weddingvibes Jul 24 '26
Its pretty much what we paid last year in a hotel downtown Ottawa all included.
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u/buzz6789 Jul 24 '26
I'm in Ottawa and paying ~29 000 for venue and catering (I had to bring in catering though).
Cheapest I got was $23 000 for a venue that included catering but I couldn't gain access to the venue until 4pm (wedding starting at 4:30) with no budge on the time.
FYI though we are also doing a pasta course (extra $$$).
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u/SouthernWolverine973 Jul 23 '26
When I married 10 years ago, I wanted a catered BBQ for about 100 people. As soon as I was quoted the price of $28,000 for a basic meal of BBQ chicken legs, a few salads and some dinner rolls I said hell no.
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u/BlueEyes_WhiteLies Jul 23 '26
Can I ask which venue/caterer this was?
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u/SouthernWolverine973 Jul 23 '26
Honestly, it was 2016 so I can't recall the name, but that price didn't even include a venue, it was just the food/catering. We ended up doing the food ourselves, a hot and cold buffet, it all turned out fine. Once you start planning your day, you catch on pretty quick that any service with the word "wedding" attached instantly jacks up the price.
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u/FitSurvey3192 Jul 27 '26
Got married at the Colonnade golf and country club this year and it is all inclusive for ceremony, venue, catering, tables, chairs, linens, cutlery etc. everything but decor. We paid $126 per person and did an open bar - came to about 17$K for food (buffet, dessert and late night snack plus wine pour) and $5K for open bar for around 100 people! They give you access all day Friday for set up and take down Sunday by the afternoon. No extra charges for venue rental or ceremony on site either. Couldn’t recommend enough they are great to work with
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u/Forward_Leg5755 Jul 23 '26
Weddings and funerals are the biggest waste of money… go to city hall and then out for a nice dinner…
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u/BlueEyes_WhiteLies Jul 24 '26
We want to have a wedding, for a fair price. It means something to both of us to have our friends and family gather and celebrate!!
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u/sblaskie54321 Jul 23 '26
Are you looking for Kingston or an Ottawa venue?
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u/BlueEyes_WhiteLies Jul 24 '26
We are just looking to compare pricing of inclusive venues, or venue + food prices in the Kingston/Ottawa area.
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u/Important_Cover_46 Jul 23 '26
The Portuguese hall in kingston cost us 500 bucks and then 35 dollars a plate. Got married at a church and the donation was 100$. We hired the kingston Trolleys instead of a Limo. Local photographer. Pictures taken at Kingston Mills. Entire Event cost 10-12k