Niagara Falls has been known as the Honeymoon Capital of the World for over 200 years, but it’s also a great spot for a destination wedding! Whether you’re dreaming of a big, white, traditional church wedding, an intimate ceremony for a handful of close family and friends, or a quick-and-easy elopement, Niagara Falls has the venues, accommodations, and scenery you need to create the wedding day you’ve always wanted. Niagara Parks offers a range of beautiful wedding venues for parties of all sizes, and you’ll also find a wide selection of wedding venues and honeymoon packages offered by local hotels. Here’s what you need to know to make your Niagara wedding dreams come true.
Get Your Marriage License
People come from all over the world to get married in Niagara Falls, where both same- and opposite-sex marriage is permitted. Of course, planning a wedding includes handling a lot of nitty-gritty details, but perhaps the most important of all is obtaining the marriage license. You can get an Ontario marriage license at the municipal clerk’s office at City Hall. Fill out the online application ahead of time to streamline the process once you arrive.
Any person over 18 years of age can get married in Ontario without parental consent, and individuals 16 or 17 years of age can get married with consent. If you’ve been divorced or had a marriage annulled in a jurisdiction outside of Canada, you’ll need to submit some paperwork to the registrar general in order to get your license. The paperwork you’ll need includes:
- Your completed marriage license application;
- A copy of your divorce decree, and a certified translation of it if it’s in a language other than English or French;
- A Statement of Sole Responsibility for each divorced applicant; and
- The legal opinion of an Ontario lawyer arguing that the divorce should be recognized by the province.
If you or your fiancé has been widowed, you’ll need to provide the death certificate of the deceased spouse.
Choose Your Venue
Niagara Parks offers a range of popular wedding venues and packages capable of accommodating anywhere from 10 to 250 guests. You can also plan your wedding in Niagara Falls at one of the many local hotels which offer wedding venues overlooking the Falls, or at one of the other local wedding venues.
Are you planning a small ceremony or an elopement? Consider Elope Niagara, which offers weddings for two to eight people in a secluded, charming log wedding chapel, as well as Niagara’s only drive-through wedding service. Get married in the heart of Niagara wine country at Niagara-on-the-Lake, where you can book the gazebo in Queen’s Royal Park. This venue accommodates up to 12 people, and overlooks Lake Ontario and the Niagara River. Or, say your vows overlooking the stunning backdrop of Horseshoe Falls and Bridal Veil Falls at Rambler’s Rest, a 1907 stone heritage pavilion that accommodates up to 15 people.
Other great venues for an intimate ceremony of up to 30 people include Dufferin Islands, a magical, 10-acre park consisting of many small islands connected by foot bridges. Consider booking the Butterfly Conservatory, which is filled with lush, tropical flowers year-round and home to thousands of brilliantly-colored, exotic butterfly species from around the world. You can also have your ceremony in the Floral Showhouse Gardens and Tropical Foyer, amongst the orchids and other beautiful flowers.
Were you hoping to host a much larger wedding for 100 to 250 guests? You’ll find plenty of larger wedding venues in Niagara Falls, too. Have the church wedding of your dreams at historic Queenston Chapel, followed by a reception dinner at the renowned Queenston Heights Restaurant. Oakes Garden Theatre also offers a peaceful and popular spot for outdoor summer weddings overlooking Niagara Falls.
Other great outdoor spots for large weddings in Niagara Falls include Wedding Arbor and Willow Pond, both on the grounds of the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens. The beautiful garden setting offers an idyllic backdrop to your ceremony and photos, with 40 acres of azaleas, rhododendrons, perennial flowers, and parterre gardens. Or, beat the summer heat and humidity at a gorgeous, climate-controlled, Fallsview wedding venue operated by one of Niagara Falls’ downtown hotels.
If you’ve always dreamed of getting married against a beautiful natural backdrop, consider having your wedding in Niagara Falls. With so many venues to choose from, Niagara Falls can help you make your wedding day the best day of your life.