About Our Services Testimonials from our Clients Questions to Ask an OfficiantMaking Your Ceremony Stand Out
Fees for Our Services Simple Elopement & Wedding Ceremonies Available: Baptisms, Christenings, & Naming Ceremonies Celebration of Life, Memorial Services & Funeral Ceremonies Ottawa Wedding Resources
First of all, a big thanks for performing our very brief marriage ceremony. It was exactly what we were looking for with absolutely zero stress. We are truly grateful. You can continue telling people that your track record for fast marriage registration holds true. FedEx just knocked on our door and it was our official marriage certificate, exactly 10 days after we were married. This is phenomenal and we are so thankful for what you suggested. You have been exceptional as your business name states. Thank you so much! If we ever renew our vows in Ottawa, we know who to call. Chelsea & Tim Your ceremony script is absolutely amazing! I laughed and cried, your words are beautiful, so thank you very much! Kim & Marek Keith, we wanted to thank you for the wonderful, humourous and simple ceremony. We enjoyed it, and appreciated your insights. Everyone online enjoyed the humorous points, and thought we wrote them… very appropriate. Thanks again Robert & Hilary
Keith, we are so excited. Thank you for your lovely service and professional advice/hand holding me through it. Couldn't have done it without you and we couldn't have asked for a more perfect ceremony and day. Alexia & David Thank you so much for Saturday - your poise and professionalism made me feel completely at ease once I stood up at the front with Simon. I was more nervous then I thought in the hours before the ceremony but the butterflies disappeared when I was able to listen to the words your spoke and how you delivered them. Keith,
we would like to thank you for the lovely ceremony, your kindness and great humour. Our wedding day was very special and it is etched in our hearts forever.
Fatma & Albert. Thanks, Keith, for making our elopement wedding a comfortable & nice one :) I wanted to take a moment to thank you for everything. The whole process went a smoothly as possible, the location was great, and Lynne's ceremony was absolutely fantastic. I'm glad that we got to meet her, as she's a very lovely lady, and I'm excited that we were all a part of something as special as that. We loved what she wrote and I would recommend you guys to anybody. Thanks again for putting everything together for us. Tony & Kelly Thank you very much for your kindness and sincere hospitality. The wedding ceremony was very meaningful to both of us. We are happy that we have chosen the right people to conduct the ceremony for us and in a way that we would like to have as well. Helen & Maxime Thank you again for the lovely ceremony!!! Thank you very much for all your help. It was really an excellent wedding. Lai King & Kwok Him Thank you so much for performing our elopement ceremony. It was nice, simple and informal which is just what we wanted. I will be happy to refer you both to any of our friends who are planning on getting married. Mary & Cim We wanted to extend a huge THANK YOU for officiating at our wedding. It was perfect. As you know, we wanted things to be light-hearted and casual and you did that beautifully while still maintaining the sacredness of the event. It was as if you read our minds. Every one of our guests commented on how perfectly the ceremony suited us and on the way you placed all of us for the ceremony. Having the wedding party facing you as well as the guests was completely new to us - and what a great way to do it. Rather than just seeing our backs, everyone was included and felt a part of the service. Keith, thank you for making our wedding day very special and perfect in every way. Many of my family and friends complimented the ceremony and mentioned that we could not have gotten a better officiant. They truly loved it! We can't thank you enough for performing our wedding ceremony. It was absolutely perfect and as our witnesses would have told you totally us. We will remember it for the rest of our lives Thanks again Anthony & Christina Thank you so very much Keith. The day was perfect! We will definitely tell everyone about you guys and how terrific you helped make our special day! Kindest regards, Wendy & Rudy
|
While City Hall is usually fully booked months in advance, we have lots of availability now throughout 2025. After the unprecedented era of Covid 19 restrictions, there has never been a better opportunity to escape the hefty costs of a traditional wedding and also all of the planning and preparation fatigue that many couples experience. We offer a wide range of ceremony types applicable to every set of circumstances:
The current processing time by the Registrar General of Ontario for marriage registration is 10-14 weeks after a marriage license is received at Service Ontario's Thunder Bay HQ. For couples who need to have their marriage registered as soon as possible, usually due to a Immigration-related process or a job transfer to another country, we offer an optional inexpensive service through which you could receive your official marriage certificate, usually in about two-three weeks after it is received by the Registrar General, saving as much as 2-3 months over the regular time frame. For couples about to initiate an Immigration spousal sponsorship application, obtaining your official marriage certificate via this process, could enable you to get a 2-3 month jump as well as obtain a legal work permit that much earlier, reducing any period of economic hardship. The Top Reasons Why Couples do an Elopement or Pop-Up ceremony: 1. to create an affordable wedding ceremony that is meaningful and beautiful without the expenses or hassle of a large event; Here's one interesting, yet frank, perspective on why to go do an elopement.
Elopement Ceremony held at The Arboretum - Photo by Joey Rudd Pop Up Ceremony at Major's Hill Park
Pop-up Elopement Ceremony held at Major's Hill Park- Photo by Joey Rudd Ottawa's Best Legally-Minimum, Pop-Up, Intimate Elopement, or Micro and Small Informal Weddings Below are the concise description about the different elopement and small informal wedding ceremony packages that we offer as well as the times for which they are available. Please note all the additional flexibilities that make our wedding ceremonies a much better alternative to an Ottawa City Hall wedding ceremony.
What an Ottawa City Hall Wedding looks like - far less personal than with Lynne & Keith Our schedules can fill up quickly, so please contact us at Keith@ExceptionalCeremonies.com or 613 - 831 - 7555 with your needs and we will respond immediately. And if you have a "last minute" civil style wedding request, we will always try our best to accommodate you. Our fastest response time yet was performing a ceremony held only 45 minutes after we were contacted! Our Legally Minimum Ceremony Service - just the legal questions and statements with no fluff or frills, and signing of all marriage documents - 2 witnesses required. This is great for couples who want the minimum fuss, having a destination wedding, or when you want a friend to preside over your later symbolic ceremony:
Our Short and Sweet, Pop-Up and Intimate Elopement Ceremony Package is available anywhere in most Ottawa locations, as follows:
Advance bookings available any day from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM (except Saturdays 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM during the May-November peak wedding season. If your ceremony is occuring within three months from now, do ask as we may have some openings available even in the Saturday 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM peak demand period, especially during 2024. Our Short and Sweet Elopement Ceremony package includes:
Peak demand dates e.g. Valentine's Day, statutory public holidays, Mondays of long weekends, New Year's Eve, and Solstices are at the regular weekend rate and we do not charge a premium for these times. These rates do not include the cost of the Ontario marriage license for which only you can apply. Our Deluxe Elopement and Minimony Wedding Ceremony held anywhere in most Ottawa locations: $550 - April to November ($500 - December to March)
Our Micro/Small Wedding Ceremony held anywhere in most Ottawa locations: $650 - April to November ($600 - December to March)
These rates do not include the cost of the Ontario marriage license for which only you can apply. Bookings for pop-up, elopement, minimonies, and Micro/small weddings for 2024 are now well underway and in most cases may be made months in advance. There is a wide range of dates available throughout the year. We can recommend some excellent outdoor venues for those who need suggestions. For those who prefer more detailed infomation and context on these different ceremony packages, the following should answer most, if not all, of your questions. Pop-up, elopement, intimate, micro, and small ceremonies can provide you with all the beauty and joy of getting married without all of the usual mental and financial stress associated with a wedding. At one time, an elopement used to be a marriage conducted in a rather sudden and secretive fashion, often involving a hurried flight away from one's place of residence together with one's beloved with the intention of getting married. Now it has become appropriate for career oriented couples who want to forgo the major planning and decision making of a traditional wedding, or possibly have othermore immediate financial goals, like purchasing a home. Joey Rudd, is an experienced professional photogrpher who has won numerous awards for his creative approach to wedding photography. He is one of the very few local photographers that actually specializes in elopement and pop-up wedding photography. Joey is offering a very attractive elopement professional photo package, starting at only $750. You can find many excellent samples of photos from ceremonies which we have performed together over the past few years at this page on Joey's website.
Elopement Ceremony held at Jabulani Vineyard - Photo by Joey Rudd We can provide suggestions for several other professional photographers who also accept bookings for small elopement and pop-up wedding ceremonies and offer lower week day rates to capture you before, during, and after the ceremony at a wide range of photographic locations. The couple pictured below chose to hire professional photographer, Anne-Marie Bouchard, to accompany them as they revisited all the major places where their relationship had developed, culminating in an elopement ceremony held in the restaurant where they had first met. Anne-Marie captured their wedding day very creatively and has shared with everyone a great series of photos on her blog site.
Elopement Ceremony held at Sushi 88 Restaurant - Photo by AMBphoto With an elopement or pop-up ceremony, you can have elegance and all of the wonderful aspects of a traditional wedding day without all the fuss and stress that comes along with it. With just a tiny bit of planning, you can have it all! Like a rose beginning to bloom, with true love, an elopement ceremony with a small number of family and friends in attendance becomes a celebration of your new life together for all to witness and support. More and more couples are choosing to elope. When all is said and done, what is it that you want to remember the most? "Just the two of you" is the right answer for an elopement! Doing an elopement or pop-up ceremony amidst the physical beauty of Ottawa is much more romantic than a cheesy ceremony in Niagara Falls or Las Vegas and all of their unrestrained crass commercialism. Moreover, there is no waiting period or blood tests required for anyone. As long as you obtain a valid Ontario marriage license, you can get married even the same day in most cases.
Pop-up Elopement in Ottawa's Central Park - Photo by Derrick Rice - Union Eleven Come have your elopement or pop-up ceremony here in Ottawa during Winterlude, Valentine's Day, the May Tulip Festival, Spring Solstice, National Capital Marathon, the Army Run, Canada Day Festivities, Hope Volleyball Tournament, Dragonboat Festival, Fireworks Festival, Summer Equinox, Hot Air Ballooon Festival, Fall colours, Winter Solstice, Christmas Lights, and other special times. Do you want much better deal than at Ottawa City Hall or elsewhere! Our elopement weddings are the best and amongst the lowest cost ceremonies in the Ottawa region with a range of options from $200 to $550 designed to a range of needs and budgets: where and when you want, with whomever you you want present, with a script that you can choose, control, and edit. As the leading independent pop-up, micro, and elopement specialists in the Ottawa area, we are your best bet for every intimate ceremony budget and need. Moreover, we are are always available during weekdays when most other officiants are still at their day jobs and unavailable to you. Many couples from the Montreal area and other regions of Quebec are now making a memorable day trip to Ottawa to bypass the long times and bureaucratic requirements to get the necessary appointments and interviews in Quebec. They end up having a wonderful elopement ceremony, as quickly as within one hour of obtaining their marriage license from City Hall office. Compare that to the many months usually required to have a civil ceremony performed anywhere in Quebec. Other couples from the Brockville and Kingston areas who have no access to a low cost, affordable elopement ceremony in their communities find the quick trip to us in Stittsville the perfect answer to their needs. When couples want to eliminate the pressures of a conventional wedding, they sometimes choose to Elope or have a small ceremony, without breaking the bank. Whether it's during the Christmas-New Year's period, Valentine's Day, Winterlude, Solstice or any other time of the year, We will guide you in creating a unique and memorable ceremony at a wide range of venues. Elopement is fun and romantic! Like a small private wedding with or without a wedding gown, with or without a bridal bouquet. A ceremony restricted to the Bride and Groom (and a couple of witnesses) or may include few close friends and even the parents, followed by a nice dinner after the ceremony and maybe even (or not) a brief honeymoon. A pop-up or an elopement is a practical solution to career couples. It takes little preparation! Even though its a more simple ceremony, if you wish, there's still lots of opportunity to have its serious dimensions balanced with appropriate lightness and humour. Elopement may also be the only option to get married. When a couple in love, determined to share their lives together, faces opposition by one or more of the parents to the marriage due to religious, racial or cultural misconceptions. Such opposition is still not uncommon!
Elopement is cheap. We will help you experience a tasteful and meaningful ceremony that satisfies all of your needs without the pressures and expenses of traditional weddings. Alternatively, we also have the creative means for you to successfully conduct an exotic foreign wedding ceremony with or without your own witnesses but with all the security and legal protections of an Ontario registered marriage. And this can be done quickly from just $200, which is a fraction of the rates charged by cruise lines and resorts for their cookie cutter impersonal ceremonies. Some couples have reported that they saved as much as $5,000 by doing their marriage legalities here in Ontario before their destination wedding ceremony in the Dominican Republic!
November and December are increasingly becoming very popular months for elopement weddings especially near the Winter Solstice, Christmas, and New Year's Eve. If you're thinking about getting married around this time, it's best to check with us (Lynne and Keith) as early as you can so that we will be able to ensure our availability for your ceremony. Call us at 613-831-7555 to discuss your plans. Once you have a valid Ontario marriage license, we can usually perform your ceremony the same day. With the Ottawa City Hall - when open! - only doing a few ceremonies each day and often fully booked, we are usually the first available and convenient option for those who want their ceremony performed right away. No need to wait until the late afternoon, evening or the following day. And our elopement ceremonies are much more memorable and heart-felt than those sterile ones done by a municipal clerk at City Hall in a bland government office. Moreover, you can have your ceremony where you prefer and always in a much more picturesque setting than City Hall. We are located less than 10 minutes from the Kanata branch of City Hall (free parking) where marriage licenses are usually issued in 10-15 minutes vs. the 45-90 minutes it takes at the main downtown City Hall office (paid parking only). We have four different Pop-Up/Elopement, Micro, and Small Wedding Ceremony Offerings from $200 to $550 designed to fit different circumstances, visions, needs, and budgets. The Pop-Up/Elopement Ceremonies are designed for couples who want an affordable yet high-quality wedding ceremony. Therefore, the base pricing for these ceremony levels does not include any pre-wedding in-person meetings with us. We respect your busy schedule and your need to keep wedding planning time to a minimum so all pre-wedding arrangements are done via email and phone. Our rates include travel time and car operation for most most Ottawa locations from downtown to Manotick to Almonte. For those in the west end of the city, we located less than 10 minutes distance from the City of Ottawa's Kanata marriage license office and are less than 25 minutes driving time from the Ottawa City Hall downtown office or 20 minutes from their Centrepointe office. Imagine, you can get your marriage license and then get married in less time that it would take to drive downtown, park, make your way through a confusing office complex, wait in a 45-90 minute queue, and only get a marriage license, let alone wait for an available opening for the City's bland wedding ceremony which is only available at their downtown City Hall office. Our simple yet elegant elopement consists of a contemporary eight to twelve minute, Justice of the Peace civil style ceremony (or at your option, the basic minimalist ceremony required by the Province), preparation, completion, and filing of all the legal documentation. It's ideal for those couples who simply want the peace of mind of a legal Ontario registered marriage prior to a destination wedding ceremony and for those who want to avoid the extra costs of translating and certifying foreign marriage documents. This simple elegant elopement package is available throughout the day and evening Monday (except long weekends) to Friday and before 2:00 PM elsewhere in Ottawa on Saturdays and Sundays. This simple elegant elopement can be booked in advance or often within an hour's notice, once you have a valid Ontario marriage license. This simple elegant elopement is $400 weekdays (Monday to Thursday) until 3:00 PM; $450 Monday to Thursday from 3:30 PM or Fridays 2:00 to 8:00 PM) . This is also available during the many times when City Hall isn't even open. No paid parking required either! Our deluxe elopement/small ceremony package is the best value wedding ceremony deal available in Ottawa. This includes a choice from amongst 10 different pre-written modern and contemporary scripts for ceremonies about 10-20 minutes in length and you fully control the content and you can revise and personalize the ceremony, as you see fit. This option includes e-mail consultation, access to our knowledge and experience base, officiation of your ceremony, and preparation and filing of all the legal documentation. This deluxe elopement is available throughout the day and evening Monday (except on long weekends) to Friday and before 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays. The deluxe ceremony can be booked in advance or once you have a valid Ontario marriage license. The Deluxe ceremony is $550 Friday to Saturday or $500 Monday to Thursday) Compare this to the the Ottawa City Hall approach for ceremonies held there on weekdays from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM only, using the same bland one size fits all, seven minute ceremony held in their sterile Government office (maximum of 4 guests at City Hall including your photograher!). Deluxe ceremonies can be held at most Ottawa venues of your choice including those with exceptionally photogenic panoramas (something that is also unavailable from City Hall or elsewhere), such as: the Arboretum, Nepean Point, Major's Hill Park, Walter Baker Park are all particularly attractive for those who wish to have a number of guests attend and experience their ceremony. Amongst the many elopement ceremonies that we have performed, they have helped some couples advance immigration processing by virtue of a Canadian-registered marriage even though they still planned religious or civil weddings later in their home country, some while transiting through Ottawa, some couples being posted abroad, some older couples who felt it was time and that their children would accept their decision to do so quietly, and some who simply appreciated the discretion and privacy that elopement affords them. A $200 non-refundable retainer payment is all that it takes to lock in your date and time. Rescheduling to another mutally available time without forfeiting the retainer payment is always available. Whatever your reasons for selecting an elopement wedding, we can help you turn it into a truly wonderful experience that others will envy. Contact us (Lynne & Keith) using the automated form or by phone at (613) 831-7555.
Solstice Elopement Ceremony at a local B&B |
|
 |
