Venue Review - Julius Banquet Centre (Toronto)

Julius Banquet Centre  
2201 Finch Ave W, North York, ON M9M 2Y9

Just did a wedding at Julius Banquet Centre and felt good about it. So I'm writing a review from a photographer's perspective.

Pros

  • Parking is free, convenient, lots available spots.
  • Venue staff would hold the door open for guests - but for a limited time. They are not present when I arrive for setup neither after the party ends.
  • Servers are trained not to cross in front of cameras -  this is a huge plus!!!
  • All wall outlet are working - good! Comparing to some other venues you often find bad outlets or ones with very weak load. Where the outlets are located is very important for me to decide where to place my studio strobes. Ideally, four lights on each corner would be great but it depends on how the tables are setup on the day of.
  • There are spotlights on the ceiling to light up areas such as the head table and podium - need work with DJ to control those lights.
  • Ceiling and walls are in light colour, which is helpful for bouncing lights.
  • Nice washroom.
  •  

 

Cons

  • There is no wheelchair accessible door opener. I often depend on the button to open the doors and hold it open for me so I can drag my equipment cart through. I had to use sandbags to hold the door open. Not a big deal though.

 

The Experience

The ceremony and reception are held in the same hall. So it's divided into two halves. The head table side was setup with chairs and the couple along with the officiant stood right in front of the head table. The rest of the space was filled with chairs in a typical setting. The other half of the room was filled with already-setup dining tables - ready to be moved to the other half the room after the ceremony is done.

I found the space is really tight due to this setup, some people have to be standing in the back during the ceremony. The space is quite good for the reception though.

I would recommend this venue, however, do consult the photographer about the table chart so wall outlets are not blocked by tables.

 

 

 

RUILIN YUAN