Wedding planning is stressful and often expensive — that’s why Permission Slip Studios is catering to couples who want to skip the big, traditional ceremony
There’s a new wedding chapel in Toronto’s Junction neighbourhood where couples can exchange vows in a small, trendy ceremony.
Equal parts creative studio space and wedding chapel, Permission Slip Studios was founded by event organizer Victoria Stacey and realtor Nataleigh Ballantyne.
Together, the duo is hoping to make love birds’ dreams come true with their new micro wedding venue, a space that allows couples to host small ceremonies more cheaply — and with less stress — than a large, traditional affair.
The multi-use venue opened this month and hosted its first wedding on Oct. 3. Though it has been the only wedding to take place so far, the business is actively accepting bookings.
Micro weddings on the rise
Toronto’s wedding scene is changing, and with the cost of living so high, many engaged couples likely aren’t keen to spend a small fortune on their big day.
For Stacey and Ballantyne, it’s part of the explanation as to why micro weddings — ceremonies that accommodate 50 guests or fewer — have become so in demand.
Micro weddings still typically have most of the fixings of a traditional wedding, such as a service, reception and photographer, but function as a middle ground between a large ceremony and an elopement.
When Stacey and Ballantyne met three years ago, they began developing a business plan to cater to this crowd of couples seeking smaller, thriftier nuptials.
Permission Slip Studios can accommodate up to 20 guests for wedding ceremonies and offers clients two packages, which include one hour in the space. The “True Romance” package, the cheapest option, includes just an officiant signing ceremony for $888. The top-tier package, called “You’re So Cool,” includes a cake, champagne toast, officiant and photographer for $2,222. Florals, specifically a personal bouquet, boutonniere and small ceremony arrangement, can be added on to any package for a $350 fee.
According to research conducted by The Knot, a U.S.-based digital wedding vendor marketplace, 57 per cent of engaged couples who use the platform said they were considering micro weddings in 2025.
The micro wedding trend appears to be catching on in Toronto, too. Earlier this year, couples could be married in civil ceremonies at Toronto City Hall for the first time in decades. Also this year, another local entrepreneur opened a Vegas-style elopement chapel for micro weddings.
“People want the option of doing something smaller and more intimate, while also being taken care of, and the wedding industry as a whole recognized that,” said Ballantyne.
Prior to opening the business, Ballantyne had already dipped her toes into the wedding scene as the owner of the micro wedding planning company, Love Shack Toronto. She launched the business in 2020 as a pop-up chapel located inside a 289-square-foot shipping container at Stackt Market, which could accommodate up to eight people.
When COVID-19 forced her to leave the space, she pivoted to organizing micro weddings in alternative venues around the city.
She wasn’t the first to pursue the idea. Toronto’s first micro wedding chapel, aptly named the Toronto Wedding Chapel, opened in 2006. But Ballantyne said the concept of micro weddings and elopements have grown increasingly popular post-pandemic.
“Every venue offers this style of wedding now to help with affordability, as well as accommodate more inclusive, less fuss planning,” she said.
A space for creativity
When they’re not hosting weddings, Stacey and Ballantyne run community programming in the Permission Slip space, including craft workshops, vendor markets and film screenings.
Such events include the Bookworm Market, which Stacey launched in 2023 — a space to sell preloved books from local bookstores and authors, as well as book-ish accessories and art. It’s now permanently housed in the studio.
“I’ve worked with a whole bunch of venues in the city over the last decade, and there’s always one or two little things that you wish you had full control over,” Stacey said of hosting events. “I really wanted more autonomy. And now I don’t have to go find a space when I want to host a workshop. I can just go for it.”
The studio is also available for hourly rentals, allowing community members to use it as they see fit. Individuals can book it for private events, groups can use it for social clubs and artists or small businesses can rent it as a pop-up space to sell goods.
“[The name] Permission Slip Studios is inspired by the permission to do these things,” said Stacey. “Because we gave ourselves permission to actually open this studio, and we want to give permission to people to do their own things as well.”
“We built a space for creatives, we built a space for community and we built a space for love — obviously,” added Ballantyne. “We really want people to feel welcome.”
