Real weddings · Toronto
Martin and Luc got married in their own living room. No venue, no run of show, no vendor list: a condo in downtown Toronto, the people closest to them, a first look, photos in St. James Park, a ceremony at half past four, and a night that went from a champagne toast to five speeches to games on the floor.
This is the highlight film from that day. We film documentary style, without re-staging, and a wedding this small is the purest version of that. There is nowhere to hide a camera in a living room, so we did not try. We were a guest with a camera, and the film is what a guest saw.
Martin & Luc, at home in Toronto. Filmed by Silver Leaf Weddings.
The story of the day
Getting ready started at two, in the same rooms the wedding would happen in. There is something about a wedding at home that a venue never gives you: the coffee cups are theirs, the light through the window is the light they wake up to, and nobody is watching a clock on a wall they have never seen before.
The first look was at three, at home, before they went out. Then the two of them walked over to St. James Park for couple photos. The park is a few minutes from most of downtown and it gives a wedding like this one thing a condo cannot: sky, trees, and the sense of a day happening in the city rather than above it. Half an hour there, and back home before guests arrived.
The ceremony was at half past four, in the living room, with chairs where the sofa usually is. Twenty-odd people, close enough to hear every word without a microphone. A champagne toast followed at five, then group photos, and by a quarter to six the room had been turned again for the entrance and the first dance.
Five speeches, two minutes each. That was the rule, and it held. Five short speeches from five people who know a couple well beat one long one from someone reading off a phone every single time, and the room's energy proved it. Dinner followed, and then, from a quarter past seven, games and dancing in the same space that had been a ceremony three hours earlier. If you are planning a small wedding, our guide to whether to add videography to your wedding is written with days like this one in mind.
What filming a wedding at home is actually like
Couples planning a small wedding sometimes assume it is too small for video. It is the opposite. A big wedding has a hundred angles and a schedule that decides where the camera goes. A small one has a single room, no schedule to speak of, and people who forget the camera is there inside the first twenty minutes. That is the best possible condition for a documentary film.
Practically, it means one videographer, not two. It means available light and one small light for the evening, not a lighting setup. It means we spend the ceremony three feet from the couple because that is where the only clear sightline is, and the speeches are recorded on a recorder on the table rather than a wireless mic. It means the film runs a little shorter, because a four-hour wedding does not need a five-minute highlight to feel complete. And it means our highlight film pricing is the same as it is for a wedding at a castle: we charge for the day, not the guest list.
The engagement film
A year before the wedding, we filmed Martin and Luc's engagement on Centre Island. It is the film that made the wedding film easier: by the time we walked into their living room, they had already spent an afternoon with us and a camera, and none of it was new.
Martin & Luc on Centre Island. An engagement film is included with our Classic and Complete packages.
More weddings from Toronto and the GTA
There is no venue to compare this one to. These films are here for a different reason: each one is a couple who did the day their own way.
- Shayla & Gabe at Casa Loma and a board game café. Corgi ring bearers, dice games on every table.
- Makungu & Warren at Archive Studios. A studio space in the city, filled with people.
- Anastasia & Paul at Parkview Manor. Portraits at the Aga Khan Museum, reception in North York.
Planning your own wedding film? Start here
Martin and Luc's day is one film. If you are still figuring out your own, these guides cover the questions small weddings ask first:
- How much does a wedding videographer cost in Toronto. Real numbers, and what changes the price.
- How far in advance should you book. Realistic lead times, including for a small day booked on short notice.
- Why you need an engagement video. What Martin and Luc's Centre Island afternoon did for the wedding film.
- Questions to ask your wedding videographer. The ones that matter before you sign anything.
If you are getting married at home, or somewhere that is not a venue, tell us about it. We have filmed weddings in living rooms, and we would like to film yours. We believe in real moments.
View our packages Get in touchLast updated September 2026.