Kievgid

Toronto Island is a great spot to stop as part of a Toronto vacation; the entire harbor and waterfront are loaded with fun and fulfilling things to take part in. The city of Toronto is jam packed with amazing attractions including the Toronto Zoo, the CN Tower, the Ontario Science Centre, etc., etc. If you’ve never had the pleasure of a Toronto vacation, the trip is certainly worth it just to explore the history of Toronto Island.

Starting at the ‘beginning’ One of the most interesting bits of history in relation to Toronto Island is also, coincidently, one of the oldest. The Gibraltar Point Lighthouse, built around 1805, is the longest free standing structure of any kind on the island. It’s no longer used for its intended purpose, but it did serve to provide guidance for vessels for more than one hundred and fifty years. The interesting story here doesn’t have anything to do with providing light - it has to do with ghosts.

In 1815, the lighthouse keeper was found dead of a presumed murder and it’s been since rumored that the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse remains his haunting grounds.

Sports History Hanlan’s Point Stadium was built on Toronto Island in 1897 to be the home for the Toronto Maple Leaf professional baseball team. The stadium itself was rebuilt on a few occasions over the years and no longer stands today, but in 1914 it was the sight of what would have been one of baseballs most valuable and sought after artifacts. Before all of the hype and hoopla, before the famous nicknames and before he became known as the greatest player to ever take the field, Babe Ruth hit his first professional home run out of Hanlan’s Point Stadium and into the Harbor. Though the artifact was never recovered (presumably), a local bar displays ‘the ball’ for fans to take a gander at while they enjoy a drink.

The true intention of the original colonization of the island was for a ’summer getaway’ for Toronto residents. Large Victorian style vacation homes were built on the island, and then an elaborate amusement park was erected for entertainment, followed by the sport’s stadium, an airport and the Royal Yacht Club.

The Island today has a more permanent residential section that includes a church and two public schools, but the overall feel of the island remains predominantly as a getaway from the everyday. In 1967 a turn of the century themed amusement park for children was built, recreational boating continues to be extremely popular among residents and visitors to the island who can choose between several boat and yacht clubs. There are also a number of beaches for residents and tourists to swim, play and relax - and for the more daring among the vacationing crowd, there are clothing optional beaches available as well.

Another interesting note about the small group of islands around Toronto Harbor is that collectively they make up the biggest ‘car free’ community throughout North America. All of the roadways are paved, but motor vehicle use is restricted to only service vehicles - if you are on one of the islands and in need of some form of transportation other than your feet there are several locations throughout the island where bicycles, Toronto dinner cruises and other modalities of self propelled transportation can be rented.

If you’re planning a vacation to Toronto, your trip could easily be overfilled by all of the amazing attractions on the mainland, but you’d really be selling yourself short if you didn’t stop by and drink in some of the incredible history that Toronto Island has to offer.

Your wedding day should be one of the most special and most memorable days of your life, so if you feel that you need to step outside of tradition in order to make the experience all that it can possibly be - then you should go for it, but be prepared for the possibility of facing some adversity if you opt to go for something that isn’t wholly traditional.

One particular wedding location that’s increasing in popularity is aboard a boat. Having your wedding aboard a boat can be an incredible experience, the beauty of the open water coupled with gourmet food and entertainment out in the sun with a cool sea breeze is an occasion that neither you nor your guests will ever forget.

Pros of having your wedding aboard a luxury cruise ship. By having your wedding on a ship, you can combine your wedding and honeymoon allowing you to immediately begin the vacation celebration as soon as the wedding is through. You’ll eliminate the need for dual planning - once the initial decision is made and the guest list is submitted, the crew aboard the cruise ship will take care of everything else

What comes as a surprise to most people is that having your wedding in this fashion can actually save you some money. By booking the wedding and honeymoon together you’ll get a better deal than you would have by booking them separately and since your wedding will be aboard a dinner cruises harbour, it’s likely that your guest list will be substantially shorter.

As far as planning and preparation go, you’ll have far less to do with planning your wedding aboard a boat which can eliminate the majority of stress and many of the headaches that are commonly associated with the usually monumental task of the planning.

The cons associated with having a wedding aboard a boat. Though the pros of having a boat-bound wedding are undeniably good, the potential cons can far outweigh them. You have to be prepared for whatever the open sea might throw at you, be it rain, sleet or violent storms - the sea is unpredictable and just like planning any type of party, you have to be willing to play whatever hand the weather deals you.

Sea sickness is another big potential downside to having a wedding aboard a boat. Even though the conditions of the water may be reasonably calm some or several of your guests or wedding party may succumb to the woes of sea sickness at some point during the venture - and that point may or may not occur directly in the middle of your ceremony.

If the water is rough for the entire time that you are on it sea sickness and misery could abound through your entire voyage, which will still certainly make your wedding celebration memorable, but probably not in the way you would have liked.

Planning a wedding in any location that can have unpredictable circumstances is always a gamble; it’s up to you and your mate to decide how much you’re willing to gamble on the day of your celebration. If it’s of the utmost importance to the two of you to hold your day outside on the open water, then by all means take the risk and hope for the best, but if the worst case scenario is too much for you to bare dealing with on what is supposed to be the most wonderful day of your life, you may want to have second thoughts about planning your wedding on a boat.

Keep in mind, once you get out there, there will be no turning back - you can’t magically move the boat inside if the weather turns sour, that should be your biggest concern when considering an unconventional location for a wedding.