Markham Event Centre

I had my wedding here on July 12, 2014. We chose the 2^nd menu and my guest overall were happy with the food. The only con is that some guests said they didn’t get any abalone slices while some did. Some guests said the rice seems kinda dry. My in laws think that the food that we tried for the taste testing is much better than actual wedding day but then again all food where it is mass produced won’t be as perfect on wedding day. We liked how everything was packaged together and the manager Edmund was very good. He was easy to reach by email and phone. He is very nice and attentive. They will ask you for the $$ on wedding night so make sure to have the $$ ready to pay them and have someone else take care of it if you want to relax more as the bride/​groom to enjoy the party instead of dealing with $$. Better yet, just pay them the day before and get it over with like some western halls. Everyone said the service here was good. Only con of the service is that they threw away my food at the head table and clear the table way too quickly/​early without asking people first. Some of my guests and even myself, our food was thrown out. Make sure to tell them to package your food and do not throw it out without your permission! Food I would give around ⁸⁄₁₀ and service is 8/​10, above average. Everyone loved the dessert and Edmund makes really good recommendations. He is a great manager but his staff, some of them are just ok especially since some didn’t ask myself and my guests for permission before clearing our table and throwing our food out! Make sure to have a prep talk with Edmund about this so this doesn’t happen on your wedding day!

I actually came here when I was researching for a venue for my wedding. I was VERY close in booking this venue, until I read some reviews that the alcohol was really watered down. To me, open bar was very important to me, I have a lot of guests that love a good drink.
Overall, the place is very grand, they have a high ceiling. But I do hate their carpet, they really need to do something about that. It’s like green/​orange color. They look like fall leaves, but in rainbow color.
Everything seems to be all packaged, your cake (fake), backdrop with your names on the backboard, table clothes, and chair covers, they even come with center pieces — which is the 3 jars with floating candles. The price is decent, if you pay cash, they usually give you a discount. If you are one of those brides that can’t be bothered with little details that this venue is for you. Everything is very simple, you pick the menu, pick your décor/​color and you are pretty much set! I’m still unsure how I think about the manager, he seems — nice, but I just can’t quite put my finger on him…
The food. I had a wedding here just last weekend, and I must say… the food I have to give it a… 2 out of 5. I really wasn’t full after that meal, and the quality is pretty bad.
Noise level: if you have another wedding next to your wedding — you will hear EVERYTHING they are doing. Their music, their speeches…
Service: is pretty good, overall the staff is very tentative.
Open Bar: Because the bar is outside — it actually takes the attention away from the groom/​bride and the party dancing inside the event. Everyone was pretty much hovering the open bar outside AND the dessert table outside. It really makes a pretty empty dance floor.
I don’t think I would recommend this venue to the future bride/​groom. The place is decent with decent priced. But there’s a few flaws about this place which is quite important to me!

I have attended 4 weddings here. My review is very detailed: but if you are a future bride and groom please do read the entire post of my experiences.
Let’s begin with the most recent, which was last month. After the wedding I spent the next 3 days in the washroom with the runnies.
The food served was a traditional Chinese banquet menu. I should have known when the lobster tasted off and the abalone was way too fishy for its normal taste. Even before the food was served the consenses at the table was: We’ve all been here before and food is not good. We were all chuckling under our breaths. A girl at our table had the vegetarian meal. She picked at all her dishes and ate less than ¼ of the food. They managed to make lettuce taste bad. The dessert table was the same as last time which I describe below.
The third time everything went well because I didn’t get sick.
The second time was last year when I was pregnant. I actually threw up in the washroom before I got to the 6^th course for the night. (I did not have morning sickness during my pregnancy)
I also had a huge sugar craving and was first in line for the dessert table. They took cakes out of cardboard boxes that were half eaten. Meaning they served the same cakes from the pervious wedding. Ewww I then turned to the fruit platter and the fruit was pale in colour and dry when I ate it: Probably because it had been sitting in the fridge for days. The wedding cake was dry and it started crumbling before you could put it in your mouth.
The 1^st time I didn’t enjoy myself. I thought it must just be me, because the wedding was held on a Sunday and I had work the next day.
The space: I enjoy the grandness of the winding staircase and the beautiful chandeliers over hanging from the high ceiling. The foyer is good for kids to play during the long wedding.
The seperator of the halls are paper thin. I couldn’t hear the bride and groom speech because the other side was either dancing or had music on for games.
I know all bride and grooms pour their heart and soul into planning a wedding. I wanted to be there for them and don’t have the heart to decline the invitation. They would ask me how the food was after the fact and I would say ‘okay’ and try to change the topic because I don’t want to offend them.
Yes, the price per person is very attractive because they throw in the back drop, cake, décor, center piece vases to use etc.
But all I remember about your wedding was how bad the food is and that I got sick.
From a different perspective my husband was with me all 4 times and he didn’t get sick. His conclusion is that the food is pretty bad. He is not a picky eater. We’ve become very selective about what we pick up at the dessert table. But he spite the glutinous ball that was sprinkled with peanuts, ‘tong yun’, back out because it was gross. I think that’s the rudest thing I’ve ever seen him do: P It was good that the dance floor was already open and it was dark.

If this venue had my wedding date available, I would have gone here in a heartbeat. The Markham Event Centre opened about three years ago so it is relatively new. The space is beautiful & I absolutely love the high ceilings with chandeliers. The capacity varies but it can accommodate up to 700 (rounds of 10 & with dance floor). They can split the hall into 2 to fit a smaller party (minimum 140).
Food — I can only write about the Chinese food as I read this in the Chinese bride section of the Frugal Bride Forum & also asked a friend who’d gone there once. The Chinese food at MEC was better than other banquet halls & the temperature & portion was decent sized as well.
I dealt with Christina, who was very pleasant, accommodating and patient (especially with my future MIL). I really liked her and felt if I had my wedding here she would’ve taken care of a lot of things. If you plan to check this place out, talk to her!
What I also love about this venue is they threw in a lot of ‘freebies’. The backdrop (your choice of colour), registration table (your colour), standard 6 hour bar, wedding cake, money box, dessert table was included in the package. This is perfect for busy brides!
The only bad thing? I didn’t really notice it but my fiancé did not like the carpet. If you plan to keep your wedding neutral I think it will look very elegant here. Love it just too bad they did not have our date.