The Best Date Ideas for Engaged Couples in Southern Ontario - That Aren’t Just Dinner
This season of your life is exciting but it can also come with a wee bit of drama, too many options, too many opinions, and somehow things can go from blissful to wildly overwhelming real fast. Totally unfair.
Even while planning my own wedding, I got so overstimulated by it all that I booked myself a hotel room for the night without my fiancé (now husband). Not because I needed a break from him, I just genuinely did not want to talk about anything with anybody. I wanted to eat chips in bed, watch Law & Order: SVU, and completely shut my brain off for 12 hours.
In hindsight, planning a few fun things together probably would’ve been healthier than isolating myself with sour cream & onion chips. Also, if you plan on having kids someday, do the fun stuff now. Once children arrive, your life becomes heavily dominated by squeaky cartoon voices and an alarming amount of snack distribution.
So, here are some fun date ideas for engaged couples in Southern Ontario that aren’t just sitting across from each other at another restaurant talking about wording on your invitations.
Cozy & Romantic Date Ideas
Stay at a Tiny Cabin or Glamping Spot
Whether you want to fully unplug or just drink wine in a robe while pretending you’re outdoorsy, Southern Ontario has some cute options.
Every time I see these places on Airbnb they look so appealing. Cozy cabins, with cozy beds and maybe a hot tub or fire pit. In the woods with no opinions, YES!
Long Point Eco Adventure
Tents, cabins, craft beer and a restaurant with activities like star gazing, zip lining, kayaking and mountain biking. Rest, drink and be active!
Back Forty Glamping
Cool instagramable geodesic domes. Hot tubs and decks, totally modern inside. This would probably be a splurge for a weekend getting away. I fully support spending money on experience.
Whispering Springs Wilderness Retreat
A wooded spot with both tents and cabins. Even tree top tents on stilts! There’s a little restaurant with craft cocktails and pizza, breakfast delivery to your tent, horseback riding, yoga, and campfires. Morning coffee on a deck looking the woods is the peace you want mid wedding planning.
Fun & Playful Date Ideas
Go To an Arcade
The Rec Room
A noisy arcade bar in Toronto. Lively and fun. Be a cool spot for engagement photos if they allowed it, be worth asking! I have been with my little family and I highly recommend The Walking Dead game. Shoot some zombies (MIL?) and feel the wedding tension melt.
Tilt Arcade Bar
In both London and Toronto, Tilt is retro arcade bar with pinball and classic arcade games. They have a slushee machine and jello shots! Lots of delicious unhealthy food, maybe not the ideal stop if you’re deep into “wedding bootcamp”, but ya know, a little won’t hurt. Like I always say, one salad won’t make you skinny so one deep fried mars bar won’t destroy you.
Take a Pottery or Art Class Together
The Kiln Room
A pottery studio in Woodstock offering all kinds of classes. Try the 2 hour workshop because there is a very high chance at least one of you will create an absolutely horrifying mug. They also offer pottery classes with horses, which are two things I never would’ve thought to combine, but apparently it works. Make a cowboy boot out of clay, pet some therapeutic horses and forget about your wedding woes.
Pottery Studio 1
Toronto pottery studio that has couple’s pottery classes in a private space, with wine and candles. Make some cute matching pottery, get messy and act out the scene from Ghost.
Go Axe Throwing, Mini Golf, or Go-Karting
Batl Grounds
With multiple locations across Southern Ontario, this place has axe throwing, knife throwing, archery, and even a rage room. Basically, a wellness centre for engaged couples. They even have leagues if you accidentally discover this is your calling in life.
Hamilton Indoor Go Karts
You’ll have to wear a helmet that is almost certainly not flattering, but speeding around corners trying to beat your fiancé may be deeply healing. Then go for a nice dinner to repair the rift or set a re-match.
Putting Edge
It’s glow in the dark mini putt! The photos look like the realm of monsters from Moana. That’s what it reminded me of - total "another planet’ vibes, so a real escape from wedding planning on earth.
Outdoorsy Date Ideas
Rent Bikes and Explore
Bike the County
Brewer, winery and cafe tours in Prince Edward County. Spend the day looking cute on matching bikes while becoming either pleasantly tipsy or dangerously over-caffeinated, both valid experiences. This would r with another couple if you want a little double-date energy.
Tour de Vine
There are a plethora of bike tours in Niagara on the Lake, but Tour de Vine offers both guided and self-guided bike tours so you can decide how ambitious you’re feeling. Renowned for its historic inn, NOTL has lots places to stay overnight, which may be wise if you accidentally drink more than your athletic abilities can support.
Go Stargazing
Did you know there are “certified dark-sky preserves” designated by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada? If you live in a city, you’ll probably have to drive a bit to these dark sky preserves since they are far from civilization, but that’s part of the charm. Road trip and alien debates.
In Guelph, there is a star gazing bike tour! Changing Gears offers a ride once a season. It’s a guided tour with an astrophotographer which goes to a private observatory. Nerdy and athletic!
Or keep it simple: download a stargazing app, grab a blanket and snacks, and drive somewhere outside the city lights to just sit and look at the sky together. This is also one of the best engaged couple dates if you’re in full wedding-budget mode because the stars are free.
Picnic Somewhere Pretty
Pick up some fancy pre-made snacks from the grocery store, grab a couple adult beverages, and don’t forget the cheese. Picnics can happen at basically any park. But if you want something a little more curated and aesthetically pleasing here are a few cute options. Maybe purchase a disposable camera and get some artsy shots for your wedding website.
Windecker Woods Flower Farm
Bring your own food, wander through the flower farm, find a nice spot to sit, and pick some flowers while pretending you’re the main characters in your own indie movie. No fees here.
Berrylicious Fruit Farm
Pick some blueberries and then enjoy a basket of treats when you book a picnic package with this farm in Guelph. They provide everything which removes the hardest part of picnics: remembering literally anything.
Purple Hill Lavender Farm
They provide a table with styled blankets and pillow. Included is a locally sourced charcuterie basket. Sit among the lavender, sip wine and listen to live music.
Seasonal Date Ideas
Fall: Apple Picking
There are approximately 4,000 places to go apple picking in Southern Ontario once September hits. Here is a LIST. A very date like activity. Once you get all these apples home then what do you do with them? You better learn to make pie. My daughter put some in bath with her when she was 4, so apparently that’s also an option.
Winter: Christmas Markets & Hot Chocolate Walks
Southern Ontario really commits to winter magic once Christmas market season starts.
A few popular ones include:
I’m not mentioning other winter activities because if you need a wedding blog to remind you that tobogganing exists, are you even Canadian?
Summer: Outdoor Movie Nights or Drive-Ins
Cozy up on your tailgate with a blanket, looking suspiciously like the rom-com you’re currently watching. Personally, I prefer action movies. And naturally, leave with popcorn in your bra as a little souvenir of the evening.
Drive-in movie theatres are one of those date ideas that somehow still feel cute no matter how old you are.
Premier Theatres has six drive-in theatres across Ontario, so there’s a decent chance one exists near you.
The Oxford Drive in offers that quintessential drive-in experience, playing new releases and classics.
Spring: flower picking and looking
Cherry blossoms typically bloom between late April and early May, giving everyone in Ontario approximately a two-week window to frolic in the bloomness. High Park in Toronto has the most with 1500 trees.
Other locations are:
Centennial Park in Etobicoke
Kariya Park in Mississauga
Spencer Smith Park in Burlington
Royal Botanical Gardens also in Burlington.
And if you’re from the Norfolk County area, tulip picking at Berkelbloem is honestly delightful for the few weeks it opens each spring.
Rows and rows of tulips, food trucks, and a café tucked inside a greenhouse somehow makes for sophisticated adult feeling afternoon. Even if you still go home and eat cereal for dinner later.
What to make a date an engagement shoot?
More Date Ideas That Double as Engagement sessions:
Canoes
Ice cream dates
Record stores
Carnival nights
Beach bonfires
Pizza and beer at sunset
Coffee walks downtown
If you’re planning your wedding and trying not to lose your minds in the process, you may also like:
Things You Can Do to Get the Best Wedding Photos Possible
What Is Documentary Wedding Photography?
What to Do After You Get Engaged - Before the Wedding Planning Takes Over.