TORONTO – The Canadian National Exhibition sees wedding proposals, first dates and meet-cutes every year but this time around, the fair would like to play cupid.
The exhibition has launched Marriage on the Midway, a contest for one Ontario couple to tie the knot or renew their vows with a wedding on the fair grounds.
“Every single year, we have people who come to the CNE, and they’re here to make memories and have traditions,” said Jane Matthews, CNE marketing director.
“We see people get proposed to here every year. We have requests come in every single year to actually have their wedding on site,” Matthews added. “So finally, we said, you know what, like, why not? Let’s have a wedding.”
The winning couple will get a vow ceremony under the SuperWheel, an official wedding photographer and a wedding cake designed by a local bakery.
The couple can invite up to 20 guests for unlimited rides, a $500 food voucher and seats to the 98 Degrees in concert.
“I’m most excited because we get to actually hear these stories and they’re so unique to each couple, they weave in the CNE experience,” Matthews said, adding the community’s response to the concert has been positive.
“So many people will say ‘you know I had my first job at the CNE, I had my first date at the CNE, I had all my kind of firsts’ and so it becomes kind of like a lovely full-circle story and I love reading those kinds of things,” she said.
Couples who live in Ontario and have a story or special connection to the fair are invited to enter, as well as just fans of the CNE who want to celebrate their commitment to each other at the fair.
The contest is accepting applications until Aug. 8 and the winning couple will be selected by Aug. 15. The wedding celebration will take place on Aug. 23.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2025.
