Ever wondered what are the best wedding venues in Belfast? Fancy having a more Urban wedding? We decided to share some of the best wedding venues in Belfast City.
In the last few years Belfast City has become increasingly popular for weddings. New restaurants, galleries, hotels, and bars have opened, offering all kinds of exciting possibilities for couples wanting an urban wedding.
From photographing weddings, we’ve got to know some of the best Belfast wedding venues really well. As our couples often ask us advice on venues we’re excited to share some of our favourites with you to help with your planning. From small, quirky wedding venues to luxurious hotel wedding venues, we’ve got it covered.
Since 2001 Belfast has been divided into quarters, based on its historical past. That would suggest 4 distinct districts but for eccentricity’s sake, Belfast actually has seven quarters (or maybe nine - it depends who you ask)! Yeah, we know, we know…
Queen's University, in South Belfast.
We’ll start off with one of our favourite areas in Belfast: Queen’s Quarter. As the name suggests, this quarter takes in Queen’s University and its surrounding area in South Belfast. Queen’s itself is a licensed wedding venue, hosting both ceremonies and receptions for graduates of the University. If the weather is good, you can have your drinks reception in the quad before dining in the Great Hall.
They even have nearby accommodation available for guests during the summer months. If your tastes are less grand and more quirky and cool, the Queen’s Film Theatre is a great option. You can even bring some popcorn along and screen a film of your choice at the wedding.
Fancy having your first dance surrounded by dinosaurs? Want to show your Mammy a Mummy? You can get married in the Ulster Museum and also have your reception there. Set in the heart of Belfast’s Botanic gardens it gives you a great mix of urban cool and gorgeous greenery. Want to get ready nearby? The luxurious and bohemian Harrison Hotel is just around the corner.
The building itself is stunning inside, with a selection of different rooms catering for both small, medium and large weddings. We often photograph wedding ceremonies in the Belfast Room at the Ulster Museum.
If a restaurant in the Queen’s area is more your thing, you can have a Deane’s at Queen’s wedding. The food is everything you’d expect from a Michael Deane restaurant, and the place has wonderful staff and a relaxed vibe. We think this is one of the best wedding venues in Northern Ireland. So much so, we chose it for our reception.
Moving in closer to the city centre, did you know that Led Zeppelin first performed Stairway to Heaven in the Ulster Hall? It also happens to be one of Belfast’s coolest wedding venues. Just imagine saying your vows in front of their famous Grand Organ, on the same spot where the Rolling Stones and the Beatles once played.
The hall itself is perfect for both ceremonies and receptions. For smaller weddings, the nearby Harlem cafe caters for up to 100 people. Its quirky, fun decor is really charming and their food is excellent.
Staying with music venues, we absolutely love the Empire Music hall as a wedding venue. It’s Victorian interior is absolutely perfect for evening receptions with an abundance of character. It’s one of our favourite venues for evening receptions thanks to the wonderful stage setup and tiered balconies.
The wonderful, bohemian AMPM.
If you love the character of the Empire, then you’ll absolutely adore the unique bohemian style of the Cabaret Supper Club at AMPM. If you’re having your wedding ceremony in Belfast City hall, AMPM is only a few steps away. They have a large roof garden for your drinks reception and the main dining area is like stepping into the Great Gatsby.
One of the things that we love about Belfast is that great restaurants seem to spring up every year, and more and more of our couples are foodies that are opting for a restaurant wedding reception. The good news is that most large restaurants in Belfast are willing to accommodate weddings.
The Muddler’s Club is renowned in Belfast, but the fact it does weddings seems to be a well-kept secret. The staff are great, the food is sublime (of course it is; it has a Michelin star) and the location is in walking distance of some of the coolest photo spots in the city. Plus, they do kickass cocktails.
Wedding Cocktails in the fabulous Muddler’s Club.
If you want a venue in the centre of Belfast, you can’t get much closer than Cafe Parisien. Located on Donegal Place, it looks onto Belfast City Hall. We love the cosy, private vibe of their upstairs reception room, while always feeling that you’re in the middle of the bustle of the city.
Cafe Parisien is the perfect reception venue for those looking for European chic in the heart of Belfast.
On the other side of Belfast City hall we have another great restaurant that caters for weddings. Over the past ten years, Coco has established itself as one of the top Belfast restaurants and is now open to catering for weddings. Inside there’s a beautiful boutique atmosphere and the food is incredible.
The cosy boutique dining area of Coco Belfast.
There are plenty of great hotels and airbnbs in Belfast for your guests, but if you’re after a venue with accommodation you have a couple of great options. The Fitzwilliam is a luxury 5-star hotel in Belfast, located in a central location with superb transport links. Their reception room for weddings is located on the 9th floor and offers amazing views of Belfast. Their food is fantastic and (more importantly?) they have an impressive selection of delicious cocktails.
A view from the 9th Floor of the Fitzwilliam.
Ten Square is right on the doorsteps of City Hall. You can have your prep, ceremony, reception, and accommodation all under the one roof if you book into this boutique hotel. Malmaison, conveniently located near the Albert clock and the big fish, is another cool hotel offering you a super stylish venue for your prep, ceremony and reception. It's only a couple of minutes by car from the Titanic quarter. Some grooms (and maybe brides) will particularly love the option of having a snooker table in their room as they get ready.
The beautiful front facade of the Merchant.
In the heart of Belfast’s cathedral quarter, the Merchant Hotel also offers an all in one solution for your wedding. The hotel is huge and luxurious, but still manages to have a lot of character. We love the views over Belfast from the roof garden, and if you’re lucky enough to stay the night, make sure you make a visit to the rooftop hot-tub.
If you’re feeling really extravagant you can book their Rolls Royce to take you around some of the best wedding photo locations in Belfast. Alternatively, you can take in the Cathedral Quarter’s sights (and pubs) on foot.
The Merchant.
Also in Cathedral quarter is the Oh Yeah Music centre. The centre was opened in 2008 to both nurture and celebrate the Northern Irish music scene. As well as offering their main hall for weddings, they’ve got a great roof bar from which which you can see many of Belfast’s famous landmarks. Your guests can learn some NI music history from the various historical exhibits and you can even book a musical bus tour of the city.
The Oh Yeah Centre Roof bar.
Nestled away in St.Anne’s Square is another one of our favourite venues, The Mac. This cultural hub opened in Belfast in 2012 and is home to some of the most exciting art exhibitions in the country. If anywhere signifies change and regeneration in Belfast it is the Mac. You can have your wedding reception in one of the upper halls. Your guests will love wandering around the building and getting a real taste of art and culture.
The Mac
While we’re on the subject of arts and culture, Belfast’s Lyric Theatre and Waterfront Hall are both licensed wedding venues capable of hosting ceremonies and receptions. The Waterfront benefits from its location by the river Lagan and all the photo opportunities that brings. The Lyric theatre is close to both botanic gardens and Lagan meadows, allowing your urban wedding to have some greenery.
The Market Quarter
We didn’t google to find out, but we might just hazard a guess that Belfast’s Market Quarter got its name from St.George’s Market! This lovely Victorian Market is another gem among Belfast wedding venues. Available only for weekday weddings, we were delighted to have shot the first wedding there. It’s also the only wedding where we got to feast on a famous Belfast Bap!
George's of the Market
It’s normally not a good thing to end up in jail on your wedding day unless, that is, you book Crumlin Road Gaol as your reception venue. One of the most interesting and, perhaps, the most divisive venues we’ve shot in, the Gaol itself is a beautiful building steeped in history.
While there, your guests will get a guided tour of the Gaol itself. And we find there’s nothing like a prison guard in Victorian uniform to make guests form an orderly queue for dinner.
Crumlin Road Gaol.
Want a Belfast city wedding but not prepared to go fully urban? Why not have your wedding in Malone House? Located in South Belfast, it’s surrounded by huge swathes of gorgeous countryside but is only 15-20mins from the city centre. One of the key advantages of Malone House is that you can have an outdoor ceremony there if the weather is good. Not only is it situated in lovely gardens, Shaw’s Bridge, Lagan Valley Park, and Lady Dixon Park are all close by.
Malone House.
Titanic Belfast, of course!
What? No mention of Titanic in a Belfast blog post? Oh, ok then… The Titanic Quarter has seen development costing hundreds of millions of pounds and the result is rather lovely! Having your wedding in The Titanic museum is a great option if you’re having a big wedding. In fact, Titanic Belfast (befitting its name) can seat anything from 50 to 500 guests, though the majority will have to sit in third-class seating areas… nooooo, of course that’s not true.
The views from the ceremony room, looking out over the dry dock and famous H&W cranes, are spectacular. And the replica staircase will have your guests taking selfies like there’s no tomorrow.
You're treated to this amazing view with a Titanic Belfast wedding ceremony
Just opposite the Titanic museum, the Titanic Hotel is one of the newest and best wedding venues in Belfast. It’s absolutely spectacular inside with it’s art-deco fourishes and parquet floors. It can cater for small and large weddings with a number of different ceremony rooms.
We adore the light-filled drawing room that looks out onto the titanic museum - probably one of the nicest places in Belfast to hold an evening reception. If you have a rainy wedding, you can get spectacular photos without leaving the building - something that is rare among wedding venues. We can’t recommend it enough.
Also in Titanic Quarter, you can have your wedding on SS. Nomadic, the last White Star Line ship in the world. Nomadic actually ferried some passengers out to Titanic from Cherbourg, before it set off on its maiden voyage.
Moored in the docks, and overlooking the Titanic museum, it’s an incredible piece of history and a really special location for photographs.
One of our favourite things about Belfast is all the brilliant bars and restaurants we have. We’ve shot weddings in the Hudson and Filthy McNasty’s. Bars such as The Crown, Duke of York, The Garrick, Muriels and Fibber Magees, while not wedding venues provide some really cool backdrops for photos and a nice relaxing pint of Guinness. It’s never a waste of time to factor in a trip to the pub!
The Duke of York
If you’re after a small wedding venue in Belfast, your best option could be a restaurant. We’ve had a great time shooting weddings in Made in Belfast and James Street South, and the food is always great. Coppi is one of our favourite restaurants in Belfast. Ox, Shu, Mourne Seafood, Kitch and the Barking dog are all worthy of your wallet! For Asian cuisine, we love Sakura and Zen, and there are far too many fabulous Indian restaurants to name (but we must give honourable mention to the Archana)
Belfast Marriage laws
Northern Irish laws on marriage are a bit different to the rest of the UK. Civil marriages and partnerships in Belfast can only take place in venues that are council-approved. You can get an up-to-date list of the approved Belfast ceremony locations here. The council advise contacting civil registrar before booking your ceremony venue to make sure they’re available. You can also choose to get married at Belfast City Hall and bask in all the attention and good wishes you’ll get from visiting tourists!
If you’re having a religious or Humanist wedding, you can pretty much get married anywhere that your celebrant agrees to. This can take the stress out of your wedding by not having to travel in the city between your ceremony and reception. We’ve even photographed a living-room wedding in Belfast.
Inside Belfast City Hall.
Wedding Accommodation in Belfast
Don’t be put off a Belfast venue because they don’t have accommodation for your guests. Belfast has some great hotels within walking distance of most venues. It’s also worth contacting a hotel to see if they can do a deal for booking a large number of rooms.
The Merchant
If your or your parents’ house is far from Belfast, it’s a good idea to get ready in the city and stay there the night of the wedding. For bridal prep, and honeymoon suites we have nothing but praise for The Merchant, The Fitzwilliam, Malmaison and the brand new Bullitt. They're brilliant hotels, very central and know how to pamper you and make life easy on the morning of a wedding. We’ve also been in many stunning Airbnb houses and apartments if you would prefer self-catered accommodation.
The Fitzwilliam Hotel
Hopefully that is enough to get you started planning your Belfast city wedding. No doubt we’ll be updating this blog in future when yet more exciting venues open.
If you're planning a Belfast wedding, please get in touch - we'd love to hear from you.