Can you get married in a museum? A UK guide

Yes, at many museums. How the law differs in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and what to ask a museum before you book.

By Chris Unitt, Editor · Published 4 October 2026

Yes, you can get married in a museum, and plenty of couples do. Whether the museum can host the legal ceremony itself, or only the celebration afterwards, depends on where in the UK it is and what licence it holds.

The short answer

• England and Wales: the museum needs to be an approved venue for civil ceremonies. Many larger museums are.
• Scotland: a civil, religious or belief ceremony can take place at almost any venue that agrees to host it, so most museums can.
• Northern Ireland: civil and humanist ceremonies can take place at approved venues, so check the museum’s approval.

Any museum that hires out its spaces can host a reception, a dinner or a party. If yours can’t host the ceremony, you can marry at a register office first and celebrate at the museum afterwards.

England and Wales

Civil weddings and civil partnerships outside a register office have to take place in approved premises. A venue applies to its local council for approval, names the rooms where ceremonies can happen, and has to be “seemly and dignified” and regularly available for weddings. Approval lasts at least three years before the venue renews it.

Since 6 April 2022, approved venues can also hold ceremonies outdoors within their grounds, such as a courtyard or garden, as long as the registrar agrees the spot is suitable. That opens up museum gardens and courtyards, but only at museums that already hold approval.

Registrars from the local council conduct the ceremony, and you book them separately from the venue. You also need to give notice of your marriage at a register office first.

Celebrant-led and humanist weddings aren’t yet legally binding in England and Wales. The government has said it will reform marriage law to allow them, and a consultation closed on 24 September 2026, but there’s no date for the change. For now, couples who want a celebrant usually have a short legal ceremony at a register office, then the ceremony that matters to them at the museum. That second ceremony doesn’t need an approved venue, so any museum that hires out space can host it.

Scotland

Scotland is the most flexible part of the UK. A civil ceremony can take place at any place agreed between you and the local registration authority, apart from religious premises (Citizens Advice Scotland). Religious and belief celebrants, including humanist celebrants, can also marry you legally, and they can do it at the venue of your choice.

So in Scotland the question is mostly whether the museum wants to host weddings, not whether it’s licensed. Many do, from city museums in Edinburgh and Glasgow to castles and historic houses.

Northern Ireland

Civil marriages are conducted by a registrar from the council district where the wedding takes place. Humanist celebrants can conduct legally recognised belief marriages, following a Court of Appeal ruling in 2018, and these take place at approved venues. You need to give at least 28 days’ notice, and councils recommend 10 to 12 weeks for a religious or humanist wedding.

What a museum wedding is like

Most museums hold weddings outside public opening hours, often in the evening or on a day they’re closed to visitors. A typical day might be a ceremony in one room, drinks in a gallery or among the collection, then dinner and dancing in a larger hall.

Because these are working museums with collections to protect, expect some rules a hotel wouldn’t have:

• no candles or naked flames (LED candles are the usual swap)
• confetti outside only, or not at all
• red wine and dark drinks restricted at some venues, because spills can stain historic floors
• nothing fixed to walls, and decorations that stand on their own
• approved caterers only, and food and drink kept out of some galleries
• a fixed finish time, with time set aside for clearing up

Every venue sets its own rules, so ask for its terms early. Our guide to hiring a historic building covers them in more detail.

Questions to ask a museum

1. Is the venue approved for ceremonies, and in which rooms?
2. Can we hold the ceremony outdoors, and what happens if it rains?
3. Which spaces are included, and can guests see the collection?
4. How many guests can you take for the ceremony, the meal and the evening?
5. Do we have to use your caterers, and can we bring our own drinks?
6. What time can suppliers arrive, and when does everything have to finish?
7. What can’t we do: candles, confetti, red wine, music volume?
8. Is the building step-free throughout, and where are the accessible toilets?
9. What does hire include, and what costs extra (staff, security, cleaning)?
10. Does the money from our booking support the museum’s work?

Where to start

Browse museums and heritage sites that hire out their spaces, or start with a city: London, Edinburgh or Glasgow. Each listing links to the venue’s own hire page, so you can check its wedding information and enquire directly.