It’s a book lover’s dream, but hopefully one that is shared by your other half. Even if you’re not both book lovers, Manchester Central Library is still a stunning venue in which to hold a wedding. An extreme enthusiasm for books and libraries will help though when it comes to footing the bill.

The package costs £15,000 for 50 daytime guests and 50 evening guests, with an additional cost of £125 per daytime guest and £30 per evening guest. The maximum number of guests that can be accommodated is 80 in the daytime and 120 in the evening.

You do get a lot for your money though including exclusive use of the library on a Sunday, five course wedding breakfast, evening reception and a champagne toast. You also get access to the Wolfson Reading Room and other heritage spaces. Judging by the photographs in the brochure I think some of these areas are private rooms that aren’t usually available to the public. There are also lots of other touches, but rather than sounding like an advertising brochure, I’ll just give you the link so you can download the very impressive pdf: Central Library Wedding Brochure.

The skylight on the inside of the dome

Manchester Central Library

As the name suggests, it is the headquarters of Manchester libraries. Although it doesn’t have the same historic significance of some of Manchester’s older libraries, nevertheless it is a grade II listed building, which was constructed between 1930 and 1934. The design itself is eye-catching and was loosely based on the Pantheon in Rome.

The library was closed from 2000 until March 2014 while extensive renovations took place at a cost of £40 million. As part of the renovations the Library Theatre Company moved out of the library basement and into its new premises at HOME, a centre for international contemporary art, theatre and film at First Street, Manchester. This was following a merger with the Cornerhouse, a centre for cinema and the contemporary visual arts.

The building to the right is the Town Hall Extension

Manchester Central Library is the second largest public lending library in Britain. It has a host of facilities as well as dramatic design features. Personally, I prefer the original architecture and am not so keen on the glass paneling that has been added following the recent renovation, but I guess I’m an old fashioned (old) girl at heart.

Just some of the facilities include:

• Free use of computers for up to one hour.
• Free Wi-Fi connection.
• A media lounge with creative software and gaming stations.
• Services for the visually impaired including assisted technology and software.
• A business centre giving advice to help you start or run your own business.
• Rare books and special collections.
• The Henry Watson Music Library where you can play or record your own music.
• The Ahmad Iqbal Ullah Race Relations library, which specialises in the study of race, ethnicity and migration.
• A café.

Oh, and did I mention that you can borrow books, DVDs and audio too?

The interior of the dome

In terms of the architecture, the interior is as striking as the exterior. It was difficult to capture the internal dome by camera but each of these marble pillars is about 1.5 to two feet in diameter. The inscription around the inside of the dome is from the Book of Proverbs in the Old Testament and reads:

‘Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom, and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her and she shall promote thee; she shall bring thee to honour when thou dost embrace her, she shall give of thine head an ornament of grace, a crown of glory she shall deliver to thee.’ Proverbs 4:7

Shakespeare Hall has stained glass windows including one of Shakespeare and scenes from his plays. The ceiling shows the arms and crests of the Duchy of Lancaster, the See of York, the See of Manchester, the City of Manchester, and Lancashire County Council. As you move out of Shakespeare Hall and up the stairs to the first floor you pass a lovely statue made from white marble, which was presented to the library by the family of the late industrialist and promoter of the Manchester Ship Canal, Daniel Adamson. It is called ‘The Reading Girl’ and is by the Italian sculptor Giovanni Ciniselli.

Manchester Central Library is not the only library that can be hired as a wedding venue. It seems that it has now become a popular trend, and a quick search of Google shows that the Bodleian Library in Oxford, Manchester’s historic Portico Library, The Signet Library in Edinburgh and various other libraries in the UK can be hired. In fact, hitched.co.uk published an article about library wedding venues, which you can read here. It strikes me as a good idea if you’ve got the cash to spare because some of these buildings provide a stunning setting.

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