The 8 Best Library Wedding Venues

Bride and groom holding hands in the Boston Public Library, surrounded by wooden tables and green lamps during their wedding. — Photo by Katch Studios

For literary-minded lovebirds, a storied library filled with thousands of books is most likely high on the list of wedding venue options. What could be more romantic, after all, than saying your “I do's” surrounded by the greatest romance novels of all time? Bibliophiles and brides-to-be have been smitten with this unique ceremony and reception idea for years now, but if you’re having trouble narrowing down the world’s most beautiful libraries to just one, allow us to help with this vetted list of eight favorites.

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Boston Public Library

Most New Englanders know the Boston Public Library is one of the region's most stunning wedding venues. Equal parts historical and romantic, couples can wed among the books in this iconic stone building, which offers multiple private event spaces including ornately-decorated, wood-paneled book rooms and an elegant courtyard.

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Abbey Library of Saint Gall

This medieval monastic library located in St. Gallen, Switzerland, checks all of the boxes when it comes to a one-of-a-kind location for your nuptials. Not only is it one of the oldest surviving libraries in Europe, but it’s arguably one of the most beautiful, thanks to its Baroque Rococo-style architecture and artwork. Plus, there’s something to be said about getting married in Switzerland—the world’s most neutral and peaceful country—that really sets the tone for years to come.

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The New York Public Library

Exterior view at night of lit candles on the stone steps of New York Public Library, a wedding venue in NYC. — Photo by CHRISTIAN OTH STUDIO

The Stephen A. Schwarzman-designed NYPL is one of the most celebrated spaces in Manhattan and it happens to be ideal for weddings, with over six auditoriums, rotundas, and grand halls to choose from. They’ve played matrimonial host to everyone from athletes and supermodels (Kate Bock and Kevin Love just wed here) to royals… Even Carrie Bradshaw choose the Beaux-Arts building for her (Mr.) Big day. When in New York City, it doesn’t get any more iconic than the Public Library for an over-the-top affair.

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Admont Abbey Library

Interior view of Admont Library in Austria, showing ornately-painted ceiling with checkered floor and floor-to-ceiling shelves of books. — brandstaetter images / Getty Images

What could be more romantic than tying the knot in a small town in Austria at the awe-inspiring Admont Abbey Library next to the Enns River? The hills (and the bookshelves!) will be alive with the sound of music once your string quartet gets going—under a domed fresco that was erected in 1776, no less. Between the rows of archival works and unparalleled mountainside views, your guests will be enamored from the moment they walk in.

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The George Peabody Library

Known as the “cathedral of books,” Baltimore's George Peabody Library’s atrium is ready-made for romantic ceremonies. Five tiers of cast-iron columns are symmetrically stacked, and the adjacent ornamental posts can double as stately anchors for a hammock of wedding string lights. Even the black-and-white marble floors of this special collection library appear to be dressed in formal wear. Opened in 1878, the library’s collection of 300,000 is dominated by volumes from the 18th and 19th centuries, with plenty of romance literature filling the stacks.

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Trinity College Library

The Old Library of Trinity College Dublin in Ireland famously houses the Book of Kells, a 9th-century illuminated gospel manuscript. But it’s also the location of the Long Room, a handsome 215-foot long chamber with curvaceous oak vaulted ceilings, tidy rows of leather-bound books—plus moveable ladders to reach them—as well as marble busts of philosophers and writers. Bookcases hold more than 200,000 of the library’s oldest tomes in a warm-lit space that looks as though it were the muse for the Harry Potter library. Adding to the romance, the Old Library is also home to the Brian Boru Harp (a medieval harp) and the Guinness emblem.

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Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading

Equally peaceful and palatial, the Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading in Brazil is a place of respite located in the heart of bustling Rio de Janeiro. Multi-colored book spines fill imposing walls and sunshine filters in through a stained-glass dome. Gilded arches, an opulent chandelier anchoring the reading room, and a peacock color palette create a visually rich backdrop for wedding photos. The library, which is brimming with roughly 400,000 titles, houses the largest collection of Portuguese literature outside of Portugal.

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The Rampur Raza Library

Set on manicured grounds and located within a grand palace complete with peach and buttercream-colored tourettes, the Rampur Raza Library in Rampur, India, is a lovely backdrop for bibliophiles on their big day. Inside, the opulence continues, with gilded columns and glamorous chandeliers. Rampur Raza’s collection is massive and is considered a treasure trove of Indo-Islamic cultural materials, including 60,000 books, 17,000 manuscripts, plus paintings, Islamic calligraphy, and centuries-old astronomical instruments.

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