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About

On Hitched.co.uk since 2021

Last update: June 2024

Located in the heart of Oxford, The Bodleian Library is one of the oldest libraries in Europe and an impressive wedding venue emitting old-world charm. This beautiful 17th-century building formed the centre of Oxford science in the late 1600s and its galleries today offer a spectacular setting for any wedding celebration. You can wow your guests with an unforgettable event set in the heart of the ‘dreaming spires.’

Facilities and Capacity

The Bodleian Library invites you to enter through its magnificent ceremonial doors and toast your once-in-a-lifetime celebrations. Gliding through the Old Bodleian, you will be welcomed by the intricate details of the stone walls surrounding the Old Schools Quadrangle before experiencing the masterful late gothic architecture of the Divinity School. The Convocation House provides a distinguished ceremonial space for up to 100 guests with a fan-vaulted ceiling, fine woodwork, and chapel-style wooden benches.

Services Offered

Offering their grandest rooms for private hire, the Bodleian Library provides an experienced wedding team to help ensure your special day runs smoothly. The Bodleian wedding team strives to provide a professional and attentive service tailored to your tastes. Whether you seek the intimacy of a small wedding or a full-scale event with the ceremony and reception included, the Bodleian Library has a range of packages available to suit almost any budget. Options include:

  • Exclusive use of Old Schools Quad for an evening reception (Saturdays & Sundays)
  • An experied sole caterer who can tailor food and drinks menus to your requirements
  • Space for a dance floor
  • Live band and DJ facilities
  • License for civil ceremonies and partnerships
  • Woman-owned
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Frequently asked questions

Venue type:

Unusual weddings
Historic
In the city
Unique weddings

Ceremony options:

Civil ceremony licence

Dining options:

Seated meal facilities
Corkage option
Private catering allowed
Alcohol licence
Buffet meal facilities

Evening entertainment:

Dance floor
Entertainment licence
Live band facilities
Evening reception facilities
DJ facilities

Venue staff assistance:

Wedding coordinator

Other features:

Exclusive use
Accessible facilities
illustration notebook

Do you have any questions?

Reviews for Bodleian Libraries

We're all about trust. Our community relies on honest reviews to make your big decisions easier.
5.0 out of 5 rating
5.0 out of 5 rating
12 reviews
100% recommend it
  • Quality of the service
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Response time
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Professionalism
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Value for money
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Flexibility
    5 out of 5 rating
Katie
Katie H. Sent on 10/04/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Perfection!

The team at the Bodleian have been absolutely amazing. They made our dreams come true, holding our wedding ceremony in the beautiful convocation house. Ever since our initial meeting they’ve been fantastic. Anytime we’d email with a question, they’d respond within the day, no question was too much for them. They also went above and beyond when we had trouble with our wedding reception and worked really hard to find ways around accommodating us at such short notice. Everything ran so smoothly on the day, partly due to the rehearsal we’d had a couple of days before, which was incredibly helpful to do! It really was the most beautiful place to hold our ceremony and we’re so thankful to the amazing team!
E
Eleanor V. Sent on 04/11/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Harry & Eleanor - 30.09.23

Rachael and team at the Bodleian Libraries proved themselves to be a truly outstanding venue. My husband and I had our wedding ceremony in The Divinity School, a breath-taking historic space in which beautiful memories are created and treasured for a lifetime. The Bodleian Libraries weddings team are meticulous in helping to coordinate the logistics of your ceremony and ensure everything is clearly communicated; not a stone left unturned! We had the drinks reception in the courtyard outside the Wren Door. Together with the setting and perfect level of friendliness and professionalism, both bride and groom and all the guests had an unforgettable day. Thank you to the Bodleian Libraries for accommodating us so well; thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
R
Rah Sent on 17/10/2022
5 out of 5 rating

Absolutely wonderful

Our wedding ceremony in Convocation House was just perfect. The venue is obviously beautiful, we just fell in love with the space as soon as we saw it! We only had around 35 guests, but the room felt intimate and welcoming.

The events team went above and beyond – they were considerate, kind and helpful – making the whole process easy, straight forward and smooth running on the day.

We honestly couldn’t recommend the Bodleian enough – book a show round and go see the space for yourselves - you will love it too, I’m sure!
F
Faye Sent on 04/11/2019
5 out of 5 rating

Beautiful Venue, Brilliant Team

We had an incredible wedding day at the Bodleian Library. We held both the ceremony and the reception there and heard so many glowing comments from the guests about how beautiful the venue was. Hannah and her team were brilliant - responding quickly to every question we had in the planning phase and helping everything run smoothly on the day. We felt totally relaxed and didn't worry about a thing.
K
Kate Sent on 22/10/2019
5 out of 5 rating

Fantastic Wedding Venue

We had our ceremony in Convocation House in The Bodleian. All through the process, The Bodleian staff were extremely helpful, and took a lot of the stress away. The space was absolutely gorgeous, and on the day, everything went to plan. As a non-religious couple, we were thrilled The Bodleian could provide the gravitas of a church venue, but without the religious overtones.
A
Abi Sent on 21/10/2019
5 out of 5 rating

An amazing place for an amazing day

My husband and I had our wedding reception at the Bodleian Library in September 2019.

We visited the Divinity Schools on one of their open days and absolutely fell in love. The staff were brilliant to work with and made everything super easy for us.

As expected, the venue on the day was perfect. The Bod staff worked really well with the rest of the suppliers (including caterers, florist, furniture hire etc.) so that the day went perfectly smoothly.

We had such a fabulous time in the perfect setting and wouldn't have changed a thing!
A
Alex Sent on 04/09/2018
5 out of 5 rating

Fantastic Oxford Reception Venue

We had our wedding reception in the Divinity School at the Bodleian and we could not recommend the venue more highly.
The building itself is absolutely stunning and needs very little doing to it in the way of decoration - the architecture speaks for itself! So many of our guests told us how much they loved it.
Hannah made the whole planning process easy and seamless. She was always responsive and assisted with suppliers and timings. Planning our wedding was much less stressful knowing we could rely on her advice and expertise. The team also made sure things ran smoothly on the day so that my husband and I could just enjoy ourselves. Hannah even helped me with my veil!
Overall, we had a fantastic wedding reception at the Bodleian and are so grateful to Hannah and the team for all their efforts.
D
Darmiga Sent on 08/09/2017
5 out of 5 rating

The perfect venue for an Oxford Wedding!

When my husband and I visited Blackwell Hall at the Bodleian, we knew we had found the perfect place to hold our wedding reception. Having both studied at Oxford, the city has special meaning to us and this venue ticked all our boxes: central location, stunning interior (with exposed book shelves on the 1st floor looking into the hall) and a huge open space big enough for 200 + guests and a ceilidh. As if this wasn't enough, there was also a beautiful sky light, a huge screen at the back of the hall we could use to make a slideshow of photos (which looked fantastic) and the added option to hire access to a roof terrace (with some of the best views of the oxford sky line we have seen) and also the current exhibitions.

From the very start, Hannah, Kate and the rest of the Bodleian team were a pleasure to work with and were very professional, accommodating and helpful. On the day, the room looked amazing, the event ran smoothly and we received so many compliments on the choice of venue!

We would highly recommend Blackwell Hall for anyone looking for a unique and memorable place to wed in Oxford.

Thank you all for everything!
K
Katherine Sent on 24/07/2017
5 out of 5 rating

Wonderful staff - beyond beautiful venue

Hannah and the team at the Bodleian were an absolute dream in helping us to realise our dream of getting married in Convocation House.

As soon as my husband and I found out you could get married in the Bodleian we knew that what we wanted to do. Firstly the events team were really responsive and helpful in finding a slot we could do, despite quite a late request and they calendar being pretty packed.

We had a great first meeting where the events manager took us through how things would work, and how we could decorate etc. - and Hannah was great putting up with my endless questions leading up to the day.

The venue itself is beautiful - so bright for what it is, and beautifully appointed. They liaised with my registrar, flowers, and photographer for me so everything went off without a single hitch. Overall a beautiful venue, fabulous staff and a perfect ceremony.

Thanks to Hannah and the team!
R
Riham Sent on 01/06/2017
5 out of 5 rating

Spring Bodleian Wedding

My husband both studied at the university and is where our journey began - Oxford had a special meaning. When we were told by a friend we could get married at the Bodleian Library we knew it would be the perfect spot. The location/building/history is incredible; all our guests were in love with the venue. Its absolutely breathtaking. On top of that brilliant services throughout from a fantastic wedding co-ordinator to security. Thank you so much Bodleian for making our wedding a extra special; we wouldn't have changed a thing!
C
Christian Sent on 10/04/2017
5 out of 5 rating

Christian's & Michelle's Wedding

We were married at Exeter College in Oxford, and after a long day of festivities in the College we had our evening reception at the Divinity Schools and couldn't have asked for a more magical finale to our special day. The splendour of the Bodleian facade, and the grandeur of the Divinity Schools, completed our perfect wedding in an enchanting and memorable way. The wedding management team at the Bodleian was extremely professional, and were understanding and accommodating of our many requests; they were as efficient as they were charming and it was pleasure to work with them. We could not more highly recommend a venue, or a team to work with; and we are sure our family, our guests, and we shall cherish the memories of our wedding reception at the Bodleian for many decades to come.
S
Sarah Sent on 19/10/2016
5 out of 5 rating

An absolutely perfect ceremony...

We had an absolutely perfect ceremony – the room looked beautiful, and everyone thought the whole Bodleian was absolutely amazing. You and your colleagues were really helpful and patient – thank you for that. You also made everything very straightforward in the weeks leading up, and you offered a great deal of help and advice, for which we are very grateful.

We’re so pleased that we had our ceremony with you. It was the absolute highlight of the day and it was so very special to have it at the Bod, with all the memories that we have of it. Thank you.

All our best wishes,
Sarah and Adam
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Bodleian Libraries Real Weddings

Vincent & Alexia
25 photos · 17/07/2022

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Broad Street OX1 3BG Oxford (Oxfordshire)
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