CHEStER TOWN HALL
Are you planning a small and intimate wedding, just your closest people gathered in one grand room?
Eloping quietly, the two of you and your witnesses? Or getting the legal part sorted so you can hold a celebrant ceremony or a party on your own terms?
Ready to say “I do” in one of the most beautiful buildings in the North West, where sandstone and stained glass do half the work and the whole of Chester waits outside the door?
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GETTING MARRIED AT CHESTER TOWN HALL
Chester Town Hall sits right in the centre of the historical city on Northgate Street, directly opposite the Cathedral. Grade II listed, opened in 1869, all Gothic sandstone and a tower that rises 160 feet above The Chester Rows. It is the kind of building that makes you stand a little taller walking in.
Ceremonies are held inside its licensed rooms. The Council Chamber is the showstopper, richly carved wood panelling and tall windows, reached by a sweeping staircase, with space for up to 120 guests. If you are after something smaller and more intimate, the Committee Room holds a close circle of around thirty. And when the vows are done, the Assembly Room is there for the celebration, a grand adaptable space with its own stage for the party that follows.
Around every corner you have some of the most photogenic streets in the country. My favourite spots are only a few steps away. The Victorian foyer and staircase inside the Town Hall itself. The Cathedral cloisters across the road. The Rows, the Eastgate Clock, the Roman walls. Whether you want a handful of people or a full guest list, this is a setting that gives you the grandeur without the fuss.
Chester Town Hall is a licensed venue for civil marriages and civil partnerships, at Northgate Street, Chester, CH1 2HJ. To check dates and rooms you enquire directly with the venue, and your registrar is booked separately through Cheshire West and Chester Council.
GRAND, HISTORIC
CHESTER WEDDINGS.
SIMPLE, CHIC AND PERFECTLY RELAXED
GETTING MARRIED AT CHESTER TOWN HALL
timeless
ELEGANCE.
reasons to choose me as your chester town hall photographer
A Town Hall wedding has a particular energy. Considered, a little grand, full of feeling but never fussy. My job is to move quietly inside that and give it back to you exactly as it felt.
The couples who book me for Chester already know what they want. Good taste, no interest in a performance, and photographs that actually look like them. If that sounds like you, we are going to get on very well.
REASONS TO HAVE A CHESTER TOWN HALL WEDDING
THE SETTING
CEREMONY
Whatever the size of your day, there is a room for it. The Council Chamber for the full, grand entrance down that staircase, up to 120 guests around you.
The Committee Room for something smaller and softer, closer to thirty. All you truly need is each other, two witnesses, your vows and the rings. Everything else is yours to shape.
THE LOCATION
CITY CENTRE
Chester wears its history openly. You step out of one of the most beautiful buildings in the city and straight into cobbled streets, the Rows, the Cathedral, the walls the Romans left behind. It is elegant and alive at once, a backdrop most couples travel a long way for, waiting on your doorstep.
READY TO
PARTY
The city is built for celebrating. Michelin dining at Simon Radley at The Chester Grosvenor. Spanish small plates and buzz at Porta. A dramatic reception inside a converted chapel at The Church. Or stay exactly where you are and take the Assembly Room for the whole night.
PHOTO READY
BACKDROP
The joy of marrying in the centre of Chester is that your portraits are never more than a short walk away. Fancy architecture and old world grandeur? The Cathedral is directly opposite and the Town Hall foyer is a gift in itself. Something with a little more texture? The Rows, the Eastgate Clock and the Roman walls are minutes on foot. Prefer green and quiet? The Groves and the river are a gentle stroll down through the city.
THE BEST PHOTO LOCATIONS FOR CHESTER town hall WEDDINGS
Chester Town Hall and the Cathedral are a rare pairing, two of the finest buildings in the North West facing each other across Northgate Street. Inside the Town Hall, the carved stone foyer and sweeping staircase are made for portraits. Step across the road and the Cathedral cloisters give you softness, shade and centuries of atmosphere. You barely have to move and you already have two very different, very beautiful backdrops.
The Rows and the Eastgate Clock are pure Chester. The black and white Tudor galleries are found nowhere else in the world, and the Eastgate Clock is the most photographed clock in the country after Big Ben. Couples look wonderful here, framed by timber and history with the everyday life of the city carrying on around them.
The Roman city walls wrap the whole of Chester in warm red sandstone. Up on the walls the light is open and the backdrop shifts with every few steps, rooftops one way, the river the other. It is a favourite of mine for couples who want their photographs to feel a little cinematic and a little off the beaten track.
The Groves and the River Dee are where things slow down. A short walk from the centre brings you to the water, the tree lined riverside and Grosvenor Park just beyond. If you want a breath of green and calm after the grandeur of the Town Hall, this is where we take it, and the golden hour light on the river is worth the walk alone.
“TONI WE don’t know how you do it. IN SUCH A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME YOU HAVE CAPTURED OUR TRUE SELVES SO PERFECTLY”
“WOW. JUST WOW.”
“WE ARE SO PLEASED WE CHOSE TO HAVE YOU THERE WITH US. WE LOVE OUR PHOTOGRAPHS SO MUCH. THANK YOU”
kind words
HOW MUCH DOES it cOST To geT MARRied at CHESTER TOWN HALL?
WHAT’S INVOLVED IN A CHESTER TOWN HALL WEDDING?
You’ve found the date? Now what?
The Town Hall is a licensed venue rather than the register office itself, there are three parts to budget for, and it helps to see them laid out plainly.
Giving notice. A legal step for both of you, done at your local register office. Around £46.50 per person at the time of writing.
Your registrar. Booked through Cheshire West and Chester Council to attend and conduct your ceremony. There is a non refundable booking fee taken off your final balance, and the attendance cost varies by the day and time you choose.
The venue. Chester Town Hall is a dry hire building with five wedding packages, ranging from an affordable, licensed ceremony in the intimate Committee Room right up to the full ceremony and celebration across the Council Chamber and Assembly Room.
You enquire directly with the venue for current package pricing.
Fees change on the first of April each year, so it is always worth confirming the latest figures before you set your budget.
Your ceremony itself will usually run around fifteen to twenty minutes. Want to make it more yours? Add personal vows. Ask someone you love to read a poem or the words to a song that means something.
You can bring your own music too, three pieces in all, one for your entrance, one for the signing and something with a little lift for the walk back out.
Need more information?
HISTORIC, ELEGANT & UNFORGETTABLE
The city is your backdrop, your love is the story and you are centre stage.
A Chester wedding feels rooted in something. There is real weight to marrying inside a building that has stood for over a hundred and fifty years, then stepping out into cobbled streets and Roman walls and a Cathedral that has watched the city change around it. For couples who want a day that feels grand and grounded and completely theirs, where every corner is a photograph waiting to happen.
CITY LOVE
CHESTER TOWN HALL IS PERFECT FOR COUPLES WHO:
Q & A
THE BEST RECEPTION VENUES FOR CHESTER TOWN HALL WEDDINGS?
Once the vows are done you will want somewhere to celebrate, and Chester is spoilt for it.
Whether you are after a five star tasting menu, a lively room full of small plates, or a party with real character, you are covered.
- Simon Radley at The Chester Grosvenor – the city’s only Michelin star, for a proper occasion.
- Porta – buzzy Spanish tapas on Northgate Street, minutes from the door.
- The Church – a converted chapel with stained glass and a dancefloor, for something dramatic.
- The Assembly Room at the Town Hall – stay exactly where you are and take the grand room for the night.
THE BEST ACCOMMODATION FOR CHESTER TOWN HALL WEDDINGS?
Chester has beautiful places to rest your head, from five star grandeur to boutique charm.
If you are not sure where to start, here are three I would point you to.
- The Chester Grosvenor – five star luxury with an ELEMIS spa, beside the Eastgate Clock.
- Oddfellows – characterful, design led and a short stroll to the walls and river.
- Hotel Indigo Chester – stylish, central and full of local personality.
WHERE’S BEST TO PARK FOR CHESTER TOWN HALL WEDDINGS?
The Town Hall sits on Northgate Street in the very centre of Chester, easy to reach on foot and well served by public transport.
Travelling by car? There’s plenty of cashless car parks within walking distance. The best options for parking would be;
- The Forum Multi-Storey – directly beside the Town Hall, as central as it gets.
- Delamere Street Car Park – a few minutes walk north.
- Trinity Street / NCP Chester – central and well signposted.
SEE A REAL WEDDING AT CHESTER TOWN HALL
TAKE THIS WITH YOU
A planning guide for couples eloping in the city, from the ceremony to the cocktails.
Everything you need to plan a city centre elopement. Including locations, styling, timelines and how to brief your photographer.
All in one beautifully designed guide.
QUESTIONS
Hey, I’m Toni. I love old photographs, the kind with crumpled edges that your grandparents would dig out on a rainy day. I love that they would always know the full story hidden within every single one. I have an obsession with polaroids and real film, giving me that feeling where one memory could live a life of it’s own.
don’t keep me hanging
TOGETHER
READY TO SAY ‘I DO”?
If you like the idea of a city wedding and you’re planning something small and intentional, you’re in the right place.
