Did you know you can get married at one of Liverpool’s iconic museums?

The start of 2022 has brought a record number of wedding requests to National Museums Liverpool (NML) – as its events team prepares for its most romantic year in history.

An unexpected flurry of wedding enquiries over the past six weeks has placed some of Merseyside’s arts and cultural landmarks in demand.

It includes an upcoming wedding booked less than a month ago and a special Valentine’s week wedding at the Maritime Museum in the heart of the historic Royal Albert Dock.

NML has seven venues – the oldest dating back to the 1800s – and includes some of the most visited museums in England outside of London. It has received hundreds of special wedding requests over the past decade and now hosts wedding events at a selection of its venues, including the Walker Art Gallery and World Museum in Liverpool city centre.

The Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight has become its latest venue to begin hosting weddings, with the first wedding reception held in the magnificent Beaux-Arts style building at the end of 2021. There is now a series of upcoming weddings planned in the picturesque Wirral setting, with stunning galleries, a beautiful grand hall and one of the UK’s finest collections of fine and decorative art.

Rebecca O’Neill, events manager at Hosted By National Museums Liverpool, said:

“Many of our artworks and collections have their own romantic stories, and we enjoy playing a part in the love stories of today too.

“We’re having our busiest ever period for wedding enquiries – including newly engaged couples, as well as those who have delayed setting a date or rescheduled their wedding. There is growing popularity in art galleries and venues that add an element of culture or nostalgia. We’ve also recently found that more people are coming back to their roots to get married – for example, couples living in London but arranging their wedding in their hometowns.”

January saw Hosted By National Museums Liverpool – NML’s events brand and inhouse events team – responding to triple the number of wedding enquiries than the monthly wedding requests received during the last three months of 2021. It has also received external wedding catering requests from other cultural venues in the region.

Karen O’Connor, Director of Commercial Enterprises at National Museums Liverpool, said:

“After a challenging two years for the hospitality and weddings industry, it’s great to have our beautiful venues, talented events team and chefs, in demand. We work carefully to capture special requirements of couples within our distinctive settings – and have plans to extend our wedding offering this year.”

Angela Case and Mark Gibson from Bebington recently became the first ever couple to hold a wedding reception the Lady Lever Art Gallery. Angela said:

“After a two-year romance that started just before the pandemic, we wanted to make sure our wedding was a unique and memorable day for us all to enjoy. The building is stunning and made for some brilliant photographs and memories – being the first couple to host a wedding reception there felt very special.”

Credit: Pete Carr

NML looks after seven museums and art galleries in and around Liverpool, which attract millions of visitors a year. It relies on funding, as well as membership, donations and commercial activity – including weddings, catering and corporate events – to support its venues and the work it does in the community.

Find out more about weddings at National Museums Liverpool here.