Ceremonies | City Chambers

Ceremonies at the City Chambers

Photography by Big Day Productions

Get Married/ Form a Civil Partnership at the City Chambers

Nestled in the heart of the Royal Mile, our venue offers the perfect backdrop for life's most meaningful celebrations. Whether you're saying "I do", renewing your vows, or welcoming a new life into your family with a baby naming ceremony, our space is designed to create unforgettable moments. Let us help you honour life's milestones in a setting that feels as unique and personal as the occasion itself.

We are pleased to also offer the services of experienced celebrants to conduct civil ceremonies at your chosen venue. Whether you envision an intimate gathering in a private location or a grand celebration in a more public setting, our professional celebrants will work closely with you to craft a ceremony that reflects your unique love story, values, and personal preferences.

Ceremony Types

Twilight ceremonies at Edinburgh City Chambers offer a relaxed and romantic way to exchange your vows as daylight gently fades into evening. Say “I do” in one of our elegant historic rooms while the city lights begin to sparkle beyond the windows, creating a magical bridge between day and night.
We are currently only accepting twilight ceremony bookings in the Alexander Suite from 1st August until 27th September. Available time slots are 6.15pm and 7.30pm. The Alexander Suite is the only suite available for bookings during this period.

Civil Marriage & Civil Partnership Ceremonies. Exchange your vows in one of our beautifully designed ceremony rooms at Edinburgh City Chambers, right in the heart of the Royal Mile.

Whether you prefer an intimate gathering or a more formal celebration, our registrars will create a personalised civil ceremony that reflects your unique story. Choose from the elegant Alexander Suite, the historic European Room, the grand Council Chamber, or our simple Wee Neuk option for just the two of you and your witnesses.

All ceremonies are conducted by experienced registrars and can be tailored with readings, music, and personal promises (while remaining fully civil in nature).

Simple & Intimate – The Wee Neuk. Looking for a quiet, no-fuss ceremony? The Wee Neuk is our smallest room, reserved exclusively for the couple and two witnesses.

Available Monday to Thursday, it’s the perfect choice for elopements, simple legal ceremonies, or couples who want to formalise their marriage or civil partnership in Scotland before celebrating more fully elsewhere. Ceremonies here follow standard wording and cannot be personalised.

Vow Renewals, Would you like to reaffirm the commitment you made to each other? Our celebrants will create a personalised vow renewal ceremony that reflects your journey together.

You can hold the ceremony in one of our rooms at the City Chambers or at a venue of your choice. As part of the experience we will consult with you on the wording, provide a draft of the ceremony, and give you a commemorative certificate.

Naming Ceremonies, A naming ceremony is a lovely way to bring family and friends together to celebrate the arrival of a new baby or to welcome an adopted or step-child into your family.

Our celebrants will work with you to create a unique and meaningful ceremony, either in one of our City Chambers rooms or at a location of your choice. The ceremony includes personalised wording and a commemorative certificate for you to keep.

Please note: Only a registrar from the Edinburgh Registration Service can conduct ceremonies inside the City Chambers. External celebrants (including religious or beliecelebrants) are not permitted to perform ceremonies within the building.

Council Chamber

This grand room has outstanding views overlooking the city skyline. The room’s features include an impressive domed ceiling and striking fireplace, and murals depicting the coats of arms of the spouses of Kings and Queens of Scotland.

The Council Chamber is located on the seventh floor of the Edinburgh City Chambers, the room can be accessed via the main staircase or lift from ground level.

The ceremony room can host up to 110 guests with the couple standing.

Please note that we no longer use the red aisle runner during ceremonies.

European Room

Couples favouring a more traditional, regal style can now hold a ceremony in the European Room. This is a splendid room situated on the first floor of the historic Edinburgh City Chambers (Edinburgh’s answer to “City Hall”) and can be accessed by the main staircase or lift. The walls are lined with impressive paintings depicting some of the most important episodes of Scotland’s rich history. The European room can host up to 70 guests with the couple standing and overlooks the quadrangle courtyard to the south.

Alexander Suite

The Alexander suite is on the ground floor within the main entrance to Edinburgh City Chambers. The ceremony room can host up to 36 guests with the couple standing and overlooks the quadrangle courtyard to the south. Our guest lounge overlooks the north offering stunning views of Princes Street. The suite has full disabled access.

Key features

Waiting lounge for guests with public facilities

Signing room for the registrar to meet the couple before the ceremony and entrance for walking down the aisle.

The Wee Neuk

The Wee Neuk room is our smallest ceremony room situated within Edinburgh Registration Office.

Accommodating a couple and their two witnesses only, this room could be the perfect choice for:

Couples who don’t want an elaborate ceremony.

Couples wishing to have their legal ceremony in Scotland and have a large blessing/non-legal ceremony with friends and family abroad.

Couples eloping

Couples wishing a registration only civil partnership (no ceremony)

No ceremony amendments can be made for ceremonies in this room, a standard ceremony will be provided.

Please note you can only book The Wee Neuk Monday to Thursday.

Check availability and book

Maggie and Bart's Wedding in our Alexander Suite
Video by One Shot Films

By accessing the "make a booking" button you will have access to our online diary. Here you will be able to:

View dates and times for our ceremony suites and make an online booking
Make an appointment to bring your paperwork into the office
Book a registrar to conduct a civil ceremony in another venue

Make a booking

If you are experiencing issues booking from outside the UK

Ceremony Enhancements

Personalising Your Ceremony

Your ceremony should feel special to you both. Our experienced registrars can help you personalise it with stories of how you met, readings, poems, music, your own vows, or meaningful traditions such as a Scottish hand-fasting.

We’re equally happy to keep things simple if you prefer a straightforward legal ceremony.

We provide a booklet with many different examples of wording to get you started. If you require any help, please do not hesitate to phone any member of the team.

Please note: Any amendments to your ceremony wording must be uploaded to your booking no later than two weeks before your ceremony. For more information please read our Information, Booking & Legal Requirements page.

Download our Civil Partnership wording booklet

Download our ceremony wording booklet

Continue Your Celebrations Here

After your ceremony, stay and celebrate with us. We offer drinks receptions, wedding breakfasts and evening packages in our elegant rooms — creating a seamless and memorable experience from start to finish.

Contact our events team to find out more: citychambersevents@edinburgh.gov.uk

View Celebration Options

Richard and Leo

Married at City Chambers

"Arranging our wedding from New Zealand could not have been easier. Staff from the Edinburgh Registrars Office dealt with our many questions by email quickly and efficiently. Their continued guidance and professionalism along with excellent service, continued during our ceremony, which ran smoothly and exceeded our expectations. We thoroughly recommend getting married in Edinburgh at the City Chambers – you are in very capable hands"

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Gallery

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