Plan your special day at Mareel or Bonhoga

Weddings, partnerships & hamefairins at Mareel

Mareel is the UK's most northerly music, cinema and creative industries centre.

Sited right on the edge of the North Sea on the historic Hay’s Dock quayside in Lerwick, Mareel offers a unique setting for your special day.

Your wedding will benefit from the state of the art facilities and professional support that bring an exciting year round programme of film, live music, education and other events to Shetland.

By choosing a Shetland Arts venue for your event you are supporting us in our work to educate, promote, support and develop the practice and enjoyment of the arts by all in Shetland.

Venue

The Auditorium is a beautiful hall complete with state of the art sound and lighting equipment, optional theatre style seating, a wooden floor, balconies and a high ceiling.

There are also many other spaces and facilities within Mareel that can be incorporated into your plans for the day - including our cafe bar with views over the water, cinema screen two, the green room, rehearsal spaces and a recording studio.

Auditorium hire

Can include:

The Auditorium can be hired for the full day, and also the evening before to allow for set up time. The hall can be used for the service, the wedding meal, and the reception or evening party.
Dressing room, with sofas, mirrors, toilets and shower. A space for the Bridal party to get ready or change throughout the day and for any personal items to be stored.
Fully staffed bar with sea views (exclusive use with a minimum spend)
Tables and chairs
Lighting – festoon lights are included (as shown in pictures). Coloured backlighting (colour choices available).
Your choice of music played through our state of the art sound systems.
Technician support – you will be allocated a technical staff member throughout the duration of your wedding to support with your technical needs (including any lighting or sound requirements).
Additional two staff – reception / ushering. We provide two additional staff members on the day to ensure there is someone to welcome guests, guide them to the right place, and be on hand for queries throughout, to ensure your day runs smoothly.
We will meet with you in advance of your special day to ensure that everything goes to plan.

If you’d like to talk to us about hiring one of our other spaces, or additional facilities just get in touch on [email protected] or 01595 743843

Catering

Working with our partners, we can provide a variety of catering options.

Canapés
Wedding breakfast – sit down meal
Evening supper

Decoration

Working with our partners, we can fully dress the hall to suit your individual wedding. Options include:

The bride and groom’s name in vinyl letters (for the wall or floor)
Light up words (Love or Mr and Mrs/Mr)
Chair covers, balloons, bunting, centre pieces, table confetti

Bar drinks

We offer a bar service for your guests to purchase drinks. We can arrange wine/champagne for guests upon arrival, a cocktail/prosecco bar or a set amount of money behind the bar for your guests.