Looking to Tie the Knot? Try One of These Very Bookish Venues

The Lit Lifestyle

Mar 17

By Lindsay Quackenbush

Boston Public Library: Boston, Massachusetts

The Boston Public Library has several different spaces to choose from, all of which would fulfill your literary wedding dreams. You can spend your reception in Bates Hall (pictured), with its high-arched ceilings and scholarly tables, or walk down the aisle in the elegant McKim Courtyard, with its classical sculptural details. The BPL even offers a one-hour wedding service in their Guastavino Room. Who needs Vegas when you can elope in style?

The New York Public Library: New York, NY

One of the more iconic spaces in New York City, the NYPL has hosted some of the city's most exclusive and luxurious events. Weddings in this gorgeously grandiose library have been featured by Vogue, Brides, Harper’s Bazaar, The Knot and more! It’s even where (spoiler alert!) Carrie Bradshaw was stood up by Mr. Big in the Sex and the City movie! Live out your erudite Manhattanite dreams with a wedding in this iconic and breathtaking venue.

George Peabody Library: Baltimore, Maryland

With six floors of ornately gilded bookshelves towering over the foyer below, the George Peabody Library is known as one of the most beautiful libraries in the world. You and your guests are sure to feel a sense of awe as you dance the night away under twinkling lights, or walk down the aisle with the sun streaming through the skylight. This is the perfect space for any bride- or groom-to-be looking for a timeless, stately, bookish wedding.

`The Enchanted Garden at the Poe Museum`

The Poe Museum: Richmond, Virginia

A museum dedicated to one of the most famously macabre writers in American literary history may seem like an unlikely choice for an occasion as joyous as a wedding, but the grounds at the Poe Museum offer a surprisingly light and airy space for any literary lovers’ nuptials. The Enchanted Garden and the Poe Shrine are the perfect outdoor venue for those looking for an intimate garden wedding. Some of the shrine’s very first visitors include Gertrude Stein, H.P. Lovecraft, Henry Miller, and Salvador Dalí. You’ll be reciting your vows surrounded by the spirit of artisitc genius!

The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum: Key West, Florida

Looking for a more tropical setting that still boasts a literary pedigree? How about the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum in the Florida Keys? The famed American writer left his mark in many of the places where he lived and worked, but his years in Key West were some of the most influential. Hemingway wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls, Death in the Afternoon, The Green Hills of Africa, and several short stories including “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” while living in this home. Even without the estate’s storied past, you are sure to find so much to love about this venue—from the lush gardens to the tropical flora, romance abounds at this gorgeous historical home.

Bart’s Books: Ojai, California

Surely one of the most unique wedding venues we’ve stumbled across. You’ll have the honor of weaving through the world’s largest outdoor bookstore as you make your way down the aisle at this magical California haunt. Bart’s Books is home to over 130,000 titles, ranging from rare books to new releases. There’s nothing a book lover can’t find here. Ojai itself is known for a thriving artist’s community, and that sense of creativity and magic is certainly present at this one-of-a-kind bookstore. So, why not get married at this whimsical, desert oasis?

The Strand: New York, NY

The Rare Book Room at the iconic New York bookstore The Strand is dear to the Zibby Media team, as it hosted the launch of our first title, Alisha Fernandez Miranda’s My What If Year! The location is also perfectly equipped for a book lovers’ wedding. Floor-to-ceiling shelves are lined with gleaming, rarefied titles, and twinkling lights illuminate the cozy, enchanting space. (As an added bonus, you’ll be supporting an indie bookstore on your special day!)

Lindsay Quackenbush graduated from Vanderbilt University with a BA in English Literature. She is a Publicity Associate for Zibby Books and an Editorial Assistant at Zibby Mag. She currently lives in downtown New York City.