What are the best wedding venues in Basel? - Wedding Photography Switzerland.

There are so many wedding venues in Basel but where to start when deciding on where to get married?!

It’s often the first thing to get organised, but deciding what is the best wedding venue in Basel for you is arguably the biggest wedding decision you'll make! Once you’ve got that decided though (and the date of course!), everything can follow on (hopefully) easily from there.

What style of wedding venue and how many people are you inviting?

Obviously you have to decide the practical things before you make your wedding venue choice but this means that it narrows down your choice without really even thinking about it!    So that's a win win!  

Deciding how many people you want to invite and how big the venue needs to be is a good start.  You don’t want the venue to be too big if you are only having a few people or it’ll feel like a huge cave and you’ll loose your guests!  But on the other hand you don’t want it to be too small and cramped with people squished into every corner.

Once you’ve decided this you can decide what kind of wedding you want to have. What’s the vibe going to be?;  Industrial and chic, Bohemian, Rustic, Minimal, Easy going and laid back, Romantic fairytale, Traditional.  I’m making it sound hard now aren’t I with all those options?  I don’t mean too. Just pick what you like and what resonates with you as a couple. If you like to spend all your time outside in the countryside hiking and camping in the woods then a rooftop bar with a super strict dress code might not be for you! Or vice versa, you get the idea. I don't mean to state the obvious. Honestly once you’ve got these things nailed down - you are more than halfway there.

You could elope instead

If all this sounds like it's not for you and you want to run off into the mountains then consider eloping instead. That is a blog post for another day though!

In Switzerland you have to officially get married in the Stathaus or Zivilstandsamt.  You can either choose to do this on a separate day to your main wedding celebrations or incorporate it into the rest of your wedding day plans.  Read more about Civil Weddings in Switzerland over here.

With all that in mind, what are the best wedding venues in Basel?

Basel has some very cool wedding venues of varying different styles and sizes.

These are some of my favourites:

Ostquai:

This is such a good venue.  It's got a gorgeous industrial feeling and is located in the harbour area of Basel.  The light that streams in from the windows is unreal which makes wedding photography a dream.  You can take a boat from the city centre out to the harbour for this wedding venue in Basel.  There are lots of options for food, I highly recommend Landestelle, they created a BBQ feast that was so good last time I was there!

This wedding venue is perfect if you want to have your ceremony somewhere else (possibly the Zivilstandsamt) and then move to Ostquai for Apero or dinner and the reception.

One of the couples whose wedding I photographed said that their favourite things about Ostquai Wedding Venue was "the urban and industrial style and the atmosphere that comes with that is so special and unique. It's cool too" (I couldn’t of put it better): 

http://www.ostquai.ch/

You can see a whole wedding at Ostquai over here.

Villa Merian:

Another of my favorites, the gardens that surround this wedding venue in Basel are spectacular.  It’s also got one of my favourite walls in Basel (yep, I have a list of favourite walls - don’t you?!)  You can get married in the gardens, have your dinner under the stars in the garden and then dance on the terrace.  You can also have your celebrations in the Orangerie

It’s so perfect if you are looking to do your whole wedding in one stylish venue.

I photographed a wedding here and this is what my lovely couple said they liked best about the venue: The beautiful garden and the gorgeous old house.

https://www.xn--meriangrten-r8a.ch/de/home.html

***Update 2023***:

Villa Merian itself is closed for renovations but there is a brand new venue in the Merian Garten: Restaurant Iris. I've yet to go there for a wedding but it looks glorious and can confirm that if the weddings are anything like the Sunday brunches then it will be amazing!!:

https://www.xn--meriangrten-r8a.ch/de/besuch/essen-trinken/essen-trinken.html

Les Trois Rois Hotel:

The biggest and best hotel in Basel, 3 Michelin Stars, and a whole list of past famous guests.  It is grand, gorgeous and totally luxurious.  If you are having a large wedding, you can have your reception in the old ballroom.  If you are having a small intimate wedding, then dinner in one of the restaurants with a few guests.

Les Trois Rois Hotel, Basel dates back to 1681 (was originally an inn for Gentlemen, then later a fancy hotel).  It is rumoured to be one of the oldest city hotels in Europe but I’m not 100% sure if that is true or not so don’t quote me on that.  What I do know is that it is a dreamy place to get married.    

Perfect for luxury weddings.

https://www.lestroisrois.com/en

You can see a whole wedding from Les Trois Rois in Basel over here.

Old Timer Tram:

Once you’ve had your Civil Wedding at the Zivilstandsamt you could hire an Old Fashioned Tram to whizz about the city.  Walk down from Munsterplatz and board the tram at either Schifflände, or the Kunstmuseum (top tip - don’t be late, they charge you a fortune for every minute you are late because you will hold up all the other trams in the city - no-one wants that, so plan plenty of time.)   

Have your apero inside the tram and make the most of the tram ride to see the city, this also makes for great wedding photography moments.  You can use this time for transporting your guests around too - practical and fun.

Perfect for small city weddings in Basel.  You can’t fit too many people in these little beauties!

https://www.tramoldtimer-basel.ch/unt94.html

Reithalle Wenkenhof:

This wedding venue in Basel is in the middle of Wenkenpark which is the perfect place for your couple portraits. 

Get married in the courtyard then have dinner in the main hall, hire a DJ and dance into the night.  Great thing about this venue is that it is large enough so that you don’t need to change the room around after dinner - you just get up and dance.

This wedding venue is perfect for gorgeous larger weddings

https://www.reithallewenkenpark.ch/en

Villa Wenkenhof:

Also in Wenkenpark.  I’ve not photographed here yet but I hope to do so soon as it looks gorgeous!  Anyone thinking of getting married here, let me know!  

I’ve heard that Roger Federer got married here.  I’m guessing that if you’re looking for wedding venues in Basel then you’ll know that Roger Federer is quite a big deal around these parts!!

https://www.wenkenhof.ch/

Brasilea:

Beautiful, arty and urban beautiful vibes.  I was supposed to be photography a wedding here this year but you know, Corona!  So next year Brasilea, I’m coming for you!

https://brasilea.com/en/

Boat trip on the Rhine:

Not strictly a venue but for travelling in style and Apero.  The Rhine runs through Basel and it is perfect to take a trip down the river on one of the taxi boats or possibly the Rhystern.  You can use it to get to different wedding locations or just enjoy some drinks with your guests.

Bottmingham Schloss:

So many Schloss’s to choose from.  This one has a moat, beautiful gardens and lovely food though so it goes on my list!

This wedding venue in Basel is perfect for a more traditional castle wedding. Imagine your wedding photographs in front a big old castle?

https://www.weiherschloss.ch/

Museum Kleines Klinglental:

You could have you wedding in a museum surrounded by the beautiful old statues from the city.  It’s right on the banks of the river with a beautiful courtyard and so easy to get to the river if you want to add in a boat cruise too.

Perfect for a bit of history.

Hope that helps.  Let me know if you have any other favourite wedding venues in Basel. 

This list of course will be ever changing, I'll keep adding to it as I find more venues and secret spots. I didn't include (but I might at some point, compile a list of alternative wedding venues) the countless numbers of delicious restaurants that you could hire here in Basel. The bars that you can sneak into after your civil ceremony or the event spaces and art galleries you can hire for your wedding.

There are so many parks and picnic spots where you could have an informal BBQ/picnic/apero after your ceremony for the ultimate laid back day. Just like this lovely couple who had a take-away picnic in the hills just outside of Lörrach:

Honestly the possibilities are endless!

I often go for a walk in the hills up to where the Gempenturm restaurant is and think that this would make the most perfect wedding venue. The views are spectacular.

Happy wedding planning!

Once you've figured out where you are going to get married you can think about all the other fun things to make the day your own - including your wedding photography.

Best wedding venues in Basel, Switzerland. // Die besten Hochzeitsorte in Basel.