Weddings
A wedding reception in a Copenhagen wine bar
- Up to around 40 standing, fewer seated
- Ten minutes on foot from Copenhagen City Hall
- No seating plan, no menus, no speeches to sit through
- Easiest Sunday to Tuesday, when the bar is closed
The reception after the ceremony
This is the one we do most. You are married at the city hall, walk down Vester Voldgade, and there are cold bottles waiting. People come and go, some have to move on, others stay until it gets dark. Nobody has to find their seat, and nobody waits for a main course to arrive.
Two to three hours is typical. That suits a party moving on to dinner elsewhere, and it suits one that just wants to celebrate and then go home. We can stay open longer .. say so when you write.
The whole party, if it is a small one
If there are thirty to forty of you, you can have the bar to yourselves for a whole evening. It will not be a party with a seating plan, three courses and a toastmaster .. it will be an evening where everyone is on their feet, talking to everyone, with the food in the middle of the table throughout.
Some couples choose it deliberately over a dinner, because it is what they would enjoy being invited to themselves. Others work out that it is not for them, and that is a fair answer too. We will say honestly if we think you would have a better evening somewhere else.
Food and wine for the party
Full tapas tables: cheese you choose from the list, charcuterie from Piemonte and Auvergne, Portuguese sardines, olives, sourdough from our neighbours at Bageriet BRØD and Sicilian olive oil. Laid out by volume, so people can eat standing and keep talking.
For the wine you can have the list as it stands, or ask us to pick three or four bottles that suit the party and the budget. If there should be something sparkling on arrival, just say. There is an alcohol-free option on the list too, so those who do not drink are not left with sparkling water all evening.
What we are not
We do not have room for a hundred guests, we do not have a dance floor, and we do not serve three courses with a seating plan. If you need all of that, we are the wrong place, and you should know it now rather than three weeks before.
What we can do is an evening where people are close together, the wine is good and nobody is watching the clock. It is a different kind of wedding party, and for some couples it is exactly the right one.
Ask early
The popular dates go first, especially Fridays, Saturdays and the whole of December. If you are after a particular day, ask early .. and ask anyway, even if it is in a fortnight. Sometimes there is simply room.
How to book
Write how many you are, when, and ideally what you were thinking of spending. We come back with a concrete suggestion and a price you can accept or decline. We usually reply the same day, and nobody will ring you back to sell you anything.
Questions we get
- Can you hold a wedding reception in a wine bar in Copenhagen?
- Yes. Vesterhus at Istedgade 29 gives over the bar for receptions after the ceremony, typically two to three hours with wine and tapas boards. Copenhagen City Hall is a ten-minute walk away, so many parties come straight from the wedding.
- How many guests can you fit?
- Around 40 standing and rather fewer seated. If there are more of you than that we are honestly too small, and we will say so straight away rather than squeeze people together.
- Can we hold the whole wedding party there?
- Yes, if it is a small one. Up to around 40 can have the bar to themselves for a whole evening. It becomes a standing party with food in the middle of the table, not a dinner with a seating plan and three courses .. we do not do that.
- What does a wedding reception cost?
- There is no fixed price. A two-hour reception for twenty and a whole evening for forty are different things. Write to reservations@vesterhus.dk with numbers, date and what you were thinking of spending, and a concrete suggestion comes back, usually the same day.
- How far in advance should we book?
- A couple of months is ideal, and more for a Saturday in summer or anything in December. Weekdays can often be done at shorter notice. Ask in any case .. sometimes there is simply room.
- Can we have something sparkling waiting for guests?
- Yes. There is cava, pet-nat and champagne on the list, and we will happily have something poured and ready as the party comes through the door.
- Is there space for dancing?
- No, not a real dance floor. The bar is small and furnished for standing and talking. If there is going to be dancing until morning, you need somewhere else.
Other kinds of event
Birthdays →Corporate events →After work →Everything on private events →