Wedding at Hasselbacken: a photographer’s guide

A wedding at Hasselbacken usually takes place in the Hazelius room, which measures 335 square metres, seats up to 300 guests and opens onto a connected terrace of 240 square metres. The building sits at Hazeliusbacken 20 on Royal Djurgården in Stockholm, next door to the Skansen open air museum, and it combines a full function floor with 113 hotel rooms under one roof. Guests can sleep in the building after the party and have breakfast there the next morning.

This guide is written for couples looking at Hasselbacken for a wedding after the reopening who want to know how the day runs in the building. It covers which rooms can be booked, how they differ in size and character, how ceremonies and dinners are usually arranged, and what is worth knowing about light and parking. The numbers come from the hotel website as it stood before the closure.

If you are still comparing options in the city, the guide to a wedding at Grand Hôtel Stockholm covers the closest equivalent in the centre of town, and a wedding at Ett Hem covers the small end of the scale.

Hasselbacken is closed for renovation and is expected to reopen in 2028. The details on function rooms and capacity in this guide describe the building before the closure.

This guide is written by me, Karin Lundin, a wedding photographer based in Stockholm. Planning a wedding and want to talk? Get in touch and we will talk.

The renovation: Hasselbacken plans to reopen in 2028

Hasselbacken is closed for renovation, and the hotel website gives 2028 as the planned reopening. In April 2026 the owner Miramis announced that Hasselbacken will undergo a major transformation and become the group’s Swedish flagship, with openings across the portfolio through 2027. The direction is a higher standard of rooms and restaurant and a sharper focus on food and culture. The announcement is on Hospitality Net.

No exact reopening date has been published, and schedules for building works often move. Ask the hotel first whether your date can be booked and what happens to the booking if the reopening is delayed.

Get the answer in writing and read the rebooking and refund terms before you sign. If you are planning a wedding in 2028, your date sits close to the planned reopening. The rooms may look different after the rebuild, so check the figures in this guide with the hotel.

Where is Hasselbacken and what is the building?

Hasselbacken stands on the slope above Djurgårdsvägen, between Skansen and the Gröna Lund amusement park. The name was established in the 1760s after the hazel thickets that grew there, and the pastry chef Jacob Wilhelm Davidson opened Restaurang Hasselbacken in 1853. The building burned down in 1923, for the seventh time, and was rebuilt two years later. That is the building standing today.

Between 1947 and 1969 the house served as a catering college. Tradition has it that the trainee cook Leif Elisson created the hasselback potato there in 1953, although a recipe for the dish already appears in a Swedish cookbook from 1929. In 1992 the hotel opened in a new building behind the restaurant. Hasselbacken belongs to Miramis Sweden, which also runs the Cirkus arena next door. The history is set out on the hotel’s own about page and in the Wikipedia entry on Hasselbacken.

Djurgården is parkland in the middle of the city, with water and old timber houses within walking distance, and before the closure the hotel gave ten minutes by taxi from Stockholm Central Station. Guests flying in sleep at the same address as the party.

Which rooms can be booked for a wedding at Hasselbacken?

The hotel has several function rooms in different sizes. This guide covers four of them: Hazelius, Crown, King and Queen.

Hazelius, for up to 300 guests

Hazelius is the largest room in the house. It measures 335 square metres and holds a maximum of 300 people. Columns run the length of a hand painted wooden ceiling, and antique chandeliers hang from it. Outside lies a connected terrace of 240 square metres, so the reception drinks can be held outdoors and dinner indoors without moving anyone far.

The room has a six by two metre LED screen and installed speakers, which covers speeches and music without hired equipment. Light from the terrace falls in through the windows of the room.

Crown, for up to 150 guests

Crown is 227 square metres and holds up to 150 people. Large mirrors line the walls and crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling. The palette is red with gold detailing. The original wooden floor has been kept. The hotel lists it for seated dinners, balls and cabaret, which in practice means it handles dinner and dancing without moving the party to a second room halfway through the evening.

The mirrors are worth a thought in advance. They give the room depth and double the light from the chandeliers, but they also reflect everything standing along the walls. A table of boxes or a service trolley shows up in every frame taken from that side. Ask the staff to keep the walls clear before guests are let in.

King and Queen, for up to 70 guests

King and Queen are on the third floor, 68 square metres each, with room for 70 people. Both have tall French windows facing the hotel garden and the southern parts of Stockholm, the windows open, and they lead out to a shared balcony. The ceiling in King is four metres high, which makes the room feel larger than the floor area suggests.

These two rooms suit a smaller party. The balcony works as a small stage with the garden behind it. If you are planning a ceremony for under seventy guests, start here.

Ceremony on site or in a church first?

A common arrangement in central Stockholm is to marry somewhere else first and arrive here for the reception and dinner. It works well at this address because the distances are short. A church on Östermalm or in the old town is ten to fifteen minutes away by car, and guests can be sent ahead while you take portraits on the way.

If you want a civil ceremony, the most common address in the city is the Oval Room at Stockholm City Hall, covered in the guide to a wedding at Stockholm City Hall. From there it is about a quarter of an hour to Djurgården. Every couple marrying in Sweden needs a hindersprövning, a check that there is no impediment to the marriage, from the Swedish Tax Agency, Skatteverket, and City Hall wants the documents at least four weeks before the ceremony.

A ceremony on site is also possible. The hotel has marketed the Hazelius room for ceremonies, and the terrace connects directly to it. What decides it is how you want the guests to move. A ceremony in the same room as the dinner means the room has to be turned around while everyone is out on the terrace. Ask the hotel how long the turnaround takes. Put the reception drinks and the group photographs in that window.

Rooms, getting ready and the morning after

Before the closure the hotel had 113 rooms and suites, from classic rooms of 19 to 24 square metres up to the Åbom suite at 50. Some rooms have a private sauna. For the wedding day it is the suites that matter, because that is where the morning happens and the floor area decides whether the pictures feel open or cramped.

Ask for a room with a garden view when you book. Those rooms look out over the hotel garden.

You can also book the entire hotel. Hasselbacken calls this a takeover, and it includes all 113 rooms, the restaurant, the bar and the spa area, with the option of adding stages at the Cirkus arena next door. That is the route for couples who want to celebrate across a whole weekend. Planning the day hour by hour is covered in the guide to building a wedding day timeline.

Practical information: getting there and parking

Before the closure the hotel gave these travel times from Stockholm Central Station: ten minutes by taxi, fifteen by tram, fourteen by bicycle and roughly forty minutes on foot. The Spårväg City tram runs from Sergels torg via Nybroplan out to Djurgården and stops below the slope. Timetables are on the SL site.

Before the closure Hasselbacken had no parking of its own. Spaces were run by Aimo Park, both in the garage under the hotel and outside it, and they could not be booked in advance. The hotel quoted 375 kronor per twenty four hours for a standard space and 450 kronor for a charging space, plus a ten percent service fee capped at fifty kronor. There were two charging points in the garage.

The road onto Djurgården is closed to cars without a permit at weekends during part of the summer season. Have the booking confirmation ready on your phone, and tell your guests to do the same, then check the current dates with the hotel when the invitations go out.

Light through the year in Stockholm

Djurgården is densely planted. At midsummer the sun sets just after ten in the evening in Stockholm, which gives you a long bright window after dinner and the option of stepping outside between courses. At the end of August sunset is around eight, and by the middle of September just after seven.

In September, put the portraits before dinner. In June there is light long after dinner. If you have chosen September, expect the evening pictures to be indoor pictures.

Worth planning for

Allow for the distance between the hotel rooms and the function floor. Walking from getting ready to the room takes a few minutes longer than you plan for when a dress has to be carried and the lift is shared with hotel guests. Build in ten minutes of margin before the entrance.

Hasselbacken is also a working hotel. There are other guests in the building on the same day and the lobby is shared. The picture of the bride alone on the staircase therefore needs to be scheduled for a moment when the lobby is quiet.

The group photographs need space. With 300 guests in Hazelius you need a surface where everyone fits and everyone is visible. The terrace works when it is dry, and in rain the group can stand along the short wall of the room. Decide the wet weather option during the walkthrough with the hotel.

Key takeaways

• Hasselbacken is closed for renovation with reopening planned for 2028, ask the hotel to confirm your date in writing before you sign.
• The Hazelius room holds up to 300 guests and connects to a 240 square metre terrace.
• Crown holds up to 150 guests, King and Queen 70 each.
• Before the closure the hotel had 113 rooms and suites, and the whole hotel could be booked.

Gallery

A photographer’s perspective

My name is Karin Lundin and I am a wedding photographer based in Stockholm. The practical thing about Hasselbacken is that everything is in the same building. The morning can start in a hotel room and the evening end in a function room under the same roof, with nobody getting into a car in between.

The balcony outside King and Queen is a small place of its own with the garden behind it.

The function rooms take more thought. Hazelius holds up to 300 guests, so a smaller party can feel sparse in the room. If you are not filling the room, ask for the table plan to be pulled towards one short wall.

Djurgården is right outside the door. Fifteen minutes outside between the reception and the dinner is enough for portraits along the avenues and by the water.

Want to capture the day on film as well? I often work alongside Nordvér Films.

Planning a wedding? I am happy to talk about how your day could look in pictures. Get in touch and we will talk.

Frequently asked questions about a wedding at Hasselbacken

How many guests does Hasselbacken hold?

The Hazelius room holds a maximum of 300 people and is the largest room in the house. Crown holds 150, King and Queen 70 each. The exact number depends on whether you want a dance floor, a stage or a buffet in the same room, so ask the events team for a floor plan built around your setup.

What does a wedding at Hasselbacken cost?

Hasselbacken does not publish wedding prices on its website. The cost depends on the room, the number of guests, the menu and whether you book hotel rooms. Request a quote directly from the events team and ask for a price per guest including drinks, which makes it easier to compare against other venues.

Can you hold the ceremony at Hasselbacken?

Yes. The hotel has offered ceremonies in the Hazelius room, which connects to a 240 square metre terrace. The building is closed for renovation until the planned reopening in 2028. Many couples still marry in a church or at Stockholm City Hall first and come here for the reception, because the distances in the city centre are short.

Can guests stay at Hasselbacken?

Yes, before the closure the hotel had 113 rooms and suites in the same building as the function floor. The whole hotel can also be booked, which the hotel calls a takeover and which then includes the restaurant and the spa area.

Is there parking at Hasselbacken?

Before the closure the hotel had no parking of its own. Aimo Park ran spaces in the garage under the hotel and outside it, at 375 kronor per twenty four hours for a standard space and 450 kronor for a charging space, plus a ten percent service fee capped at fifty kronor. Spaces could not be booked in advance, so expect some guests to take a taxi or the tram.

What is the best time of year to marry on Djurgården?

June and early July give the longest evenings, with sunset just after ten, and the option of stepping outside between courses. September gives warmer colour in the foliage but shorter days, with sunset just after seven in the middle of the month.

How long does it take to get there from Central Station?

Before the closure the hotel gave ten minutes by taxi, fifteen by tram, fourteen by bicycle and roughly forty minutes on foot. The Spårväg City tram stops below the slope. At weekends during part of the summer season the road onto Djurgården is closed to cars without a permit, so ask guests to keep the booking confirmation to hand.

Do we need to hire sound and lighting for the function room?

The Hazelius room has a six by two metre LED screen and installed speakers, which covers speeches and slideshows. A live band will usually bring its own equipment anyway. Confirm your technical needs and the stage position with the hotel well in advance, especially if the band wants to stand in front of the screen.

Is Hasselbacken closed for renovation?

The owner Miramis announced in April 2026 that Hasselbacken will be rebuilt and become the group’s Swedish flagship, with openings across the portfolio through 2027. The hotel is now closed, and its website gives 2028 as the planned reopening. Exact dates are not published, so ask the hotel to confirm your date in writing and read the rebooking terms before you sign.