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Maher Centre hosts Somali weddings (aroos) in Leicester for up to 1,000 seated guests, 800 with a big dance floor, or 1,500 standing. One pillarless hall, an alcohol-free celebration, women-only events if you want them, your own caterer cooking in our industrial kitchen, and 350+ parking spaces five to ten minutes from M1 Junction 21.
A Somali aroos is rarely small. Invitations spread through family and community networks, guests travel from London, Birmingham, Manchester and beyond, and it’s normal to plan for far more people than the list on paper. Running out of room is the one thing nobody wants.
That’s where Maher Centre helps. Our banquet hall is 1,100m², single-storey and pillarless, so a full room still feels open and everyone can see the couple’s entrance.
Every family does it differently. These are the events we are most often asked about.
Many couples hold the nikah at the mosque or at home with close family. If you would rather hold it here, see our nikah venue page.
The bride and groom’s grand entrance, music, dhaanto and other traditional dances, a big meal and a lot of celebrating. This is where the hall really earns its size.
Many families hold a women-only party with music, dancing and buraanbur. The hall is private to your event: tell us your plans and we’ll talk through staffing.
Smaller events after the wedding, such as the shaash saar, can be held here too, with the hall laid out for a more intimate crowd.
The right layout depends on how much dancing you expect and whether you want separate areas.
A full PA system is built in. DJs from our partner network already know the hall, and your own singers or musicians are welcome too.
Optional tiered front steps, cold sparklers and an LED dance floor make the couple’s entrance a showstopper. Pyrotechnics are allowed, subject to written approval.
Bar packages are optional extras. An alcohol-free aroos is completely normal here; juice, tea and coffee stations are easy to organise.
No dedicated prayer room, but you can agree a quiet area with the event manager and pause the music at prayer times.
Comfortable when the dance floor is packed and the hall is full.
Full venue clean-up is part of the booking, so the family can go home after a long night.
Food matters as much as the music. Maher Centre does not do catering, so you choose who cooks: a caterer from our partner network who already knows the kitchen, or your own Somali caterer, welcomed through our Partner Programme.
Your caterer gets an industrial kitchen with four burners, a free gas supply and refrigeration: enough to keep large pots of bariis, hilib ari, chicken, sambusa and canjeero coming. Beef and pork are not served on the grounds of the Maher Centre, so lamb, goat, chicken and fish are the natural choices.
Halal standards are set by your caterer; ask them for their certification. Optional banqueting packages provide the chairs, round tables, linen, crockery and serving ware, so your caterer can concentrate on the food.
For more background, read our guide to Somali wedding traditions in the UK and the Muslim wedding venue page.
FULL HALL
FLORAL ARCH
GRAND ENTRANCE
EVENING
COUPLE’S STAGETell us a little about your event and our events team will come back to you within one working day with availability and a written quote.