Wandsworth Town Hall and St Paul’s Wedding, London | Marina & Dann

This wedding was a glorious blending of Uzbek and Mexican cultures.  Marina and Dann met at work in London and decided their UK wedding (for they would be having another celebration in Mexico later in the year) would be split between two wonderful locations.  Their civil ceremony would take place at Wandsworth Town Hall, a rather lovely  Grade II listed building noted for its original art deco design and grand marble hall.  They chose the Alexandra Room for their service, a lovely light and airy space for up to 45 people with delightful mix of modern and art deco touches.

As is customary with registry office weddings, they’re over in no time since there’s usually another couple immediately after waiting for the room to be turned around for their celebration, but the great thing about Wandsworth is that it has a wonderful marble staircase that, although dimly lit, is exceptionally photogenic and a brilliant spot to take those classic ‘walking down the steps’ shots and, in this particular case, a big group photo too.

After the celebrations continued outside following the popping of Champagne corks in the courtyard, it was time for Marina and Dann to leave their loved ones temporarily and depart for St Paul’s Cathedral, where they wanted some images taken with this historic London landmark as the backdrop.  Our route started at the northern section of the Millennium Bridge and unsurprisingly we did get quite a bit of attention from passers-by and onlookers once it became obvious the ‘models’ were actually newlyweds.  To their credit, Marina and Dann took it all in their stride and were happy to take on-board the light direction I gave in terms of where to stand or position themselves, but in fairness after a few minutes they new exactly what look they wanted and happily obliged.  Heading back over the bridge we spent a bit of time in St Paul’s Churchyard before taking the short walk to Paternoster Square where their friends and family eagerly awaited their arrival at the reception venue - the rather splendid Happenstance restaurant.  After toasting the couple, it was time for everyone to participate in a little Mexican wedding tradition where they place a thumbprint on a picture of a tree, with each print representing a leaf.  A delightful keepsake that I’m sure is now framed somewhere prominent in Marina and Dann’s home.

Shortly after it was time to ceremonially cut the cake before everyone took to their seats for receiving their generous gifts from the couple and enjoy a nice sit-down meal.   I loved every moment of this wedding (even the bit where the overzealous security at St Paul’s asked us to move away from the steps) with its mix of cultures and locations and sincerely hope Marina and Dann’s Mexican wedding celebration is just as fun as their UK one.

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