100 couples exchange vows on the same day at a renowned London venue, all for a nominal fee of £100 each. London’s Marylebone Town Hall marked its 100th birthday by offering couples the opportunity to tie the knot without the hefty price tag typically associated with weddings. Ordinarily, the venue charges anywhere from £621 to £1,230 for ceremonies.
On Tuesday, 1st October, between 8am and 2pm, a total of 100 weddings, civil partnerships, and vow renewals took place at the iconic venue. With around five to seven ceremonies scheduled per hour, each wedding lasted between 15 to 20 minutes. To ensure a smooth flow of events, couples were allowed to invite up to eight guests and a maximum of two pets.
Among the delighted pairs were Shona Mitchell and Kenny Price, who first connected on a dating app and became the inaugural couple to say their “I dos” at 8am. BBC journalist Thomas Mackintosh also seized the opportunity to live report his own wedding from the venue, with his wife Paige proposing the idea upon seeing a call-out for the hall’s centenary celebration.
Another couple, Andy Lambert, 68, and Mel Fawcus, 73, from Shepherd’s Bush, decided to embrace the occasion after spotting an advertisement. The pair, who met at an Easter Bonnet party in 1988, took the plunge into matrimony.
Marylebone Town Hall, where numerous celebrities have exchanged vows, including Sir Paul McCartney, Oasis singer Liam Gallagher, Ringo Starr, Melanie Griffith, Antonio Banderas, Sean Bean, Georgina Sutcliffe, and Cilla Black, holds a significant place in the history of UK celebrity weddings.
Originally opening in 1920 after a pause in construction due to World War I, the venue has seen over 125,000 ceremonies since holding its first wedding four years later. Following a comprehensive four-year renovation, Marylebone Town Hall resumed operations in 2018, hosting an estimated 2,500 ceremonies annually.
Councillor Ryan Jude expressed delight in celebrating the venue’s 100th anniversary, highlighting its historical and cultural importance within Westminster. This milestone not only commemorates the building’s storied past but also celebrates the diverse couples creating new memories within its walls.