Helen & Benoit | A Marylebone Town Hall Wedding

London Wedding
Written By Oliver Holder
Helen and Benoit on the rooftop terrace above London on their wedding day
Helen & Benoit

Old Marylebone Town Hall · Barrafina · London

Micro Wedding · Marylebone & Covent Garden

A London micro wedding with all the glamour and none of the fuss. A quiet morning in Fulham, an intimate ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hall, a wander across the city, and dinner at Barrafina.

The Morning in Fulham

The day started over in Fulham, with Helen getting ready surrounded by her family. There is a particular calm to a small wedding morning. No running order, no schedule being managed, just the people who matter most in one room and a slow build of excitement. Then a short ride across town to Marylebone.

Helen getting ready with her family in Fulham before her London wedding - 1 Helen getting ready with her family in Fulham before her London wedding - 2 Helen getting ready with her family in Fulham before her London wedding - 3 Helen getting ready with her family in Fulham before her London wedding - 4 Helen getting ready with her family in Fulham before her London wedding - 5 Helen getting ready with her family in Fulham before her London wedding - 6

The Ceremony at Marylebone

Old Marylebone Town Hall does something clever. It is grand enough to make a twenty minute ceremony feel like a proper occasion, and small enough that a wedding of a dozen people never feels lost in it. Helen and Benoit married in front of their closest family, and the whole thing was warm, quick and completely theirs.

If you are planning something similar, I have written a full guide to being a Marylebone Town Hall wedding photographer, covering the ceremony rooms, how the timings really work and where to go afterwards.

Helen and Benoit’s intimate ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hall - 1 Helen and Benoit’s intimate ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hall - 2 Helen and Benoit’s intimate ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hall - 3 Helen and Benoit’s intimate ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hall - 4 Helen and Benoit’s intimate ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hall - 5 Helen and Benoit’s intimate ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hall - 6 Helen and Benoit’s intimate ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hall - 7 Helen and Benoit’s intimate ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hall - 8 Helen and Benoit’s intimate ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hall - 9

Across London

Helen had planned a route around the city, and it was a good one. Regent's Park first, a few minutes from the town hall and the easiest way to get green space into a London wedding. Then Sir John Soane's Museum, which is as strange and wonderful a backdrop as anywhere in the country.

Then the part I did not expect. We went up to the roof terrace at Benoit's office, and London opened out underneath us. The two of them walked the length of it with the skyline behind, and those are still some of my favourite frames from any micro wedding I have photographed.

Portraits at Regent’s Park, Sir John Soane’s Museum and the rooftop above London - 1 Portraits at Regent’s Park, Sir John Soane’s Museum and the rooftop above London - 2 Portraits at Regent’s Park, Sir John Soane’s Museum and the rooftop above London - 3 Portraits at Regent’s Park, Sir John Soane’s Museum and the rooftop above London - 4 Portraits at Regent’s Park, Sir John Soane’s Museum and the rooftop above London - 5 Portraits at Regent’s Park, Sir John Soane’s Museum and the rooftop above London - 6 Portraits at Regent’s Park, Sir John Soane’s Museum and the rooftop above London - 7 Portraits at Regent’s Park, Sir John Soane’s Museum and the rooftop above London - 8 Portraits at Regent’s Park, Sir John Soane’s Museum and the rooftop above London - 9

Marylebone Town Hall is one of the London venues I know best. If you are getting married there, my venue guide covers the rooms, the timings, the steps and everything I have learned photographing weddings in that building.

Read the venue guide

Dinner at Barrafina

The evening was at Barrafina in Covent Garden, which for a small wedding is an inspired choice. Everyone around one counter, Spanish food arriving steadily, and speeches that were genuinely funny rather than dutifully delivered. A small guest list means everyone can actually hear each other, and it shows in the photographs.

Dinner and speeches at Barrafina in Covent Garden - 1 Dinner and speeches at Barrafina in Covent Garden - 2 Dinner and speeches at Barrafina in Covent Garden - 3 Dinner and speeches at Barrafina in Covent Garden - 4 Dinner and speeches at Barrafina in Covent Garden - 5 Dinner and speeches at Barrafina in Covent Garden - 6

Helen and Benoit, thank you for a day that proved how much you can fit into a small wedding. If you are planning something similar, my micro wedding coverage is built for exactly this kind of day.

An absolutely fantastic wedding photographer. We hired Oliver to take the wedding photos on the day of our registry office wedding in London and they look incredible. He also did a pre shoot with us which was really useful. Definitely recommend!
— Helen Oswell, Google Review

Ceremony: Old Marylebone Town Hall, London
Reception: Barrafina, Covent Garden
Photography: Oliver Holder

Planning a Marylebone or London wedding? I would love to hear about it.

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“An absolutely fantastic wedding photographer. We hired Oliver take the wedding photos on the day of our registry office wedding in London and they look incredible. He also did a pre-shoot with us which was really useful. Definitely recommend!!”
— Helen
Oliver Holder
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