Stylish Modern & Elegant Civil Ceremony Wedding in London

J and Z’s modern and elegant civil ceremony wedding at Islington Town Hall in London was nothing short of beautiful. Their intimate micro wedding in the city was special, meaningful and filled with love.

They walked down the aisle together, wrote their own vows and were beaming all day long. I adore their stylish outfits too. Z wore a show-stopping ruffle skirt and statement Manolo Blahniks, meanwhile, J went for an on-trend double-breasted suit teamed with DMs. Didn’t they look amazing?

Grace Pham Photography thank you so much for sharing these truly wonderful images of a very special celebration indeed.

London Civil Ceremony Wedding

The Proposal

We jointly designed a ring with the wonderful McCaul Jewellers in Exmouth Market.

The Vision

The most important thing to us was being married, and we wanted a simple but elegant civil ceremony to commemorate this milestone.

The Venue

We live in Islington, local to Islington Town Hall. There are a number of rooms available within Islington Town Hall, and we chose the Council Chamber which we felt was most ornate and allowed us to have a more customised ceremony.

The Ceremony & Music

We had an approved script jointly approved by Islington Town Hall that fit their requirements but wrote simple vows ourselves to share in front of our loved ones. We also had our loved ones share readings on marriage, love and family.

In the interludes between the pre-wedding interview, ceremony and exit, we chose instrumental versions of our favourite classic romantic ballads.

Discover more wedding readings and wedding ceremony songs on the blog!

Your Outfits

J: I wanted a modern suit that was evocative of English tailoring and found a double-breasted one I loved at Reiss. They helped with custom alterations to get the fit just right. Given it was an autumnal wedding, I picked tie and pocket square colours that fit nature’s colour palate.

I topped it off with Doc Martens which I felt added some more personality to the outfit.

Z: I am always cold so I wanted a wedding dress with sleeves! My vision was that I wanted a wedding outfit that was modern and statement-making but appropriate for Town Hall. I didn’t find an entire outfit off the rack that I loved but was very interested in the idea of bridal separates, so I picked a statement skirt from David’s Bridal.

My Mum found me a beautiful top from Intimissimi and the combination felt just right. I topped it off with shoes I bought with my Mum from Manolo Blahnik (the Carrie Bradshaw shoes but in a more practical nude leather!) and heirloom family jewellery.

Your Photographer & Filmmaker

We found our wonderful photographer Grace through the Islington Say I Do Instagram page. They were showcasing photographers who had shot in the Council Chamber and we were instantly drawn to her natural and emotive wedding photography style.

The Honeymoon

We waited until COVID restrictions cleared and it was safer to travel to organise our honeymoon. It was worth the wait as we spent our honeymoon in Hawaii and treasured every day there.

Memorable Moments

After days watching the weather forecast intently, we were so lucky to have sunshine the morning of our wedding. We brought umbrellas to the ceremony to be cautious but eventually gave them to family members to take back to the hotel as we were taking some final wedding shots.

As luck would have it, that’s when the rain started! We were fortunate to have a creative and talented wedding photographer who knew exactly how to capture beautiful images in the rain.

Advice For Other Couples

J: It might all seem very stressful but at the end of the day, everything will turn out okay. Remember the reason you are getting married and you get to spend the rest of your life with your favourite person.

Z: There will inevitably be setbacks – anticipated and otherwise in the process – but smile and enjoy it! Rain also makes beautiful photos! ☺