DIY Micro Wedding at The Old Marylebone Town Hall

February 20, 2022 Melissa Woods

Becky & Chris standing in front of a brick wall, holding their ring fingers up as if they're flipping the bird

Photography by: Natalia Paulina Photography

This DIY micro-wedding at The Old Marylebone Town Hall is a love story, baby just swipe left. ♫

Rebecca was so not into the online dating scene, and Chris had only been in the UK a month with no intentions of settling down. But sometimes it’s when you’re totally not looking, the biggest sparks fly in front of your face!

After Becky’s friends insisted she download a dating app, she caved just to shut them up. But thank god she did!! After matching with Chris, she didn’t even reply to his message until a friend took one look at him and expressed how she’d “lick his face”. Obviously the true sign of a looker.

After 1 year together (literally, exactly a year!), Chris asked Becky to marry him in the spur of the moment after a lockdown walk. He had planned to wait until after the lockdown that was on at the time, but when the moment strikes, you gotta do it! After 1 year of being engaged, they made the forever promises on the same date they began dating and the very same date they got engaged.

They pulled off their secret micro-wedding with just 6 guests and a budget of £4,000.

A stylish bride and groom walking hand in hand down the steps at the Old Marylebone Town Hall

IT WAS EVERYTHING THAT WAS JUST “US”

While our bread and butter is going against the traditional wedding grain, there’s actually nothing better than a couple just doing it how they wanna do it. THAT’S the whole point.

Your day is for you. Let it be completely, totally and entirely “YOU”.

The couple facing each other closely at the alter, both laughing. The setting has rich and dark wood colours, with a pop of green and white from a foliage display at the atler

Becky: “I messaged a little message and asked if Chris was free to meet Monday morning for coffee. Anyone who agrees to 7.15am coffee already gets a bonus point. And that was it, we met every day that week for morning coffee before work and then for an evening walk along the beach.”

Chris & Becky looking just off camera and laughing. Chris is throwing up a peace sign, and they're standing in front of the foliage display at their alter

That’s exactly what Becky and Chris did. Their DIY micro-wedding was planned (and re-planned 3 times) and finally took place during restrictions that allowed them to have just 6 guests. But this in a lot of ways worked in their favour… Their priorities were having great food, and not going into any debt. And they achieved that easily with their laid-back planning and modest budget.

I don’t think we’ve ever actually heard of a more chilled out way to plan a wedding;

Chris and Becky were chilling outside in the sun, chatting about planning and booking their wedding. Becky had a photo of The Old Marylebone Town Hall saved on her phone and showed it to Chris… And after a quick look to check if their date was available, BAM, their intimate wedding was booked!!

The newly married couple walking out of The Old Marylebone Town Hall hand in hand. Either side of the grand entrance are huge, bright flower displays of green, orange and yellow. Hands in the foreground are ready to throw confetti

Becky's hair is covered in their homemade confetti with all their guests in the background on the stairs. Chris is brushing confetti out of his hair and smiling at Becky

“I only tried on one dress, I’d seen it online and then a very lovely lady purchased it for me as a gift. Cue tears!”

Becky wore a gorgeous column-shaped satin dress, perfect for a city elopement. It featured a deep V-plunge and a super stylish matching belt with a large square buckle. It was love at first sight when Becky saw it online, and once she tried it on there was no need to try on another!

Becky and Chris even saved money on the dress alterations, as a friend of theirs owns the bridal company Luna Bea, and altered it as a wedding gift.

A close shot of Becky's dress, showing the satiny material. The dress is a column shape with a statement v neck plunge and belt

Chris decided if he wasn’t allowed to see Becky’s dress, Becky wasn’t allowed to see his suit! Fair play. So it was actually Chris that chose their wedding colours to match the lining and stitching of his suit!

A close up of Chris' lapel and dried flower buttonhole. He's wearing a velvet red bowtie and there's a matching red ribbon holding the buttonhole together.

Becky's hand is holding open Chris' blazer to show the blue, red and white paisley pattern that their wedding colours are based on!

A lot of the wedding details was handmade and DIY’d by the couple themselves - something we love at The Un-Wedding. What’s better than a super personal touch??

They made the confetti, Becky personalised her bouquet from a small bunch of flowers from Phohm, as well as Chris’ buttonhole. It doesn’t even stop there… Becky and Chris made their invites, thank you cards, and wedding announcements using biodegradable, plantable paper.

Ummm… Supercouple? We think so.

“We did a lot more ourselves than I think we would have if it wasn’t during lockdown. We had time to do so and it gave us something nice to focus on, and it also meant we could support lots of small independent businesses.”

A guest pouring homemade confetti into their hand from a little personalised paper bag

Becky's gloriously huge dried flower bouquet laying on a mustard velvet chair. The bouquet is mostly neutral colours but has small pops of red and yellow. The ribbons holding the handtied bunch together are wine red and white

FAVE BITS & WEDDING ADVICE

“Honestly we had the best day, it was effortless, relaxed, and everything we wanted. We had no pressure for anything. And we loved our impromptu stop at a pub to enjoy fizz sat on the sidewalk after the ceremony.

I loved seeing the look on Chris’ face as I walked into the room. Actually, I always ask him if we can renew our vows already because we had that much fun.

Becky about to pop a bottle of bubbly with a huge cheeky look of anticipation on her face

My advice would be go with your gut, do not over think and do not over-visit venues. The day goes by so fast, you need to be able to relax and enjoy it. And hold on to what’s important to you as a couple, close off the outside noise.

You want something? Go for it. If you don’t want something, then don’t do it. “

The happy couple standing in front of a chipped painted wall that’s strangely beautiful. The bride is wearing a v neck dress and holding her dried flower bouquet by her side.