Our Editor, Natasha, Takes Us Inside Her Stylish Town Hall Wedding

After a summer filled with weddings, it’s time to enjoy all the incredible photography and inspiration from the season. Whether you’re newly married, recently engaged, or simply love a wedding, The Handbook‘s Real Wedding series spotlights our very own Editor, Natasha, who tied the knot at London’s iconic Old Marylebone Town Hall.

The meet-cute

Rohan and I met through a mutual friend at a music festival. We used to hang out in the same group until I moved from Sydney to London for work.

Then, a few years later, Rohan DM’d me to say that he was also moving over. A few ‘are they/aren’t they’ months, and an infamous trip to Paris later, and we were dating.

We really wanted something small and casual, but also chic.
Natasha, Digital Editor

The proposal

Considering we’d talked about getting married and even picked out a ring, I am still surprised that I was actually surprised when the time came. We were in Istanbul to meet my family, who were visiting for the weekend. When we arrived at our hotel room, he asked me to close my eyes – I obliged. He then led me inside our suite (the fire door shut on me in the process) and, after some nervous laughter, he got down on one knee.

My parents were landing the next morning, so we had the night to enjoy the news together. We tried ringing some friends and family, but only one friend picked up, which made us laugh. Nevertheless, Rohan had booked a lovely suite overlooking Istanbul, with a hot tub (that didn’t work properly). In short, the night was part surreal and also a comedy of errors, which made the whole thing feel quite sweet.

The night was part surreal and also a comedy of errors, which made the whole thing feel quite sweet.

The vision for the day

We really wanted something small and casual, but also chic. We’re not religious, so the town hall felt like an obvious choice – it was also much nicer (and more affordable) than other places we looked at. With loved ones across the world, we didn’t want anyone to feel pressured into buying a ticket just for one day, so we split the wedding in two: the ceremony here in London, followed by a reception in Melbourne at the end of the year.

The venue

To me, there’s nothing chicer than a minimalist town hall wedding. My thinking was: the nicer the venue, the less decoration you’ll need. Old Marylebone Town Hall is by far my favourite, and it just so happens to be our local one. And you know what they say? If it’s good enough for Dua Lipa…

For the reception, we booked Boxcar Hyde Park, which was within walking distance of the town hall (although quite a few of us took a cab there), which was great for casual post-ceremony bubbles and nibbles. There is another Boxcar, which was slightly closer, but we chose the one that could house all our guests comfortably inside, should the weather get dicey (which it did).

Then, our families made their way to Mayfair for dinner at Mount St. Restaurant. We booked The Italian Rooms upstairs, where guests were greeted with a welcome cocktail before heading into the dining room for a set menu. We were lucky to have the event rooms to ourselves for the evening, and were even shown where some of the biggest A-listers have their parties, and got a sneak peek at ‘the new Picasso.’

My thinking was: the nicer the venue, the less decoration you’ll need.

Food & drink

Right after the ceremony, we had roaming canapés at Boxcar, and our guests kept mentioning how good the food was. The Lancaster cheese croquettes with truffle aioli and Dexter beef sliders both received a lot of praise. Wine was a big thing for me, so we had a combination of Pierre Moncuit Champagne and Boxcar’s own incredible selection, including Frolic crémant, Chapeau Melon Blanc white (a standout bottle), Tinted Glasses rosé, Primitivo red, along with beers and non-alcoholic options.

The dress

Being in the fashion industry for over 15 years, the dress was top of my wedding priority list. As far as I was concerned, everything could go pear-shaped, but as long as the dress was chic, it was all going to be fine.

I had a handful of dress appointments with my mum when she was visiting from Sydney, and plenty of aspirational dresses on my Pinterest board. I ended up lucking out though, and found my dream dress from Kricket Marie Atelier on StillWhite.com – a secondhand wedding dress e-tailer. Not only was it more sustainable (my dress had also never been worn), it was also a fraction of the budget, which meant I could go all-out on alterations. I also layered a silk slip from Mango over the skirt that it came with, which was slightly longer and matched the corset.

The details

I really loved our cake. Crafted by Syma at The Heartbaker – I fell in love with a cake they made for Noorie Ana’s wedding and requested the same design. The rest of our details were relatively classic, so having a leopard-print cake felt like a playful twist.

Flavour-wise, we opted for the Desi Prinsesstårta option (minus the mango pulp), which was a pistachio-flavoured cake teamed with white chocolate (it was set to be too hot for buttercream that day). I only managed to have one forkful, as we were busy socialising, but it was incredible, and we’re going to order a smaller version for our first anniversary.

The rest of our details were relatively classic, so having a leopard print cake felt like a playful twist.

The personal touch

One detail that only my mum and I knew about was the ‘something borrowed’ and ‘something blue’. My mum sewed a small sapphire pendant into the lining of my skirt, which felt very special.

My mum sewed a small sapphire pendant into the lining of my skirt, which felt very special.

The highlight

While we had plenty of moments that we loved throughout the day that will stick with us for years to come, I really enjoyed our speeches at the drinks reception afterwards. I’m not a public speaker, but having so many of our loved ones in the same room and being able to thank them was truly incredible.

The advice

My top tip would be to invest in the photography – we were thrilled to have Mary Lee fly down from Scotland for our wedding, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the result.

Oh, and don’t sweat the small stuff – you can easily get caught up in the decor and details, but the most important thing about the whole day is the person you’re marrying. So long as they’re the right choice, the rest will fall into place.