The best London register offices for your ceremony - Islington Town Hall
If you're planning your wedding, you may well be considering a register office for your ceremony. Register offices are seeing a rise in popularity, with civil ceremonies increasingly outnumbering religious marriages every year since 1992. Nowadays many registries are beautiful, ornate rooms softly lit and filled with flowers, and the perfect place for an intimate ceremony with family and friends.
Many modern couples choose to marry in civil ceremonies at a town hall or register office as they feel more comfortable with a less strongly religious ceremony. Registry ceremonies are also more customisable, and can have their choice of music and speeches. (You can even have a dog as your ring bearer!) Holding your wedding at a registry office can be far more budget friendly, with a ceremony costing as little as £400 in contrast with bigger events.
Here at Perfocal, we get to see a lot of wedding photos! We wanted to use our knowledge of the prettiest, most popular and most unique town halls and register offices to help couples planning their big day.
To continue our series, we're introducing our next pick of the best town halls for a registry wedding. This week it's Islington Town Hall.
Though we may be slightly biased (Perfocal HQ is based just down the street), Islington Town Hall is a significantly popular town hall for civil ceremonies. In a bustling part of town, easily accessible and beautifully decorated, Islington Town Hall is easily the next pick for the best register offices for any ceremony.
If you're short on time, here is the quick you must know about the Islington Town Hall:
The Town Hall has three ceremony rooms.
- The Council Chamber (the biggest room which has 160 guest capacity):
Tuesdays to Friday £500
Saturdays £700 - The Room 99 (Medium size, 208guest capacity) :
Tuesdays to Thursday £190
Saturdays £240 Sundays £290 - The Mayor's Parlour (the smallest, 12 guest capacity):
Monday to Friday from 9 am - 6 pm £620
Saturday from 9 am - 6 pm £700
Monday to Saturday from 6 pm - 10 pm £800
Sunday and Bank holidays from 9 am - 6 pm £800 - You can book your marriage online or book a civil partnership through appointment booking system
- Bring your own photographer! You can book a wedding & civil ceremony photographer here, starting at £99.
Read on for the story and more details!
A brief history of Islington Town Hall
Islington Town Hall was built in 1923, while the adjoining Islington Assembly Hall (which is perfect for post-ceremony receptions) was added in 1929. The art-deco style makes Islington Town Hall's both exterior and interior a great setting for your pre and post ceremony photos. The front of the building is Islington Town Hall also hosted the UK’s first same-sex marriage in March 2014.
Room 99
Room 99 at the Islington Town Hall is a medium-sized ceremony room, seating up to 28 guests. It is furnished in red and gold, with large windows allowing for lots of natural light.
Because of the popularity of this room, the allotted times for ceremonies are much shorter. Therefore if you have your ceremony in this room, you will not be allowed to add readings or personal vows, or any other customisable features.
Fees for a ceremony in the Room 99 range from £190 on Monday - Thursday, £240 on Friday and £290 on Saturdays.
The Mayor's Parlour
This smaller room accommodates up to 12 guests, for more intimate ceremonies. The cosy parlour features oak panelled walls and a fireplace (in front of which couples usually make their vows), as well as red leather furnishings.
Fees for a ceremony in the Mayor's parlour range from £380 on weekdays to £580 on Saturdays.
The Council Chamber
This grand hall sits at the top of Islington Town Hall's marble staircase. The impressive room can fit up to 160 guests (100 in the main hall as well as 60 on the balcony).
The hall features wooden panelled walls, topped by a stately vaulted ceiling and stained glass windows. Guest seating is made up of plush leather padded pews, as well as chairs, which are all arranged in a horseshoe shape.
Fees for a ceremony in the Council Chamber range from £500 on weekdays to £700 on Saturdays.
Islington Town Hall is easily one of the countries most popular and most beautiful town halls. Nestled in a busy and high-end part of town, this historic north London building hosts classically intimate and beautiful ceremonies, and makes for some great photography along the way.
You can book a beautiful chamber for your wedding ceremony at the Islington Town Hall here.
Are you getting married and considering booking a wedding photographer?
Your wedding day is a momentous occasion, and for most people a once-in-a-lifetime event. Make sure you don’t fork out a fortune for your photos. You can hire a pro photographer simply and affordably with Perfocal instead.
We guarantee quick and simple booking, an amazing professional photographer who will travel to you, and 48 hour photo delivery every time.
We do all this so you can have amazing wedding photos without the price tag.
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