From celebrity marriages to the nation’s first single-sex nuptials, Old Marylebone Town Hall has a rich cultural history. 100 couples tied the knot today to celebrate its centenary as a wedding venue
Old Marylebone Town Hall has been filled with romance with an incredible number of weddings in a single day.
The central London venue has celebrated a century of nuptials in style by seeing the same number of couples tie the knot in just 14.5 hours.
And the newlyweds will be in stellar company – famous weddings that took place here include Sir Paul McCartney, who wed both Linda Eastman in 1969 and his current wife Nancy Shevell in 2011.
Oasis star Liam Gallagher has also walked down the aisle twice at the location in the capital, marrying Patsy Kensit in 1997 and Nicole Appleton in 2001.
The town hall played host to the nation’s first single-sex ceremony too. Percy Stevens and Roger Lockyer took their vows on December 21, 2005, the day same-sex unions became legal in England and Wales.
After a pause in construction due to the First World War, Old Marylebone Town Hall was built and opened by George VI in 1920. The first wedding took place four years later and to do, more than 125,000 ceremonies have taken place.
The venue underwent a four year refurbishment in 2014 and with 2,500 ceremonies a year, is one of the busiest wedding locations in the country.
The rain didn’t put couples off today as they filed down the steps from 8am throwing confetti, kissing on the steps and popping open bottles of champagne. The last wedding will wrap up at 10.30pm.
Westminster registrar Alison Cathcart was among the happy couples, taking a short break from work to renew her vows with her husband, retired registrar Mark Rimmer. The pair from Hertfordshire have been married for 31 years and made the decision to re-wed just three days ago.
Alison was the registrar for Beatle Sir Paul’s wedding to Nancy Shevell and he isn’t the only member of the group to tie the knot here. Ringo Starr married Barbara Bach in 1981 and the couple remain together 43 years later.
Another long celebrity marriage which began at the venue was Cilla Black, who was wed to her manager Bobby Willis until his death from cancer in 1999. Hollywood’s Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith also walked down the aisle in 1996, sadly splitting in 2014.
Among the couples marrying today were Andy Lambert and Mel Hunter, who have been together for six years. The newlyweds told the BBC they chose to get married now because it’s “an iconic thing to happen”, heading off for a celebratory lunch in Covent Garden.
Daisy McDonnell and Dan McKinley, 27, brought their dog Marvin along on their big day. The couple met on their first day at University of Liverpool in 2016.