Words by:Eleanor Mollie

An alternative Hackney Town Hall Wedding Ceremony with a Hackney Coffee Co Reception

At any given point, I’m excited about a lot of things – my dog, travelling to new places, Britney Spears, to name a few – but today I’m simply chomping at the bit to be sharing Mary and Ben’s epic alternative Hackney town hall wedding with you!

Mary and Ben’s day was everything you expect a alternative hackney town hall Hackney wedding to be: super chic aesthetics, a bold colour palette, and a very relaxed vibe. It’s a combination that’s always bound to be a winner, and, true to form, their wedding day was a load of fun.

An authentic, love-filled Hackney wedding day

What I love most of all – ok, other than the style, which really was perfect, as you can see from the photos! – is that Mary and Ben did their wedding their way. For example, the day started with them both having a relaxing morning, before Ben left for a pub nearby. At The Ship, he enjoyed a pint with their guests before the Hackney Town Hall wedding ceremony, whilst Mary spent time putting the finishing touches to her outfit. She wore a beautiful, modern halterneck from the Whistles wedding range, with lace detailing to the front and a delicate open back. She accessorised with a double-tiered polkadot veil nestled in her sleek updo, done by Belli Fuori. Not to let the side down, Ben was also the image of sartorial chic, in a deep blue suit from Arket, a collarless white shirt, and suede desert shoes.

The iconic Hackney Town Hall wedding venue

Hackney Town Hall wedding venue itself is iconic, with its art deco facade making an impression as soon as you arrive. But step inside and you get to arguably the best space out of all the ones one offer: the North Atria, a secret slice of industrial paradise in the middle of East London. Nestled between two wings of the building, the space is beautiful and open, decorated with an industrial chic metal wall at the ceremony end, and flanked either side by exposed brickwork and chic white Crittall-style windows.
The North Atria also features a super modern glass ceiling. This means if you’re blessed with beautiful sunshine on your wedding day like Mary and Ben, your Hackney Town Hall wedding ceremony gets plenty of stunning natural light.
And their ceremony wasn’t just beautiful in terms of style, either: it was super emotional, too. Preceded by her 4 bridesmaids (who all wore outfits they’d chosen themselves, but all had definitely got the memo about looking cool), Mary walked down the aisle arm-in-arm with her dad. Ben couldn’t stop beaming as he saw her – and can you blame her?! At the top of the aisle, they were both beaming as they held their baby boy in their arms together, and officially became husband and wife!

After the ceremony, I orchestrated a confetti throw whilst the newlyweds waited inside, giving them a couple of minutes to themselves to celebrate. (It’s amazing how quickly the day goes by, and if you’re not careful, you can get to the end of it and realise you’ve hardly seen each other properly! A confetti throw gives you the perfect chance to get a quiet moment as just the two of you.) Plus, I love confetti throws, because you can feel the glee oozing out of every shot! After spending some time soaking up the sun and all the loved-up vibes whilst taking some photos on the steps (is it even a Hackney Town Hall wedding if you don’t get a shot there?!), it was time to move onto the reception.
One of the best things about Hackney weddings, and London weddings in general, is the backdrop that the city provides. We were soundtracked by whoops and well wishes from members of the public as we walked over to the reception venue Hackney Coffee Company – another hidden gem of a Hackney wedding venue.

Super cool retro florals and an industrial jungle vibe

Now, I couldn’t give you all the details of this incredible wedding without mentioning the breathtaking work of Bloom of the Block, could I? I adored Mary and her bridesmaids’ alternative bouquets, which contained only a few stems each but definitely packed a vibrant punch. The presentation-style arrangements had an achingly cool retro feel to them, featuring blue and green hydrangeas, as well as fluffy pink pampas, and focal anthuriums – green for Mary, and pink for her bridesmaids.
Pink anthuriums, brighter fuschia this time, continued into the flowers at the reception, as well as pops of yellow to match Ben’s buttonhole, and blue that perfectly matched his suit too. Long tables dotted with these stunning flowers were set up underneath the trailing greenery and festoon lighting hanging from the ceiling. The top table faced the other tables, so that Mary and Ben could see all of their loved ones. Their seats were positioned in front of a metal grid backdrop, with a giant potted plant either side, carrying on the incredible industrial jungle vibe they had going on.
After speeches, which were equally emotional and hilarious, everyone dug into the delicious meal provided by Banquet London. Following that, Mary, Ben and I slipped away to take some couples’ portraits in front of some uber cool posters and wall art.
Then, it was back into the reception for the first dance. As you can see, during this Mary and Ben never stopped smiling! In fact, they didn’t stop smiling for the rest of the night; and to be honest, most of the day, too…

And neither did I, really. The whole wedding day was full to the brim of good food, good booze, and most importantly, good people; and I’m so grateful that they had me as part of it. Congratulations, Mary and Ben, and thank you for having me along for the ride!
If you’re planning your Hackney wedding, whether a Hackney Town Hall wedding, a Hackney Coffee Company wedding, or one somewhere else, and you’re looking for a photographer – I’d absolutely LOVE to chat. Feel free to get in touch here. I can’t wait to hear from you!

To book me as your wedding photographer, get in touch via my contact page!