Marrying in London
London is the most internationally accessible wedding destination in the world. Every major city has a direct flight. The Eurostar connects Paris and Brussels in under two and a half hours. The Elizabeth line connects Heathrow to the city centre in 27 minutes. For couples whose guest list spans continents, nowhere else in the UK eliminates arrival friction as completely as the capital.
London's venue landscape is unlike any other British city. The livery halls of the Square Mile, built over six centuries of guild prosperity, are among the finest historic interiors in Europe. The royal parks and palace gardens offer ceremony settings of an entirely different order from rural estate lawns. Museum privatisations put world-class art collections and natural history galleries in service of a single wedding. No rural county can replicate any of this.
The city works at every scale. An intimate ceremony for 20 in an Inns of Court dining room. A full-scale reception for 400 in a Victorian livery hall. A garden ceremony in a private Belgravia square, followed by dinner in a candlelit Georgian townhouse. London does not require countryside to be exceptional. It is exceptional because it is itself.
The seasons
- Best
- Shoulder
- Peak
- Quieter
5 Star view Our reading of the wedding year, from the months below.
- Best months
- May, June, July and September
- Shoulder season
- April and October
- Peak season
- July and August for outdoor elements
London works year-round for indoor venues: the livery halls, museums, and private clubs are if anything more atmospheric in winter when the exterior darkness makes the candlelit interiors feel more complete. For garden square and royal park ceremonies, May through September is the reliable season. August weekends in the City are quieter than the rest of the year as the Square Mile empties, which can work in your favour for exclusive hall hire.
The weather, month by month
Lower row: average rainfall in the month, mm
Reference London: climatological normals 1981 to 2010, Met Office, through the WMO World Weather Information Service. Read 5 October 2026.
Daylight and sunset
The bar runs from sunrise to sunset on the 15th of each month. A ceremony is usually timed an hour or two before the sunset shown.
Calculated From the coordinates of London, local time, for 2027.
Ramadan and Eid
For couples and guests who observe them, the dates to plan a wedding around.
| Year | Ramadan | Eid al-Fitr | Eid al-Adha |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | 8 Feb to 8 Mar | 9 Mar | 16 May |
| 2028 | 28 Jan to 25 Feb | 26 Feb | 5 May |
Calculated From the Umm al-Qura calendar. The observed dates follow the sighting of the moon and can fall a day either side.
The areas of London
Belgravia →1 venue · LCY 14 kmStucco squares by Buckingham Palace
City of London →2 venues · LCY 10 kmLivery halls in the Square Mile
Holborn →3 venues · LCY 12 kmInns of Court and their gardens
Knightsbridge →1 venue · LCY 15 kmHyde Park and Harrods
Marylebone →1 venue · LCY 14 kmMuseums and village streets
Mayfair →5 venues · LCY 14 kmGrand hotels and private clubs
St James's →2 venues · LCY 13 kmPalaces, clubs and Piccadilly
Strand and Covent Garden →2 venues · LCY 12 kmTheatreland and the river
Counted The areas, with their venues and nearest airport counted from the records. The words are ours.
Also in London
The City of London
Mayfair and Belgravia
South Bank and Bankside
East London and the Creative Quarter
Richmond, Kew and the River
What venues are like
Counted The London venues by kind, counted from the venue records when this page loaded.
City Livery Hall
The guild halls of the City of London are among the finest historic event spaces in the world. The Goldsmiths' Hall, Vintners' Hall, Merchant Taylors' Hall, and Fishmongers' Hall each combine medieval or Baroque architecture, a sequence of ceremonial rooms, and an event infrastructure polished by centuries of formal entertaining. Exclusive hire for a wedding weekend is available at most halls. Capacity ranges from 60 to 600 guests depending on the hall.
Royal Palace and Gardens
Kew Gardens, Frogmore House at Windsor, and Hampton Court Palace offer ceremony and reception settings that no private estate can replicate in terms of historical significance and horticultural quality. The Orangery at Kew, the Great Vine at Hampton Court, and the private walled gardens of Frogmore are in a different category from any hotel garden. Bookings require early engagement with the managing institution.
Museum and Gallery Space
The Natural History Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Courtauld Gallery all accept exclusive evening hire for wedding receptions. Dinner in the V&A's cast courts among full-scale plaster casts of Michelangelo's David and Trajan's Column is one of the most extraordinary dining environments in Europe. These bookings are prestigious, expensive, and fill quickly.
Riverside Venue
Thames-facing venues from the Tower of London to Battersea, with river views as the constant. HMS Belfast offers exclusive hire of a 1938 Royal Navy light cruiser moored between London Bridge and Tower Bridge. The Oxo Tower provides rooftop dining above the South Bank. The Cutty Sark in Greenwich provides a complete historic ship setting. No other city in Britain offers this range of water-based venue formats.
Private Garden Square
The Georgian garden squares of Belgravia, Mayfair, and Bloomsbury are privately owned by residents of the surrounding terraces. A small number are occasionally available for private events through the garden square management committees. The combination of complete enclosure, mature plane trees, and Georgian architecture creates an outdoor ceremony space that is invisible and inaudible from the street outside: secret London at its most refined.
How large a wedding the London collection takes
Counted Counted from the venue records when this page loaded.
For a large or private celebration
- Take 300 guests or more
- 20 of 50 venues
- Whole venue to yourselves
- 22 of 50
- Your own caterer welcome
- 7 of 50
- Largest
- The Londoner, up to 800
Counted Counted from the venue records when this page loaded.
Halal catering, service without alcohol, a private celebration for the ladies and a prayer room are arranged venue by venue: ask when you check your date. See the London venues for 300 guests or more.
Airports and transfers
- Heathrow (LHR) The Elizabeth line connects Heathrow to Paddington in 27 minutes and runs to the City and Canary Wharf beyond. The best airport for virtually all international guests. 5 terminals, direct services from every major global hub. Pre-booked car transfer from Heathrow to central London takes 45 to 75 minutes depending on traffic.
- Gatwick (LGW) The Gatwick Express reaches Victoria in 30 minutes, running every 15 minutes. Strong connections from southern Europe, North America via Virgin Atlantic, and most UK regional airports. Particularly convenient for venues in central and south London.
- London City (LCY) 20 minutes from Canary Wharf and 25 minutes from Bank via the DLR and Elizabeth line. Primarily European routes and UK domestic. The most central London airport and the most convenient for guests staying in the East End or City venues.
All major London mainline terminals, King's Cross, Euston, Paddington, Victoria, Waterloo, Charing Cross, Liverpool Street, are within the Transport for London network and connect to each other and to every part of the city. Guests staying in London need only the Tube or Overground to reach any venue. For guests arriving from the rest of the UK, direct intercity services run to all terminals from every major city.
Which airport for which area
| Area | LHRHeathrow | LGWGatwick | LCYLondon City |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of London | 26 km | 41 km | 10 km |
| Holborn | 24 km | 41 km | 12 km |
| Strand and Covent Garden | 24 km | 40 km | 12 km |
| St James's | 22 km | 39 km | 13 km |
| Belgravia | 21 km | 38 km | 14 km |
| Marylebone | 22 km | 41 km | 14 km |
| Mayfair | 22 km | 40 km | 14 km |
| Knightsbridge | 21 km | 39 km | 15 km |
Calculated Straight-line distances between the coordinates held for each place, nearest airport in gold. The road is longer.
Marrying legally in the United Kingdom
Applies to: England and Wales
Both partners give notice at a register office at least 29 days before the ceremony, after living in that registration district for 7 days. The ceremony follows within 12 months, at a register office or a venue approved by the local council, with a registrar and at least two witnesses. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules.
- 136 days before, at the latest
Live in the district
You must have lived in the registration district for the past 7 days before you give notice there.
- 229 days before, at the latest
Give notice
Sign the legal statement at the local register office, naming the venue. Bring a passport, proof of address and proof that any earlier marriage has ended. The earliest ceremony date is 29 days later.
- 3The day
The ceremony
At a register office or at any venue approved by the local council, such as a stately home or a hotel, with a registrar and at least 2 witnesses. It must take place within 12 months of giving notice.
- Notice
- 29 days, valid for 12 months
- Residence
- 7 days in the district
- Witnesses
- at least 2
- Registrar
- £62 at a register office
- Minimum age
- 18
Already married at home?5 Star view
Many couples complete the legal or religious marriage in their own country and hold the celebration here. A ceremony with no legal effect needs none of the steps above: the venue and the planner arrange it.
Who needs a visa
Travelling from the United States
American guests need an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) to visit, which costs £20. Anyone coming to the UK to marry who does not plan to stay applies for a Marriage Visitor visa instead: it costs £135, can be applied for from 3 months before travel, and allows a stay of up to 6 months with the marriage inside that time.
Travelling from the Gulf
Citizens of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman travel on an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) rather than a visa, for visits of up to 6 months. A couple coming to the UK to marry who do not plan to stay apply for a Marriage Visitor visa instead. A resident of the Gulf who holds another passport follows the rule for that passport.
Other nationalities
Most visitors need an ETA or a visa, depending on nationality. A partner from outside the UK or Ireland gives notice together with their partner, with proof of immigration status and a passport photograph for each of them.
The registrar's fee is £114.50 at a registered religious building, and approved premises set their own.
Reference gov.uk: Marriages and civil partnerships in England and Wales (give notice; documents; plan your ceremony); Marriage Visitor visa; Get an electronic travel authorisation (ETA); Check when you can get an ETA (nationalities). Checked 5 October 2026. Rules change: confirm with the authority that will marry you before you book.
Accommodation
London's luxury hotel market is the deepest and most competitive in Europe, ranging from the great Edwardian palaces of Mayfair to design hotels and contemporary boutique properties across all central neighbourhoods.
At the table
London's restaurant and food scene is the most diverse and internationally competitive in the United Kingdom, spanning every global cuisine and anchored by a concentration of Michelin-starred kitchens that rivals Paris, Tokyo, and New York.
Afternoon tea at Claridge's or The Ritz
Afternoon tea in one of the great London hotels is one of the most copied rituals in the world and still one of the best experiences when taken at the source. The Ritz Palm Court and the Claridge's Foyer both maintain the full service, with the trolley, the finger sandwiches, the warm scones with clotted cream and preserves, and a selection of patisserie, delivered in rooms that are themselves the attraction. Booking is required several weeks in advance.
Rules Restaurant, Covent Garden
The oldest restaurant in London, established in 1798 and serving British game and traditional English dishes in a dining room that has accumulated 200 years of theatrical and literary portraits. Grouse, venison, and potted Morecambe Bay shrimps are the defining menu items. Rules is often used by wedding parties for a rehearsal dinner and has private dining rooms available.
Borough Market
The wholesale and retail food market on the south bank of the Thames under London Bridge has been the best food market in England for two decades. Over 100 stalls sell cheese, charcuterie, bread, fish, fresh produce, and cooked food. A morning visit to Borough Market is a standard recommendation for any international wedding guest arriving in London with a day to spare.
Rooftop dining at The Shard
Aqua Shard and Oblix at The Shard offer full restaurant dining with unobstructed panoramic views across London from floors 31 to 33 of the 87-storey Renzo Piano tower. Oblix in particular is a natural choice for a wedding party dinner or a rehearsal dinner where the view is as important as the food. The evening city panorama from this height is one of the most dramatic dining backdrops available anywhere in Europe.
What planners tell couples
The Elizabeth line transformed Heathrow connectivity
The Elizabeth line (opened 2022) connects London Heathrow directly to Paddington in 27 minutes and continues through the City to Canary Wharf and Stratford. For international guests, this removes the need for expensive airport transfers; a guest arriving at Terminal 2, 3, or 5 can be at a City hotel in under 40 minutes on public transport. Brief guests on this option explicitly as many are unaware of it.
Tube logistics on the day require a guest brief
London's Underground is frequent and reliable but can be overwhelming for guests unfamiliar with it. For a wedding in the City or Central London, prepare a simple transport card covering the two or three most relevant Tube lines and the nearest stations to the venue and to the recommended guest hotels. Evening services on most lines run until approximately 12.30am; Night Tube services on the Central, Victoria, Jubilee, Northern, and Piccadilly lines run all night on Fridays and Saturdays.
Livery hall venues have strict noise and finish times
City of London livery halls and most historic venue hirings operate under strict licence conditions regarding music volume and event finish time. Amplified music above a set decibel level and events running past midnight or 1am are common restrictions. Confirm finish time and music licensing terms with the venue at the earliest stage of planning; these are non-negotiable at most civic buildings.
Saturday is the best day for City venues
The City of London empties of its 500,000 weekday workers on Saturdays. This makes Saturday the logistically easiest day for a City wedding: parking is available, streets are quiet, and the livery halls that are inaccessible on weekday evenings due to member events are fully available. The contrast between a quiet Saturday City and the surrounding tourist activity of the West End is a genuine logistical advantage.
What venues here charge
22 of the 50 London venues publish a starting price. A price is only comparable with another quoted on the same basis, so they are shown by basis.
| Quoted | Venues | Lowest start | Highest start |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per guest | 9 | £80 | £240 |
| Venue hire | 4 | £1,750 | £16,000 |
| Minimum spend | 2 | £2,500 | £20,000 |
7 more publish a price without saying what it is quoted for, so they are left out of the comparison.
Counted Starting prices as the venues publish them, counted from the venue records when this page loaded.
What each price includes is on the London wedding venues page.
