Greetings from across the pond! We’ve been proud here in London to recently showcase our city to the world: the Royal nuptials, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations and more recently, during the Olympic Games. And this month a new James Bond movie “Skyfall” hits your screens and which includes more iconic views of London. One result has been increase in enquiries from couples overseas looking to get married here. At Sarah Haywood Wedding Design more than a third of our clients are from the United States: some are living here, with other couples, one of them will be an American marrying a Brit, but more recently we have seen couples from abroad choosing the UK as a wedding destination – and not just for small weddings.  From elopements to big bash affairs and from pub to palace and the River Thames to terra firma, we’ve some fabulous venues at which you can tie the knot…

One of the most famous bridges in the world, Tower Bridge now hosts small wedding ceremonies. The towers themselves are bigger than they look and can seat up to 50 guests for both a ceremony and a reception. Or marry at Tower Bridge and hire a luxury vessel from Silver Fleet who have four very different but glamorous boats able to accommodate from 12 guests to over 400 for a reception catered byJamie Oliver’s Fabulous Feasts.

For a bird’s eye view 135 feet above the River Thames you can hire a capsule for your wedding ceremony in the London Eye: up to 19 guests can witness the ceremony and enjoy champagne and canapés whilst admiring the 360 degree view of the city.

Back on dry land you do not have to be a princess to marry at a Palace.  Even Kensington Palace, home to Kate, William and Harry (and where the boys lived with Princess Diana as children), can be hired for weddings and receptions which are hosted in the very romantic  18^th Century Orangery.

Further down the river the majestic Hampton Court Palace, built by Henry VIII,  is also available to hire for weddings and receptions and from 60 to 400 guests.

Other similarly historic venues include The Banqueting House. A stone’s throw from the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, it features a breathtaking Reubens ceiling and is probably most famous as the venue for the execution of King Charles 1 in 1649!

Here in London we’ve, of course, got loads of world-class hotels and venues from the five-star to luxe boutique variety as well as traditional pubs, country houses, and historic buildings. All fabulous for weddings! And if you do pay a visit to your local movie theater to see James Bond in ‘Skyfall’ anytime soon, you’ll see 007 wind-up in Scotland: we’ll save a look at what they have on offer up there for wedding celebrations for next time.

Cheers!

Sarah Haywood, Sarah Haywood Wedding Design