Hackney: the coolest new spot to get hitched!

Image by Joanna Millington Photography

With just 10 days now before the launch of the London show, we’ve asked a real live Hackney-based Mr & Mrs-to-be some terribly clever and probing questions about their wedding day to find out, what exactly is it with East London and why has it become the latest mecca for super cool weddings?

Jess Howarth and Benjamin Barfoot are getting married at Hackney Downs Studios on 31 May 2014 - which is also the venue for our London show on 5 April of course!

Why Hackney and Hackney Downs Studios? 

Jess: We live in Hackney and it's where we bought our first flat together. It's home to us and made sense to get married here rather than Dorset or Devon where we are both originally from. Hackney is our life together and we'd like to share that with our family and friends as means more. Ben has a workspace in the studio and we both love HDS and what it stands for so was a no brainer for us.

Ben: We're very excited about doing it at Hackney downs. It made sense for us as we both live in and love Hackney and wanted to keep it local and made by local people…the idea of getting married in some old manor house that holds no relevance for us and just seemed weird. It's much more fitting to be in a warehouse and handmade ourselves and local companies. If it all pans out Mamas Jerk Station, Signature Brew, a Dalston jazz band and House of Twenty will all be involved.

A journalist from a local paper said to us that Hackney couples are too bohemian for marriage? Do you agree?

Jess: No, I don't think it's true. I think many couples, where ever they're from, get married and at the same time many couples don't and it's just down to the individual. Ben and I aren't a hugely traditional couple and the way we've chose to do our wedding will reflect this.

And how is your personal style influencing your wedding day plans?

Jess: Because we're doing a very homemade wedding then every detail has been picked out by us so it will definitely have a very personal stamp to it. I like to come up with creative and original ideas that can be incorporated into the day. This has been lots of fun and also satisfying when the ideas seem to come together.  

I'd say the style we have gone for is rustic, vintage, homemade with a sprinkle of spring on top!!! As we're funding the wedding ourselves then we have had to come up with creative ways of making things work with our limited funds. 

Any advice for other local couples planning their wedding in the area?

Jess: Hackney is a creative, dynamic and interesting area to live and with a bit of research you can find some great things to use on your doorstep. 

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Thank you Jess and Ben, we wish you the best of luck on your wedding day and in the future and we hope it goes off with a blast!

A Most Curious Team - London