Islington Town Hall is one of those venues where, once couples understand the layout, the decision more or less makes itself. The trouble is that getting to that point takes a bit of research, because there are more rooms than most people expect, the capacities shift depending on the day of the week, and the booking process has a few quirks that are much easier to handle if you know about them in advance.


So if you're at the early planning stage, this is the practical rundown I wish every couple had in front of them before they got in touch. Think of it as a friendly briefing from someone who has photographed a lot of weddings in this building and knows where the lovely bits and the gotchas are.


First, Islington Town Hall itself

Islington Town Hall sits on Upper Street, set back from the road behind a grand façade and a sweeping marble staircase. It's a listed building with getting on for a hundred years of history, full of rich wood panelling, neoclassical detailing and Art Deco character. It's consistently one of London's most popular town halls for weddings, and once you've spent any time inside it's easy to see why. It manages to feel impressive and warm at the same time, which is a tricky balance for any building to pull off.


A couple of things that matter to a lot of couples right away. You don't have to live in the borough to get married here, so it's open to everyone. The building has full step-free access via ramps and lifts to all levels and ceremony rooms, with accessible toilets throughout. And most of the rooms are pet-friendly, which delights more couples than you might imagine. I'm a huge dog lover, so a wedding with a four-legged guest in it is always a good day in my book.


Islington Town Hall rooms, one by one

This is the part that matters most, because the room you pick shapes the whole feel of your day. Islington runs ceremonies across several distinct spaces, ranging from a grand chamber right down to tiny rooms built for the smallest gatherings.


The Council Chamber is the headline act, and it's the room most people picture when they imagine getting married here. It sits at the top of that marble staircase, and it has a spectacular vaulted ceiling, beautiful stained-glass windows and a red carpet running down the aisle for your entrance. The seating is arranged in a horseshoe of bespoke red leather and oak pews, complete with folding desktops and ink wells, which is a charming nod to the room's working life as a real council chamber. That horseshoe is the secret to the room. Despite all the grandeur, no guest ends up more than about five rows from you, so it stays intimate even when it's full. Capacity runs to around 50 guests on weekdays and up to 85 at weekends. It's also one of the best-lit rooms I've ever worked in, at any time of year and any time of day.


The Richmond Suite is the room I'd point you towards if you love the idea of a dramatic aisle walk. It's a long, wood-panelled room with, of all things, a red carpet, and it's bathed in natural light. It holds up to around 60 guests. It feels spacious but tucked away and private at the same time, reached through the building's atmospheric corridor. The one thing to know is that it's typically only available at weekends, so if your heart is set on it, check your date early.


Room 99 is the contemporary option. It's the most recently renovated of the larger spaces, with lighter painted walls, a wooden floor and a striking big round mirror at the top of the aisle. It's calm and neutral and modern, and it suits a smaller, more pared-back wedding well. It also has built-in air conditioning, as does the Council Chamber, which is a blessing on a hot summer day with a room full of guests.

Then there are the smaller rooms, sometimes called the cere-minis, which are intimate, bijou spaces designed for elopements and the smallest celebrations.


The Mayor's Parlour seats around 4 guests, and it's the one room that isn't pet-friendly, so bear that in mind if you're bringing the dog. The newest of these little rooms have been styled to reflect the Town Hall's heritage with a romantic modern twist, all wood-panelled walls, velvet furniture and touches of gold, teal and powder pink. They photograph very well.


The smallest of all, spaces like the Angel and Canonbury Suites, hold just the couple, two witnesses and the registrars. Here's an important heads-up if you're considering one of these. Because the room only allows two witnesses on top of the couple, if you want a photographer in there with you, the photographer may need to be counted as one of your two witnesses. It's the kind of detail that's much better to know now than to discover on the morning, so factor it into your plans early.


What to know before you book Islington Town Hall

A handful of practical points come up again and again, so let me get them all in one place for you.


Pricing varies by room, day and season. What you pay depends on which room you choose, whether it's a weekday or a weekend, and whether you're marrying in peak or off-peak season. The fee covers use of the room, the registrars in attendance and one copy of your certificate. The Council Chamber sits at the top end, while the smaller rooms are considerably more affordable. A weekday ceremony in the Council Chamber, for example, costs noticeably less than the same room on a Saturday, so if budget is a factor it's well worth being flexible on the day of the week.


You book directly through the registration service. Islington runs its own booking system, and you can check availability and reserve your date online. My strong advice is to sort the registrars and the room before you lock in anything else, because the most popular rooms and the weekend slots go quickly, especially in peak season.


Go to a viewing if you can. You can see the ceremony rooms in person at the pre-booked viewing events they hold regularly through the year. If you're torn between rooms, this is invaluable. Photos only tell you so much, and the rooms feel quite different once you're standing in them.


Plan your transport in advance. There's no general parking at the Town Hall, so your guests are best off arriving by public transport. Highbury and Islington is the nearest station and has good Overground links. Chauffeured cars, taxis and buses are allowed to stop directly outside to drop off and collect. Vintage buses are used for a stylish departure with guests after the ceremony, but not for arrival at the venue. If you or any of your guests need it, there are a limited number of accessible parking spaces on the forecourt, but these have to be booked well in advance by emailing the Town Hall's security team.


The steps are made for confetti. The front steps lead down to a paved area set roughly 50 metres back from the road, so there's plenty of room for everyone to gather and for that big confetti throw without anyone spilling out towards the traffic.


My honest take

If you want a town hall that gives you grandeur without ever feeling cold, Islington is hard to beat. The Council Chamber is a showstopper, the Richmond Suite is a quiet favourite of mine, and the smaller rooms prove again and again that you don't need a big guest list to have a beautiful, characterful ceremony. The building hands you history, light and a real sense of occasion, and the team running it are, in my experience, some of the loveliest registrars in London.


Work out your guest numbers, settle on your budget, decide whether a weekday could work for you, and the right room tends to reveal itself pretty quickly. After that, the fun part begins.


When you're ready to see how these spaces come alive on a real wedding day, take a look at my Say I Do Islington wedding page for images from across the Town Hall's ceremony rooms.