MARK & LUIS

LONDON

London Calling

We were absolutely thrilled to host our wedding in London. Luis lived in London since 1991, and over those 30 years he's experienced countless memories in this world-class city. He's also built a solid foundation of deep, lifelong friendships and of course his wonderful family all live in London too.

Mark arrived in London in 2011, and he feels like it was fate to end up in this global metropolis. He has always been intrigued by Great Britain: its magnificent history, robust culture, and of course spectacular music (in particular, the most successful pop music duo of all time). It would be his destiny to move abroad and live in another country, which serendipitously led him to meeting the love of his life!

London is extraordinary. With a population of 9 million people, it's one of the world's most important and relevant cities. Its story is rich and diverse and its played a major role in history for over 2000 years. London is a global leader in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, tourism, and transportation. London is widely believed to be the cultural capital of the world, with a thriving theatre scene and one of the major reasons Luis loves being so close to such a creative city.

As of early 2021, the world is grappling with the crippling pandemic, and the UK is no exception. To make matters worse, the vile Brexit disaster has come into full effect: the UK formally left the European Union as of 1 January. London, however, voted against Brexit, and after the disappointing 2016 referendum they launched a compelling citywide campaign which echoes our personal beliefs and reinforces our love for the city:

"#LondonIsOpen is a major campaign launched by the Mayor of London to show that London is united and open for business. It shows the world that London remains entrepreneurial, international, and full of creativity and possibility, while reassuring the more than one million foreign nationals who live in London that they will always be welcome, and that any form of discrimination will not be tolerated."

These values fully resonate with us and we were so excited to have our friends visit our amazing, forward-thinking city. We’re also extremely grateful that we were able to get married prior to the global pandemic which, as we all know, ruined travel and potential wedding plans for everyone from 2020 onwards. 😔

Let Me Show You Around

But let’s turn our attention back to positivity with a tour of London. To get our guests excited about their 2018 UK trip and to show them around, Mark recorded this video on a grey spring day. Enjoy the mini-tour around London, checking out some of its well-known sights!

Get Out and See the City

Whether you live locally, have been to London before, or are visiting for the first time, you will always find something new and exciting to do in London. Even the two of us often find ourselves surprised by the amount of interesting adventures and incredible places to eat and drink. To help streamline your search of things to do, here are some links that we think provide a wonderfully comprehensive overview of what this great city has to offer. 

• 101 Things to Do in London

• 105 Best Restaurants in London (organised by borough)

• 100 (Different) Best Restaurants in London

• 50 Essential London Attractions

• 12 Brilliant London Boat Trips

• 11 London Bars with a View

• 10 of London's Best Small Museums

From experiencing hundreds of things to do (ranging from tourist attractions to more of a local sightseeing vibe), to drinking in bars with gorgeous views, to boating down the Thames, to dining in some of the world's best restaurants — these lists helped our guests make the most of their time here!