Hackney couple marry on royal wedding day

Hackney residents were not only celebrating the marriage of the royal couple this afternoon but another wedding much closer to home.

Helene Gullaksen, 46, and John Moore, 47, of De Beauvoir Road, tied the knot at St Peter’s Church in Northchurch Terrace, De Beauvoir Town, just two and a half hours after William and Kate began their ceremony.

Family, friends and neighbours gathered to congratulate the newly-weds as passing motorists sounded their horns in support.

Friend Stephanie Griffiths, who lives nearby, said: “I’m not a Royalist but the wedding this morning was great. Kate looked gorgeous.

“Then obviously it’s lovely to carry on the celebrations here.”

Hackney’s happy couple, who met while studying architecture in 1994, chose the royal wedding day especially for the extra bank holiday and the party spirit across the capital.

They were the first to hold their reception in the church’s recently refurbished crypt and guests were set to go on to the nearby Scolt Head pub in Culford Road in the evening.