Nathan and Matthew: From New York to London

New York couple Nathan and Matthew brought their shared love of London to life with an intimate destination wedding at NoMad Hotel, gathering family and friends from across the US for a celebration that spanned an entire weekend. With the city already woven into their story, from their first international trip together, London felt like the natural setting for a day centred on music, food, history and the people they love.

Photography Helaina Storey

THEODORE Mag: How and when did you meet?

Matt: We met the modern way, which is to say we matched on more or less every dating app there is. In New York, life always seems to get in the way, so none of those conversations ever turned into an actual date. Around that same time I'd gotten into the habit of running to different gyms around the city, mostly to keep the workouts more interesting. One day I turned up at the Upper West Side location, a few blocks from Nathan's apartment, and there he was. We recognized each other immediately, which is impossible to ignore once it happens, and that's what finally got us to make a plan. Everything followed from there.

Nathan: There's something to be said for the city forcing your hand. We'd both let it fizzle on the apps, so it was very much ‘now or never.’

THEODORE Mag: Tell us a little about that first time you met…

Nathan: Our first date was evening cocktails at The Owl's Tail, a small bar on the Upper West Side. We were still in the aftermath of COVID, so we sat outside, which in hindsight was lucky because it kept everything easy and unfussy. It wasn't a production, and it didn't need to be.

THEODORE Mag: What was the first thing you noticed about each other?

Matt: Past the superficial relief that the person in the photos actually matched the person at the table, what struck me was how easy the conversation was. Within the first hour, it was clear our values lined up: family first, a serious work ethic, a sense of responsibility to the people around us.

Nathan: The same, from the other side. There was no performance to it. We were talking about the things that actually mattered to us rather than just exchanging pleasantries.

THEODORE Mag: Tell us about the standout moment or milestone in your relationship…

Matt: Running has been a big part of my life for a long time, and over the years I worked my way through the World Marathon Majors. London was the sixth, and last one left. When it came time to run it, Nathan decided he'd run it with me, and a group of about a dozen of our friends and family flew over to cheer us on. It was the first time our two families met, and the first time every part of our lives was in one place at once. Finishing something I'd spent years chasing, with Nathan beside me and everyone we love out on the course, was the moment it all clicked. It wasn't only the accomplishment. It was watching how seamlessly our worlds blended together.

Nathan: What surprised me was how quickly everyone folded into one another. We'd both wondered how it would go, and then it simply went. It reinforced London as a special place for us, and it planted the seed for getting married there.

THEODORE Mag: What does marriage mean to you?

Nathan: Plainly stated, a commitment to our future together.

Matt: And a way of formalizing the life we'd already built. Very little about our day to day changed on April 25th. What changed is that we said it out loud, in front of the people who matter to us.

THEODORE Mag: Who proposed and how?

Nathan: I proposed on Thanksgiving eve. We were hosting both sets of parents at our apartment for the first time, and that evening we'd all gone out to dinner and a show together. Once everybody had gone to bed, we finally had a quiet moment to ourselves, and that's when I asked. It felt right to do it with our families under the same roof, but the moment was still entirely ours.

Matt: The best part was the next day. We got to share the news over Thanksgiving dinner with both sets of parents already at the table, so the celebration started right away.

THEODORE Mag: When did you get married?

Matt: April 25 2026, in London, though we built the day out into a full weekend with activities surrounding it.

THEODORE Mag: What was the main influence behind your wedding day?

Matt: London has had a hold on both of us for years, separately, long before we met. I visited an uncle there often growing up, studied abroad in the city, and have kept going back for the theater and whatever the West End has on. Nathan spent a significant amount of time there for work and built a number of close friendships out of it. Our first international trip as a couple was to London, and we stayed at the NoMad. Going back soon became a habit, an escape from our day-to-day in New York that somehow still felt comfortable and familiar. Shortly after we got engaged, we were there again, and almost on a whim we asked whether we could see the space while we had the chance. That made the NoMad the first venue we looked at, and afterwards nothing else compared. It felt less like coincidence than something we'd been circling all along.

Nathan: For the day itself, we wanted something unique, and the Magistrate's Ballroom was exactly the right size for the intimate wedding we had in mind. We loved the history of the space and what's been done with it: it's dramatic and bold without giving up anything classic or sophisticated. Past the room, we cared about three things. Good music, with strings early and a full band later. A natural flow, because it's a long day and we wanted each portion to feel distinct and keep moving without ever feeling rushed or complicated. And food and wine worth sitting down for.

Matt: Underneath all of it, we weren't really marking a milestone. We were celebrating the life we've built together and the love that surrounds it, from our friends and family and from each other.

THEODORE Mag: What was the most important thing to you surrounding your wedding?

Nathan: We explored options in New York and across the US, and none of them felt right. Neither of us particularly likes attention, but we recognized this was the one opportunity we'd ever have to get every single person we love in the same place. So we were selfish about it. We wanted to seize that moment and extend it as long as we possibly could, and trapping everyone in a destination that means something to us seemed like the best approach. Not one day, but several days of activities, so that by the time we were all together for the wedding day, it felt easy.

Matt: We also wanted to enjoy it ourselves while making sure every guest felt welcome and appreciated for coming all that way, since most of them travelled from the US. That shaped the guest list more than anything else. We invited the group that felt natural together, people who are genuinely close to us and integral to our lives.

THEODORE Mag: Did you incorporate any family sentiments or traditions?

Matt: Working within the confines of how wedding ceremonies operate in the UK, we still wanted to give a special role to my sister, who is the only sibling between Nathan and me. She couldn't serve as our actual officiant given the rules, so instead we wove her through the ceremony with remarks about us as a couple and with readings. My nieces and nephew were our flower girls and ring bearer.

THEODORE Mag: Where did you find the bulk of your inspiration?

Nathan: Honestly, a lot of it started with what we didn't like, and from there we stayed open to whatever came together. We owe a real debt to the couples who've shared their own weddings publicly, because having something tangible to point at is what let us turn a vague instinct into a vision we could actually describe to other people.

THEODORE Mag: How did you choose your suppliers?

Matt: Tons of research, plus recommendations from Katrina Otter and Kate Thomas, who supported us through planning. We recognized early that everyone we were speaking with could execute to a high standard, so the decision came down to who understood the specific vision we were hoping to see, and to a large degree who we felt comfortable with. Building a good rapport mattered as much as the portfolio did.

THEODORE Mag: What was the most difficult thing about planning your wedding?

Nathan: We live in New York, so at times it was difficult to plan a wedding across the Atlantic, particularly with some norms that differ from what we're accustomed to in the US. There are also an enormous number of details, and nearly all of them hinge on one another, so almost nothing gets decided in isolation.

Matt: It did give us a good excuse for several trips out to London, which we didn't mind in the least.

THEODORE Mag: Where did you spend your honeymoon?

Matt: We haven't taken a full, proper honeymoon yet, and we're only now starting to think about where. That said, once the wedding was over and all our guests had departed, we wanted to decompress, so we spent a few days at Estelle Manor in the Cotswolds. It was a perfect, charming, and restful way to unwind: beautiful spas and baths, small towns to wander through, and a bit of quiet after the excitement of the preceding days.

THEODORE Mag: Any advice for other couples planning their day and finding it difficult to navigate the journey?

Matt: Your day will be incredible regardless of any one decision. We stressed over so many small choices, and then realized at the end of it that every one of our vendors was exceptional at what they do and handled the exact things we'd been agonizing over with complete ease.

Nathan: Find the right suppliers and, all the rest will (mostly) fall into place. They will guide you, they will listen to what you need, and they will pull it together into something beautiful.

Nathan and Matthew’s Team

Photography @helainastorey

Planning @katrinaotterwed and @kate_katrinaotterwed

Venue @thenomadhotel

Floral Design @pandpflowers

Lighting & Production @hshproductions

Hair & Makeup @alevmiller

Band @thewhitekeysuk

Strings @thepetfordensemble

Cake @erzuliecakes

Stationery @libraletterpress

Confetti @yourconfetti

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