Celebrating queer joy in London: Kevin + James’ celebrant wedding at Battersea Arts Centre

Wedding StoriesWedding Inspiration
Written By Holden So
A blue-framed mirror shaped like a pair of glasses on a pink wall. The mirror shows the reflections of two men, one in each "lens" of the glasses. On the left is Kevin, an East Asian man, and on the right is James, a white man, both smiling.

I first met Kevin and James (both he/him) at the alternative wedding fair Un-Wedding Show (now called Make New Traditions) in London in early 2025, when they came up to my stand and excitedly proclaimed “We’re giddy and gay!” I immediately knew they were my ideal kind of couple.

Kevin and James then revealed they had got engaged in Hong Kong, where I’m from, and it felt like fate!

Kevin and James beaming at each other. Kevin is wearing a white tux and James is wearing a dark green tux. They have green and white floral buttonholes. Kevin has confetti in his hair.

Battersea Arts Centre: an inclusive venue with a rich and vibrant history

A red and blue sign that says "Battersea Arts Centre" with the letters in yellow, jutting outside a grand Victorian building.
A traffic crossing outside the Battersea Arts Centre, a grand-looking Victorian building. The ground of the traffic crossing has been painted in the colours of the rainbow flag.
A domed stained-glass ceiling in the Battersea Arts Centre. The design looks intricate and the glass is stained a golden colour.

Kevin and James chose the Battersea Arts Centre in London — just a short walk from Clapham Junction — as their wedding venue. The building first opened in 1893 and has a rich history, playing an important political role in the birth of the suffragette and labour movements in the early twentieth century. It’s an arts venue that’s home to radical theatre shows and it’s a huge champion of accessibility and inclusivity, becoming the world’s first Relaxed Venue in 2020. In 2015, fire engulfed the building — but it was reborn from the ashes. Many of the fire-damaged walls have been preserved, adding so much beauty and character to the venue.

Kevin and James and a loved one walking down a corridor where the walls have clearly been damaged by fire.
An broken floral arch that is mostly green with a profusion of white flowers at the base. Behind are brick walls with plasterwork that again looks damaged by fire.

The ceremony space was made even more stunning by the gorgeous styling and florals— including this jaw-dropping broken floral arch — by Blank Space Events!

A Cantonese-speaking celebrant for a marriage of cultures

A pile of red wedding favour boxes with the Chinese character for double happiness on them, a traditional symbol for marriage.

Kevin, who is of Vietnamese heritage and whose family speaks Cantonese, wanted to include snippets of Cantonese in his ceremony.

That’s where I came in as a Cantonese-speaking celebrant!

I worked with Kevin to include bits of Cantonese throughout the ceremony. When Kevin’s mum fell ill and couldn’t make it to the wedding, I came up with the idea to ask all of their guests to shout 早日康復 together, which means “wishing you a swift recovery”.

It was so emotional, hearing that Cantonese phrase ring out through the Grand Hall, from every guest present, wishing Kevin’s mum a swift recovery.

A sign that says "Welcome to the wedding of Kevin + James". This sign again has the Chinese character for double happiness, and also the Chinese translation of "Welcome".

I also worked with James to come up with a surprise for Kevin! James approached me saying that he wanted to learn how to say something small in Cantonese during the ceremony as a surprise. So I taught him to say 我願意 — the Cantonese way of saying “I do”.

It was a very memorable moment when he said it in response to the question “James, do you promise to love Kevin and explore the world with him, to be silly with him and make him laugh every day, to share all your sorrows and joys for the rest of your life?”

The look on Kevin’s face was priceless!

A personalised ceremony full of warmth & laughter

Kevin and James standing with their hands clasped while Holden their celebrant stands in between them and speaks. Holden is an East Asian nonbinary person and wearing a pink jacket.

Honestly, I love surprises, and I always ask my to-be-weds if they’re happy for me to include some surprise bits in their script. Kevin and James happily said yes!

James had told me that on their first date, they played a game of rooftop croquet… and they both claim to have won that game. So, as a surprise, I decided to put it to a vote on their big day. Are their guests on Kevin’s side, or James’ side?

The result was a moment of pure joy and silliness that made everyone in the audience feel like they were a part of this celebration. You can see for yourself from the photos!

(Kevin won, btw.)

A row of guests, some with their hands raised and smiling.
Multiple rows of guests, some with their hands raised and laughing.
A view from the back of guests raising their hands while Kevin and James look on.
Kevin gesturing to tell guests to put their hands down while James is gesturing to tell guests to put their hands up for him. Holden their celebrant stands in between, looking at the results with amusement.

Other wonderful bits of their ceremony:

  • Kevin and James choosing to enter the ceremony together

  • A magical reading of the poem “You are the Bubbles” by Rachel Bright read by one of James’ longest friends

  • A very moving Cantonese reading translated from/inspired by a passage from The Song of Achilles by Madeleine Miller, a beautiful book loved by Kevin and James (and also me!) — read by one of Kevin’s special people

  • Beautiful personal vows that Kevin and James wrote separately and kept secret from each other till the day

  • Rounding off the ceremony with a Chinese wedding ritual!

Kevin doubled over in laughter while James is also laughing, as Holden their celebrant speaks.
Kevin acting out a smug hair flip while James laughs.
The backs of two children, one a girl in a pink dress and one a boy in a blue suit, as they hand over the rings to Holden the celebrant. Guests are all looking delighted by this adorable sight.

And who can forget this adorable moment with James’ niece and nephew starring as the ringbearers!

Cross-cupped wine: a Chinese wedding ritual to remember

After Kevin and James exchanged beautiful personal vows that made everyone cry, it was time to end the ceremony in style — with an ancient Chinese wedding ritual called 交杯酒 or “cross-cupped wine” in English. This was something that I suggested to them based on Kevin’s heritage and their engagement in Hong Kong, and given that their first date was an evening of drinks and conversation, it felt appropriate to start their marriage off with a wedding custom that involves drinking!

Kevin and James agreed that this ritual felt right for them. It’s a historic tradition that can be traced back thousands of years, representing a promise of lifelong love to each other. And it’s very simple: you interlink your arms together (the ones that are holding onto the glasses) and then take a sip of your drink while your arms are locked together!

Kevin and James popped a bottle of champagne for this ritual — a lovely touch to blend Western and Eastern cultures together in one ritual as the perfect symbol of their marriage.

James about to pop a bottle of champagne.
Kevin and James interlinking their arms and preparing to drink. James is sticking his tongue out in concentration!
Kevin and James drinking from their glasses of champagne while their arms are interlocked.

Kevin and James: a London love story that spans the globe

Kevin and James kissing, perfectly framed by the broken floral arch.
Kevin and James holding hands, and each has their other arm raised in the air in celebration.

As the ceremony ended, they danced their way down the aisle to Dreams by The Cranberries (iconic exit song) and celebrated with a joyful confetti toss outside the venue.

Congratulations Kevin and James!

The two of them met (and live) in London but Kevin is from Australia and James is from Yorkshire, and together they’ve travelled to nearly forty countries! So here’s to many more adventures around the world, and always coming home to their cosy nest in London.

Kevin and James dancing back down the aisle, their joyful energy apparent, while guests clap.
Kevin and James laughing while confetti in the form of dark pink petals rain down on them. Their guests stand around them.

The supplier dream team

Kevin and James posing for a photo with Holden their celebrant, who has taken off the pink jacket to reval a striped pink shirt with a frilly collar.

What the couple said

“One of the best decisions for a personalised ceremony!

Holden was absolutely amazing. They are queer like us and grew up in Hong Kong so can speak Cantonese like me. They were so thoughtful - prepare a very personalised ceremony for us, incorporating our story (we both had to fill in a questionnaire separately) and the final product was just amazing! They also included very personal bits about my family which was extremely heartfelt.”

Looking for a celebrant for your joyful, multicultural London wedding?

Holden in a bright pink jacket over a shirt with a big scalloped collar, and green trousers. They are holding open their ceremony folder and grinning.

Photo by Alt Wedding Co

Hi! 👋 I’m Holden (they/them), a queer wedding celebrant based in London, specialising in playful ceremonies for the seriously in-love, rooted in authenticity and inclusivity.

Need a celebrant who speaks Cantonese? I speak Cantonese and can you help craft a ceremony that thoughtfully weaves in both language and ritual to make it feel like home.

Holden So
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