Getting married is rarely a bargain deal these days, but for one pair of newlyweds the big day wasn’t such a big spend after winning a free ceremony.

David Morin, 33, and Ariane Ouellet-Decoste, 32, from Liverpool Road, Barnsbury, celebrated with 80 friends and family over Easter at the Grade II listed Islington Town Hall after winning a council prize draw for a free civil ceremony.

David, a doctor and financier and Ariane, parents of one, chose the town hall for its character and location.

Ariane, said: “Every weekend we saw couples getting married here and thought it looked so pretty.”

The prize offered the ‘‘best room in the house’’, the plush-carpeted, oak-panelled council chamber worth up to £2,500.

Deputy Council leader Richard Greening, who married Patsy in the chamber in 2012 said: “I know from personal experience the excellent job our registrars do.”

More than 1,400 couples tied the knot at the building last year.

For more information of weddings and civil partnerships at Islington Town Hall, go to www.islington.gov.uk/ceremonies or call 020 7527 6350.