Hi! I’m Aliya

I'm an UK qualified Architect, Mentor, Content Creator & 2026 Bride, now Wife :)

I have spent over 12 years in architecture learning how design and manage multi-million pound complex projects with different requirements and styles. When I got engaged, I realised I had also been learning how to project manage my own wedding (Gotta get my moneys worth out of those degrees!)

My communication, project management, time management and design skills helped me plan my 74-guest wedding which was filled with loads of personality, in London, along the River Thames with a 2-course meal, wine on the table, welcome and toast drinks and good party till midnight.. all for a hell of a lot less than the average UK wedding cost.

I didn't just choose the pretty bits. I built a system that allowed me to stay in control of every detail (without a wedding planner or coordinator).

  • I had a database comparing venues and our budget,

  • I planned the logistics, designed the details,

  • I designed & printed all the stationery,

  • I bought and arranged the flowers,

  • I bought & styled the decor and

  • I created a ridiculously detailed timeline.

I then shared that timeline with each supplier and our wedding party and our wedding went genuinely perfectly. Everyone had fun, everything went to time and each element was incredibly personal.

  • I am an Architect with experience n the UK and New York, I've taught and mentored architecture students at university and as part of my own business, and I've spent a slightly ridiculous amount of time thinking about how things fit together.

    I'm naturally quite practical. I like a problem. Give me a messy brief, a budget, twelve options and a deadline and I'll probably open Excel and get stuck in before you know even realise.

  • Getting into both the design and logistics of weddings is the combination of the things I like doing most: research, problem-solving, organisation, design, spreadsheets, finding better options and making complicated things feel manageable.

    I'm not here to tell you what your wedding should be.

    I'm here to help you work out what yours should be.

    And yes, I will probably make you a spreadsheet.

Some brides are thankful they no longer have to plan a wedding… I started a business where I get to continue my love research, management & design for other couples!

So … Day42* Weddings?

*Yes! Day42 is wedding planning for couples who want a brilliant wedding without the unnecessary expense, pressure and ‘ apparently you're supposed to have one of these’ bull.

We help you work out what actually matters, where your money is best spent, what you can DIY, what you can happily ignore, and how to make the whole thing run properly on the day.

Thoughtful, practical, personal thinking, without the stupid price tag.

Your wedding doesn't need to look like everyone else's and nor should it. It needs to work for you both as a couple.

Our Services

  • If you've read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, you'll know that 42 is famously the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything.

    Unfortunately, it doesn't tell you the question.

    Which seems rather appropriate for weddings.

    There isn't one perfect wedding. There's your wedding, and the job is to work out what that actually looks like.

    That's where Day42 comes in :)

  • We don't start with “What should a wedding have?”

    We start with:

    What do you actually want?

    What matters to you?
    What don't you give a shit about?
    Where do you want to spend your money?
    What are you happy to make yourself?
    And, perhaps most importantly, what will actually make the two of you have a brilliant day?

    From there, we work it out.

    Day42 isn't about creating the most impressive wedding possible. It's about creating the right wedding for you, and making sure that when the day arrives, people know where they're supposed to be, suppliers know what's happening, everything has room to breathe, and you can actually enjoy yourselves.

    Because a beautiful wedding that runs like a complete disaster isn't really the dream, is it?