My husband and I also both lived in worked in the UK (I was on a work visa for a few years and we had been living together for a year). We married in the US because it was a MILLION BILLION times easier to marry in the USA.
If you search the forum, you'll see probably 95 out of 100 couples marry in the USA versus the UK. There are SO. MANY. RULES. to marrying in the UK - especially to a foreigner. We didn't want to play by the UK's rules.
Often people aren't even asked what the reason for the visit is when they are travelling to the USA to marry. When people HAVE been asked, and been truthful (think Vegas and how many people travel there to marry from around the world - nothing illegal about it) - the responses from immigration officers ranges from "Congratulations" to "It's not to late to back out!"
And the advantage of not having to go the the hoop jumping of getting your visa in time, putting in the insane notice period, being allowed to work, being allowed to use the NHS, etc., completely out weighs marrying in the UK. No one has to know the UK ceremony isn't the legal wedding unless you tell them.
If you do decide to marry in the UK - PLEASE get insurance in case your visa is not issued in time to make the wedding.
