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Crewe Hall Wedding Photographer

Full blog post on Adam and Faye’s awesome wedding at Crewe Hall in Cheshire is coming soon… but for now I’m going to leave with you with their awesome little wedding photo trailer. Click the link play above to watch!


Albert Hall Manchester Wedding

When I first met Fran and Ben in a chic little bar in Manchester’s Northern Quarter I knew I was on for a good wedding, not only had they chosen one of my favourite (and one of the coolest) venues in Manchester to host their wedding, but Fran is also an event planner so I knew everything was going to be spot on, from having their own unforgettable hash tag in lights #TEAMCRUSE to having water and hang over packs ready for guests on the way out Fran had thought of everything in advance meaning Ben and Fran and all of their friends and family could just relax into the day, knowing that everything was sorted and it was spectacular perfect.

Thanks to my awesome second shooter Marni V Photography for being a general legend through the day and every day.

The Albert Hall

 The Albert Hall was an old Methodist central hall built in 1908 and is now used mainly as a music venue and a pretty epic one at that. A grade 2 listed building with a lot of the buildings old period features, including beautiful old tiled walls, a horse shoe gallery, magnificent 19th Century Organ towering over the room in centre stage, it really is something to behold. The huge beautiful stained glass windows either side of the building let in oddles of natural light during the day time and then when the sun goes down and the party gets started you have The Albert Hall’s professional concert lighting to give your party that extra edge.

Getting Ready

Fran and Ben both got ready with their bridesmaids, groomsmen family and friends at the Principal Hotel in Manchester. I love this hotel, the huge sash windows make way for loads of natural light and the rooms are nice and HUGE meaning there’s loads of space for you and your mates to have a nice chilled wedding morning together. The Principal hotel isn’t really very far from the Albert Hall so the boys walked while the girls jumped in a traditional Manchester black cab.

The Ceremony

Fran and her bridal party made their way across the main hall floor while their friends and family looked on from the stalls and cheered, before making it up onto the stage to get married! The Albert Hall lighting techs even added a little bit of smoke, to give the huge room the hazy atmospheric effect you can see in the photos.

  Albert Schloss

One great little perk they have at the Albert Hall Manchester is Albert Schloss, the huge, beautiful bar and restaurant down stairs, calling itself Manchester’s first bohemian bier it does have a strangely warm and cosy vibe for somewhere so huge! While the staff at the Albert Hall got stuck into getting the room ready for dinner and speeches, Fran and Ben’s Wedding guests were able to go and grab a drink at their own reserved part on the bar

This little break in the day gave us the perfect opportunity to grab some friends and family portraits and a few quick couple shots before dinner.

Speeches

Once the room was turned around we were all ushered back up into the Albert Hall for speeches and some epic scran. Fran and Ben took a few moments to watch their guests enter from the stalls, seeing them finding their wedding favours on their tables. It was Fran’s idea to let everyone have a chance to be the Bride and Groom, a veil for the girls and a cheeky glasses and nose mask for the boys. Poor Ben! Lol.

The Party

After the speeches we took another little breather from the hustle and bustle of the wedding outside to grab a few more portraits in the street outside The Albert Hall Manchester, before re-entering to have the party start with the awesome The Herringbone Cocktail Club had people up and dancing straight away and right up until Fran and Ben’s last dance at midnight, sealed off with golden confetti canons and Fran and Ben making it up onto the stage for and end of night bow. An absolute belter of a wedding!

Suppliers

A shout out to Fran and Ben’s Awesome hand picked wedding suppliers who did an awesome job!

Venue - https://www.alberthallmanchester.com/

Hotel - https://www.phcompany.com/principal/manchester-hotel/

Dress - Knutsford Wedding Gallery 

Shoes - Office

Bridesmaids - Needle and Thread 

Band - The Herringbone Cocktail Club 

Love letters - The Word is Love 

Florist - Frog

Suits - Ted Baker

If you were a supplier that worked at this wedding and your name is not listed here, please get in touch, I’ll be more than happy to link to your site!

Like what you see? Getting married? Need a photographer? Get in touch!

Lowry Theatre - Documentary Wedding Photographer

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Les and Stacy

When I first met Les and Stacy for their Engagement Shoot in Heaton Park Manchester, I knew I was in for a treat. We had a right laugh together and the session flew by, while Les and Stacy mucked about taking the piss out of each other and we strolled around the park hunting for nice light and back drops, it was completely obvious they absolutely adored one and other. 

I was a bit nervous meeting Les for the first time, as he's a super talented Wedding Photographer himself, but he was such a lovely warm mischievous character I felt comfortable straight away just chatting rubbish with them and snapping away as per usual, plus I knew pretty early on that if Les was gonna give me any grief Stacy had my back! lol 

 

Morning Preparations

When the day of the Wedding arrived I met Stacy and her excited bridesmaids at her Maid of Honours house and Les's Best Mans house (these two still deny setting Les and Stacy up... but I'm pretty sure they had something to do with it!) They had a lovely relaxed morning together the girls getting ready for the wedding while Les's best man made the finishing touches to his speech downstairs. Then we all jumped into the teal vintage wedding cars (how cool are they!) and made our way to The Lowry Theatre.  

Compass Room

The service was super emotional, there were plenty of tears of happiness from all the major players while Les and Stacy said their vows under the beautiful twinkling fairy lights of the Compass Room in The Lowry Theatre. Once the Wedding ceremony was finished everyone headed down to the bar to get the party started and what a wedding party it was! I Let the photos tell the rest of the story, but before I hop off. Here are a few words from Les and Stacy themselves...

Les and Stacy's Story...

"We met in my cousins car on the way to a wedding that Lester was the photographer for I'd been asked to go last minute due to her husband being unable to attend. (still think it was a setup even though they both to this day deny any of it). Of course he was sat in the back next to a 4 year old while I rocked it up front."

 The Lowry Theatre as a Wedding Venue. 

"We wanted a city wedding but something different that wasn't a hotel. I love all things theatre and have been going with my mum since I was little so as soon as we saw it we knew it was perfect for us."

Advice for Future Couples

"It's as much the grooms day as it is the brides. Always think about others but what you and your partner want should be paramount in it all. It's the one day you get to have exactly what you want do it your way and enjoy it."

Les and Stacy's Wedding Suppliers

Bloomin Ells (Ellen Stone) - Florist and Venue Dresser    http://www.bloomin-ells.co.uk/
Wed2b - Wedding Dress and Bridesmaid Dresses https://www.wed2b.co.uk/
Lovely wheels - Wedding Cars http://www.lovelywheels.co.uk/
The Lowry Theatre and Lucy Markey - Venue and Organiser https://www.thelowry.com/
Liz Hendry - The Live Piano Experience Pianist http://www.thelivepianoexperience.com/liz-hendry/
Wayne Farrow - Wedding Singer https://www.waynefarrow.co.uk/
Swarbricks Formal - Grooms and Groomsmen Suits https://swarbricks.co.uk/
Stitches Manchester - Alterations http://www.stitchesuk.co.uk/

Chetham's Library Wedding Photographer Manchester - Maddy & Craig

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Maddy and Craig's Story

"We met at work and had known each other for a while before one fateful night at the Liar's Club sparked the start of something. We had our first date the very next day

We got engaged in Copenhagen, which Craig managed to surprise me with for my birthday - I didn't even know we were leaving the country until we turned off the m56 for Manchester airport. He had even packed miniature toiletry holders so I could repack my shampoo etc without having to tip me off in advance. Craig proposed almost as soon as we got to the hotel, I think the stress of getting the ring through security without me noticing had taken it's toll! It was a beautiful weekend in the snow in January." 

Chetham's Library and Lock 91 as Wedding Venues

Maddy and Craig got married in one of Manchester’s hidden gem wedding venues, Chetham’s Library. It’s a beautiful venue with loads of character and wonderful little pockets of light and shadows that make for a wedding photographer’s dream! So if you are getting married there and reading this, give me a shout! Your wedding guests are also able to wander around the library and explore the stacks of old antique books while they catch up with one and other and sip on their champers. It’s a really unique wedding venue and all in Manchester city centre! Making getting there, staying there or hoping off to somewhere else all super convenient possibilities. In this case Maddy and Craig hopped over to Lock 91 in Deansgate to continue the party, which is another great venue for a lot of the same reasons Chetham’s Library is, without the epic Library to wander though of course!

Here’s what Maddy and Craig had to say about Chetham’s Library as their wedding venue:

"We wanted casual but classy venues for the wedding and we wanted to keep to a strict budget. We visited Chetham's Library and fell in love with how beautiful it was and all of the history behind it. We thought about having the full day there but really wanted to put our own stamp on the party and keep it quite casual and Lock 91 was perfect for that. It was also extremely reasonably priced to have the ceremony at the library's Baronial Hall and we had exclusive use of the library itself for photos and for guests to explore after the ceremony. It turned into a wedding of two halves really, with a fairly traditional civil ceremony at the library followed by a raucous party at the bar!

Lock 91 were completely relaxed and accommodating, which was extremely helpful as we were maybe a bit too laid back with the planning until quite last minute. We had caterpillar cakes for our wedding cake which I completely forgot to buy until I went to drop everything off the night before and Andi (the manager) helpfully reminded me and I made a mad dash to Tesco! Simon at Chetham's was brilliant as well, we were very fortunate with everyone we dealt with.

In choosing the venues (and in choosing everything) within budget we decided to focus on what was important to us and what wasn't. I got a taxi to the venue as neither of us is particularly interested in cars. Our two wedding cakes cost £10 from Tesco and who doesn't love caterpillar cake!? The biggest outlays of the day were on drinks, food and the band and as the aim of the day (besides getting married) was to have a really great time with friends and family, drinks food and music were our priority and therefore where chose to put our money. Craig is a big music fan and spent much of the year building up to the wedding making Spotify playlists for pre-ceremony, ceremony, drinks reception etc."

Suppliers

"I got my dress and hairpiece from case of the Curious Bride in Sale and the dress designers are Hazaar of London (the headpiece was done by Melanie from case of the curious bride). Craig bought his suit online in the sale and the groomsmen wore their own blue suits. Bridesmaid dresses were from Dorothy Perkins (also in the sale!) And Jasmine's dress and shoes were monsoon. Flowers were amazing and were done by Emily at Bloomin Altrincham Market. The food was done by Cafe Mozaic in Ashton and everybody loved it! Mr Wilson's Second Liners were the most incredible band we could have wished for. We bought shed loads of prosecco for the drinks reception at Chetham's from Sainsbury's. Rachel McDonnell did my dress alterations. Rachael Dutton did hair and make up. We had the most amazing wedding night at Hotel Gotham and they were very patient when we completely overslept our check out time.

Also we had THE BEST PHOTOGRAPHER EVER  and I highly recommend her to anyone looking for a wedding photographer!" 

Looking for your wedding photographer? Get in touch!

Trafford Hall Wedding Photographer - Jo & Mark's Festival Tipi Wedding

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Jo & Mark's Story...

In Jo's words... "Mark and I met when we were both living in Prague & I was bored and answered an advert to view a room I didn’t need and it was love at first sight (for me!)."

"When we got engaged, Mark took me to the bar where we had our first date and we sat at the table we sat at on that first night and he got down on one knee and proposed in Czech" 

On choosing St Thomas's Church and Trafford Hall as Wedding Venues...

"The church where we got married was my local church where I got my Brownie award and when my Nana & Grandad were buried. We loved the countryside feel of the church and the deal sealer was when we had it confirmed that my friend could play the organ for us. When we were planning our wedding we decided that we really wanted a tipi wedding so we were hunting for a venue with a large outdoor space. When we saw Trafford Hall we were overjoyed - it was perfect with all of the scenery. We were also really passionate that it was owned by a charity that helps low income families and the money that we paid would go towards helping others. They were amazing there and helped make our day really special."

Advice for Couples on their Wedding Day...

"If there was one piece of advice that I could give a bride and groom it would be to enjoy your day - it goes so fast (and everyone LOVES telling you how fast it goes) so try and grab 5 minutes with just the two of you so you can take a breather and enjoy it together!" 
 

St Thomas’s Church

St Thomas’s Church is a huge beautiful building in the heart of Lydiate in Liverpool chosen by Jo and Mark for it’s special meaning to Jo’s family, the church also boasts it’s own handy car park just over the road, which is great for guests that are driving to ceremony, inside the stained glass windows are huge letting in oddles of natural light. It’s a beautiful church to get married in and can hold a large number of guests.

Trafford Hall

Is a gorgeous red brick Georgian mansion nestled in 14 acres of land there’s plenty of space to play around with. If you wish to get married at Trafford Hall and hold your whole day there, you can do! They have a civil ceremony licence, they also have 52 bedrooms on site so that your guests can bed down after the party and rumour has it you get a free night in the bridal suite as part of your wedding package. You heard it here first! ;)

As Jo said Trafford Hall is owned by a charity so by hiring the venue you'll be helping fund the important work that the Trafford Hall's charity partners are involved with within the local community. :) 

Getting Ready

Jo and her bridesmaids got ready at her mums house. I love photographing brides getting ready at their family homes, sometimes people are worried that their might be a mess or that decorating hasn’t been finished but when you look back on the photos in years to come having them taken at the family home adds that extra bit of narrative and meaning to the photos. You can look back at the old wall paper and carpets and get all nostalgic about the old family home! Jo’s Dad popped in to give her some wedding morning gifts and see his beloved daughter in her wedding dress before they hopped in the vintage wedding cars and high tailed it to the church!

The Ceremony

There was some anticipation in the church for a while as the bus with half of the wedding guests had hit some traffic on the way and was running late! At one point it looked like the ceremony might have to go ahead with out them, but luck was on Mark and Jo’s side and the bus got there just in time, the guests quickly made it to their seats and Mark and Jo were married in front of all of their friends and family.

The Bus

It was quite a journey from St Thomas’s Church to Trafford Hall so Mark and Jo had the bus stick around to make sure the guests could catch a lift there, the bus was the place to be with plenty of fizz and some nips of hard liquor being passed around the top deck the party had officially started!

The Party

Jo and Mark wanted a tipi festival wedding reception and so had a tipi put up in the back garden of Trafford Hall. After the food and speeches they kicked of the party by cutting the cake and launching into their energetic first dance to a live band. It turned out to be quite a party! 

 

A big shout out to my wonderful second shooter Katy Mutch for her tremendous work as always. 

Thanks for having us Jo and Mark it was an absolute pleasure to be part of your day! xxxxxxx

 

Katie was brilliant from beginning to end!

She was the photographer for our wedding in September and we couldn’t have asked for better. She put us at ease straight away when we first contacted her and was so relaxed and positive throughout. We knew we had made the right choice when we saw the beautiful photos from the engagement shoot. On the day both she and Katie, the second shooter, were the consummate professionals but also relaxed and friendly and so patient – which must have been a challenge at times! The wedding photos are stunning and Katie managed to capture so many beautiful moments from the day. We both cried the first time we looked at them and our friends and family have been just as moved and impressed.

Thanks so much for everything Katie.


Love Jo and Mark Gilbertson xxx

A shout out to Jo & Mark's Wedding Suppliers! 

Tipi: event in a tent - https://www.event-in-a-tent.co.uk
Venue: Trafford Hall - http://www.traffordhall.com

Florist: The flower farm - http://www.theflowerfarm.co.uk
Dress: Cicily bridal - https://cicilybridal.com
Veil: Helen Martin veils - http://www.helenmartinveils.co.uk
Cars: Horgans wedding cars - http://www.horganscars.co.uk
Shoes: Vivienne Westwood
Bridesmaid dresses: ASOS

Band - Louise and the Love Bugs. 

https://www.bestoneentertainment.com/louiseandthelovebugs.html