I fell in love with Manchester 9 years ago at exactly the same time I fell in love with my husband: on my first visit over to visit this goofy looking ginger lad I'd started seeing in a bit of a whirlwind weekend the way you do when you're 22 and the stars are in your eyes with the possibility of the world at your feet.   I was swept away by the incongruity of this city that is a riot of architectural eras and style, grit and elegance, rock n' roll and folk music in cathedrals, industrialism and art nouveau.  It made no sense but it made perfect sense to me and as my future mother-in-law walked me through the building site which would become the very chic Spinningfields, selling me the bones of this elaborate and ever-evolving land, the earth stopped spinning for a minute.  Much like it made little sense and all the sense in the world for a loud-mouthed nomadic American gal to meet a thoughtful and introverted Englishman in a shitty karaoke bar in Hamburg, looking at Michael, walking through this city I was suddenly home.  And I saw our life together ahead of me and knew that Manchester was now my city too, that I would investigate all it's magical nooks and crannies: take annual snapshots in the photobooths at Fred Aldous, dance until my feet wanted to fall off to indie music at the Ruby Lounge & The Deaf Institute, scoff burritos from Panchos and banh mi from Viet Shack in the Arndale, shop for pinup dresses in Affleck's Palace & cutoffs from Cow Vintage, hold our breath in John Rylands Library and bicycle down the canals...I may not have lived my whole life here but I'm Manchester to my bones: the person I choose to love and the person born to us are Manchester in their blood so it will always be home.

When I began photographing weddings full time, one of the things I was most excited about was the possibility of taking photographic love letters of my city...of getting to shoot beautiful people in love in some of the raddest, most unusual venues I've ever set my eyes upon.  This is where the art of wedding photography truly becomes apparent: Manchester wedding photographers have this extradinary canvas upon which to play.  We have cathedrals and cinemas, museums and music venues, modern minimalist hotels and Victorian bathhouses, a town hall to make you weep from the light and space and colours.  Manchester is such a photographer's playground and city centre weddings are fast becoming some of my very favourites in terms of possibility, the option to truly explore as an artist and experiment with line and light and negative (and positive) space.

Sometimes a wedding venue comes along and it takes your freaking breath away with the scope and the potential to be extraordinary.  Victoria Warehouse, just over the bridge in Salford, first hooked me when I was lucky enough to use the space for a styled shoot in collaboration with One Stylish Day (you can check that out here).  I was so so eager to have the chance to shoot a real wedding there so imagine how thrilled I was when the WONDERFUL Jenna & Kris got in touch with me about their upcoming wedding.  Their plan was to have the whole day there, to really show off and celebrate this industrial Manchester gem of a venue and to throw a big silly party with all of their friends and family. 

At their pre-wedding shoot we talked a lot about how to photograph the space and show off the contrast between their very elegant wedding attire against the strong lines and industrialism of the location.  There were no leafy walks for this pair and instead we snuck back out for 10 minutes at golden hour and watched the sun dip from the bridge that corsses from Salford into Manchester whilst well-wishers honked their horns and shook Kris's hand.  The incredibly low-maintenance pair had Eden Floral Styling dress the venue simply with tonnes of greenery and ambient candlelight warming their faces during their very emotional vows.  Jenna & Kris's wedding was truly a labour of love: from the surprise video speeches to the mum-made nearly naked wedding cake, Victoria Warehouse was completely lit up with the joy bursting from it's bays.  I had an incredible time photographing this beautiful wedding and showing off another iconic Manchester space, thank you so so much again. 

With mentions to:

Videographer – https://vimeo.com/230346639
Florist – http://www.edenfloralstyling.com/
Make Up – http://www.hannahbrookebridal.com/about.html
Band – http://www.thefrequencyband.co.uk/
Humanist – http://humanist.org.uk/kateclarkson/
Hair – https://www.facebook.com/createshair/
Venue – http://victoriawarehouse.com/