Carina & Rob: A Festive King Street Townhouse City Centre Wedding

April showers are upon us and for me that means the onset of my favourite time of year: WEDDING SEASON! I'm so so excited for 2018 and what lies ahead capturing some gorgeous couples in magical settings. In celebration, I'm thrilled to share with you one of my last weddings of 2017, the very festive celebration of Rob and Carina at Manchester Town Hall (already miss this iconic venue whilst it's shut for a full 6 year renovation!) and the beautiful King Street Townhouse. I've always loved Manchester at Christmas so it was only fitting that I get to shoot my last town hall wedding with a walk through the world-reknowned Christmas markets.

Rob and Carina got married last Christmas at the spectacular (and my beloved) Manchester Town Hall, which is one of my favourite venues in the city centre. They had their ceremony at the town hall, which was then followed by a warm, family-filled reception at Eclectic Hotels' King Street Townhouse. They chose Manchester Town Hall because it’s where they always wanted to have their wedding and they just fell in love with it. It was a relaxed, elegant wedding, and (a bit of a photographer's dream) you could truly feel all the love and festive spirit in the room. I love shooting weddings at King Street Townhouse, because the staff is just wonderful and the surroundings are the city centre, which makes for so many unique photo opportunities - particularly with the added colour of the Christmas markets!. City centre weddings are some of my favourites because they tend to be a true celebration of the location, based on a love of a place. Rob & Carina were so excited to truly show off their favourite city and embraced the giddiness in the air the week before Christmas.

The ceremony

The wedding itself was a town hall ceremony in a beautiful room with epic adornments and the most amazing light. During the ceremony the registrar gave a truly entertaining history lesson of the space. It was really fun and super interesting, I particularly LOVED his insanely extensive knowledge of classic cinema and how they related back to the setting and the day.

The reception

The reception was at the AWESOME King Street Townhouse and they walked from the town hall, through the markets to the venue in the afternoon, and were up for a rooftop adventure in the evening. I loved how adventurous and creative these two were with the venue and how they trusted my crazy photo whims. They decorated the venue with wintery decor and tealights, because it fitted with the time of year. It was a gentle nod to the season whilst remaining classy and elegant. The first dance was to the genius 'You & Me Song' by The Wannadies which got EVERYONE dancing, and they finished off the evening with some serious drinking and dancing and all around revelry. The atmosphere was electric and the party was just getting started when it was time for me to go.

The most memorable part of the day was our walk from the ceremony to the venue, because the infamous market crowds parted like the sea when our bride Carina was walking through and well-wishers clapped and whistled. In true Manchester spirit, a couple of 'merry' comments were made ('I would!' - oh Manchester, never change)!

Carina and Rob’s wedding was everything I love about weddings and just the happiest occasion. Here’s their epic day!