The Black Friar Wedding Photography
Oh, The Black Friar. I do LOVE you.
I have a particularly enormous soft spot for a good pub. The sort of place where you can settle in for hours, order another drink, eat something absolutely delicious and lose track of time chatting to your favourite people. And if you can get married there too? Well, frankly, that's a rather brilliant idea.
Tucked away on Blackfriars Road in Salford, just a hop, skip and a jump from Manchester city centre, The Black Friar is one of those places that manages to be both incredibly stylish and completely unpretentious. It's got bags of character, a glorious garden, beautiful spaces to celebrate in and the sort of atmosphere that makes everyone feel like they've been invited to a really excellent party.
I've been lucky enough to photograph several weddings here, and each one has been wonderfully different. Which is exactly what I love about it.
Because whether you're planning a little ceremony with your nearest and dearest or a great big celebration with everybody you've ever loved, The Black Friar has a way of making it all feel rather special.
And the food. GOOD GRIEF, the food.
Why I Love Photographing Weddings at The Black Friar
For starters, I think there's something quite wonderful about choosing a pub for your wedding.
Not just any pub, obviously. A beautifully restored, rather fabulous pub with a glasshouse, a gorgeous garden and some seriously lovely places to gather. But still, at its heart, a place designed for people to come together.
And isn't that really what a wedding is all about?
The Black Friar has this gorgeous mix of old and new. Beautiful brickwork and cosy corners sit alongside the light-filled Glass Room, while the garden feels like a little green escape from the city outside.
It's the kind of place where your guests can happily spend the afternoon chatting over drinks, children can make friends with absolutely everybody and, before you know it, someone's rounding everyone up because it's time for speeches.
I love the informality of it all. Nobody needs to stand on ceremony (unless they're actually getting married, of course). There's room for things to unfold naturally, and that makes my job an absolute joy.
The photographs almost take themselves.
Almost.
Real Weddings at The Black Friar
One of the lovely things about returning to a venue is getting to see just how differently people make it their own.
I've photographed several weddings at The Black Friar, including Georgia & Andy's and Steph & Gaz's gorgeous celebrations, and I can safely say that no two days here have felt quite the same.
That's what makes weddings so endlessly fascinating to me.
You can have the same building, the same garden and even the same little spots for photographs, but fill them with a different group of people and suddenly everything changes.
The laughter sounds different. The speeches tell different stories. The hugs mean different things. Someone inevitably becomes the unexpected star of the dance floor.
And I get to be there to photograph all of it.
From those lovely, nervous moments before the ceremony to the glorious chaos of everyone celebrating afterwards, The Black Friar is such a fabulous place for a wedding that feels completely, unapologetically yours.
VIEW GEORGIA & ANDY'S WEDDING →
A Little Wander Around Manchester & Salford
Now, you might think that getting married in a pub means we're somewhat limited when it comes to photographs of the two of you.
Absolutely NOT.
One of the things I love about The Black Friar is that we have the best of both worlds. The garden and Glass Room are beautiful, but step outside and we're right on the edge of Manchester city centre, with all its glorious architecture, interesting little corners and wonderfully unpredictable street life.
And I do love a bit of Manchester in a wedding photograph.
I'm not going to drag you around the city for an hour while your guests wonder where on earth you've disappeared to. We'll have a little wander, find some lovely light, make some gorgeous photographs and get you straight back to your celebrations.
I often prefer to do this twice, actually. A few minutes after the ceremony and another tiny adventure later in the day, particularly if the evening light is doing something special.
It's relaxed, it's fun and it gives you a little chance to be together without an audience.
And then you can get back to the important business of eating, drinking and being married.
The Garden, The Glass Room & All That Lovely Light
I think one of The Black Friar's greatest tricks is that it manages to feel like several completely different places, all tucked together.
There's the pub itself, full of warmth and character. The beautiful Glass Room, with its greenery and gorgeous natural light. And then there's that fabulous garden, which feels rather like somebody has picked up a lovely little secret courtyard and dropped it into the middle of Salford.
It's a photographer's dream, really.
I love the contrast between the softer, romantic photographs we can make in the garden and the slightly moodier, more atmospheric images inside. And once the evening celebrations get going, the whole place takes on another personality altogether.
The lights get warmer, the music gets louder and people start doing things on the dance floor that they'll probably deny ever happened.
Excellent.
And What If It Rains?
Well, we ARE in Manchester.
Or Salford, technically. But the clouds rarely seem particularly bothered about the distinction.
The good news is that The Black Friar has plenty of beautiful indoor spaces, and the covered Tavern gives guests somewhere to gather without having to abandon the lovely garden atmosphere.
So please don't spend the week before your wedding worrying that a bit of rain is going to spoil everything.
We'll work with whatever the day gives us.
And if there's a little break in the weather, I'll be the first person peering outside to see whether we can sneak away for five minutes.
You concentrate on having a lovely time. I'll worry about the light.
Planning Your Own Black Friar Wedding?
If you're getting married at The Black Friar, my biggest piece of advice is to embrace everything that makes the place so brilliant.
The relaxed atmosphere. The wonderful food. The fact that you can have a gorgeous, thoughtfully planned wedding without it feeling terribly formal or fussy.
Choose the traditions you love. Leave out the ones you don't. Make time for the people who've come to celebrate with you and don't worry too much about everything running to the exact minute.
We'll plan the family photographs, have a little wander for portraits and make sure all those important bits are beautifully captured.
But for the rest of the day, I'd really love you to forget I'm there.
Because while you're busy getting married, I'll be watching all the lovely things happening around you.
Your mum having a little cry when she thinks nobody's looking. Your best friends laughing at something completely inappropriate. Someone topping up a glass. A little one fast asleep in the middle of all the excitement. Your favourite people throwing their arms around each other on the dance floor.
All those things that seem so ordinary at the time but become incredibly precious as the years go by.
That's what I want to give you.
Getting Married at The Black Friar?
Oh, PLEASE come and tell me about it.
I'm a Manchester wedding photographer with a particular fondness for wonderful people, beautiful light, slightly unconventional celebrations and a really excellent party.
And The Black Friar ticks rather a lot of those boxes.
My approach is relaxed, warm and full of enthusiasm for all the things that make your wedding yours. I'll help you feel comfortable in front of the camera, give you a little direction when you need it and spend the rest of the day finding all those brilliant moments that you didn't even realise were happening.
You don't need to know how to pose. You don't need to plan every photograph. And you certainly don't need to spend half your wedding day away from the people you love.
Just come as you are, have the most wonderful time and let me take care of remembering it.
I'd absolutely LOVE to be there.