The Story So Far
all of my most recent wedding can be read about here on the blog
Emma & Dan - The Most Magical Golden Hour Family Wedding and Wine Bar Knees Up - Stockport Wedding Photography
Originally Emma & Dan had planned the massive do at an iconic Manchester venue. But with the uncertainty of restrictions looming, the day was, several times, scaled back and morphed and molded until eventually it settled into the PERFECT wedding day it became: a gorgeous, intimate family ceremony at the beautiful Stockport Town Hall followed by a laughter & gin-filled reception at the Heaton Moor wine bar, Thom’s Bar.
“
I wanna be your raincoat
For those frequent rainy days
I wanna be your dreamboat
When you want to sail away
Let me be your teddy bear
Take me with you anywhere
I don’t care
I wanna be yours”
My favourite thing about my job - and it’s even more poignant in a year of isolation and retreat - is the MAGIC of human connection and how I manage to fall head over heels in love with every couple I’m lucky enough to meet. Because you’ve entrusted me with your most sacred of memories, you’ve welcomed me warmly and without any hesitation into your homes and lives and as a social creature, I’ve lapped it up. There is no ‘act’ - I am genuinely this excited to hang out with you and hear all about evry aspect of your lives. Because the better I know you and understand you, the better and more honestly I can tell your love story.
Emma & I were introduced by a mutual friend that I actually didn’t meet in person until Emma’s wedding day! Jo is actually Emma’s boss and she is the amazing sister-in-law to my best pal Charleigh (mother of Fergus who is my Hadley’s beloved). Wild connections aside, I was THRILLED when Jo sent Emma and the marvelous Dan my way in their search for a wedding photographer. Through various dates and back and forths, I got to know this positively dreamy couple and when we FINALLY mete up for their pre-wedding shoot a couple of months ago, it sealed the deal that we’re destined to be pals forever (I’m certain of that). Guys. I LOVE these two so so much.
Originally Emma & Dan had planned the massive do at an iconic Manchester venue. But with the uncertainty of restrictions looming, the day was, several times, scaled back and morphed and molded until eventually it settled into the PERFECT wedding day it became: a gorgeous, intimate family ceremony at the beautiful Stockport Town Hall followed by a laughter & gin-filled reception at the Heaton Moor wine bar, Thom’s Bar. Incidentally ‘Thom’ himself is Emma & Dan’s neighbour and very graciously gave them exclusive use of his quirky-cool space, providing a tapas feast that nearly made me weep, it was that amazing. With hilarious (and emotional) speeches, a surprise tribute to Dan’s team Everton by Emma, a golden hour shoot of dreams and an upbeat first dance to Anderson Paak & Bruno Mars’ latest hit, every moment felt infinite and special and, as I’m prone to do at weddings these days, I got a bit teary witnessing all of that delicious JOY.
Because it’s come back to the connections again - we’re less scared to hug, we’’re opening ourselves and our lives back up again - and whilst it’s not all over yet, I’m an eternal optimist that MUST believe that better days are coming. The proof is in the weddings, in the love, in all of that breathtaking connection.
Here’s a sneak peek of what we got up to…
Manchester Wedding Suppliers
Ceremony - Stockport Town Hall https://www.stockport.gov.uk/topic/stockport-town-hall
Reception - Thom’s Bar https://thomsbar.co.uk/
Video - James Tracey https://jamestraceyfilms.co.uk/
Florals - Flower House Cheshire https://theflowerhousecheshire.co.uk/
Dress - Emmy Mae from The Aisle Ilkley https://www.theaisle.online/
Shoes - Loeffler Randall https://loefflerrandall.com/
Suit - French Connection
Hair/MUA - Yasmin Schwitzer https://www.instagram.com/yasminhairandmakeup/
Cake - Classic Cakes Reddish https://www.facebook.com/classiccakesuk/
Deco Decadence - A Vintage-styled Stockport Plaza Wedding Shoot
I’m so inspired by the many other people who work in the wedding industry in their various fields and will always do everything I can to find new ways to capture their genius designs. My very favourite way of doing this is to work on editorial wedding shoots. It’s been a good 18 months since I’ve had the chance to work on one but to say that I chose the right project would be the understatement of the year.
The collaborative nature of weddings is so timeless - it makes me nostalgic for the theatre environment I grew up in, for the romantic rush of ‘anything can happen’, for the beautiful chaos that centers and comes together when a team of creatives is entrusted with bringing beauty to life, each of us working together towards one vision with the only goal of keeping our couples deliriously happy, that we were able to create a memory that will last a lifetime. And it’s my job as the documentarian, the archivist, the sometime secret-keeper to visually imprint these memories and all of this work. I’ve spoken a lot on this blog about how I see my job as almost one of a time-machine - the images will bring life to the memories and remind you of the flowers that eventually dried and crumbled, the dress before the hem turned black from dancing, the lights and the the glee and the way you looked at your partner’s face when it was the beginning of your very greatest adventure yet.
So it’s up to me to regularly flex these creative muscles and work in collaboration with other wedding suppliers - to play and to practice outside of the pressurised wedding environment and to really show off what we’re creatively capable of. I’m so inspired by the many other people who work in the wedding industry in their various fields and will always do everything I can to find new ways to capture their genius designs. My very favourite way of doing this is to work on editorial wedding shoots. It’s been a good 18 months since I’ve had the chance to work on one but to say that I chose the right project would be the understatement of the year. I have never felt so creative and bold and brave and trusted by a team. And we all were brought together by a new force of nature in North West wedding scene - the indomitable Kate Bader of Florence & Vera Events.
The Top Wedding Suppliers in the North West (Vendors, Assemble!)
Kate initially got in touch with me through the wonderful Ali & Bec of Diddibox Flowers - who coincidentally are located just around the corner from my home and are the base for many an afternoon wedding natter after the school run. But funny enough we had a family connection even before this - Kate’s sister is close with my sister-in-law and apparently the girls for YEARS had been saying that Kate and I should meet! Turns out our ‘business blind date’ was actually ingenius and once we started discussing the possibility of a styled shoot with the Diddibox girls we just hit the ground running. Kate suggested the iconic Stockport Plaza for a modern take on a vintage wedding shoot, using dresses by the INCREDIBLY talented Gemma of Elsie Vee vintage. I was sold - this was EXACTLY the end-of-season project I was look for! Once Kate had assembled a mood board and we had a concept, we brought in the amazing Stacey of Love Lights the Way for some dramatic lighting and backdrop structures (the aim was maximalism to really dig into the venue’s rich theatre history), plus the wonderful Sarah of Pink Cocoa cakes and Frain & Grain for some custom Plaza-inspired stationary. After a weekend spent at the National Wedding Fair, I managed to wrangle some GORGEOUS suits and groom accessories from the Vintage Suit Hire Company. The team was READY. We just needed our models.
Crazy in Love
I shot Nina and Zakk’s wedding in 2017. From the moment we met, we had an incredible connection and I knew that they were the PERFECT couple for our shoot. Whilst the styling of the shoot and the outfits were very much vintage, we wanted a balance with a very modern looking couple to keep it from looking too much like a period piece. Tattoo artist Zakk and his Swedish goddess of a wife Nina were that exactly what we needed. They had recently moved back to England from Sweden with their two beautiful children and when I emailed them to see if they would be interested in modelling, it was a HELL YES. These two are silly and fun and SO. IN. LOVE. - not to mention EXTRAORDINARILY photogenic and I cannot express how amazing their energy was on the day. I LOVED every minute of their wedding and it was even more fun to really spend some time together taking our time to play!
Alternative Wedding Photography
With some 90s R&B blasting through the venue’s sound system, every supplier was at the very top of their game. Towards the end of the day, I looked around the room and realized that, with the exception of Zakk, every supplier present on the day was a woman - women who work their asses off, running their own businesses whilst raising children and maintaining friendships and marriages and partnerships - lugging equipment and creating art and donating their time and vision and resources to collaborate on something so fleeting. But the inspiration I felt from these wonder women and the amazing men who support them made me feel infinite and I was humbled by my task - to take all of this hard work and preserve it, to capture it in a way that evokes that energy brought by Nina & Zakk’s passion, the lush wildness of the flowers, the bold drama of the lights, the timelessness of a wedding cake. An alternative wedding is still, at it’s core, just the same as any other - it’s about LOVE. And about JOY and about creating a memory with the people closest to you to share with future generations.
And what’s more timeless than that?
Dream Team
Venue - Stockport Plaza https://stockportplaza.co.uk/
Styling - Florence & Vera Events https://www.florenceandvera.co.uk/
Florals - Diddibox https://www.diddibox.co.uk/
Lighting and Backdrops - Love Lights the Way https://www.lovelightstheway.co.uk/
Cakes - Pink Cocoa http://pinkcocoa.co.uk/
Dresses & Hair - Elsie Vee Vintage http://elsieveevintage.co.uk/
Shoes - Rachel Simpson https://rachelsimpsonshoes.co.uk/
Suits & Groom Accessories - Vintage Suit Hire https://www.vintagesuithire.co.uk/
Stationary - Frain & Grain https://www.frainandgrain.co.uk/
Makeup - Beth C. Makeup https://www.facebook.com/BethCMakeup/
Tableware - Whitehouse Crockery https://www.eventcrockeryhire.co.uk/
