Siobhan & Mark’s wedding at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, Manchester

Note: all images in this blog are very low-res to increase your loading times; if they look a bit blurry that’s why! For sharper, truer images of my weddings, click here.

Mark & Siobhan only got in touch with me a month or so before their wedding. They did have someone lined up, a family friend, but it fell through. Fortunately for me this meant I got the chance to meet them and be part of their big day a month later!

One of the good things about running your own business is that you can, to an extent, choose who you work with. We met face-to-face in their reception venue in Manchester and after a brief chat I knew I wanted to be their wedding photographer! Mark is a musician that works at the same place as my wife; Siobhan is a librarian whose love of literature even extended to their wedding venue – which leads me nicely on to…

The Building

Elizabeth Gaskell’s House is the home of ‘one of the greatest female novelists of all time’ – it is also one of Manchester’s quaintest, most delightful and lovely wedding venues. It’s an absolute hidden gem!

The building itself is a beautiful yellow stone surrounded by leafy private grounds. Lots of trees and flowers, particular for an August wedding like Siobhan’s and Mark’s. The couple had access to the whole building: The drawing room for the ceremony, the study for couple portraits afterwards, the garden for group photos and relaxing, and Siobhan’s favourite: Elizabeth Gaskell’s bedroom for the bride to get ready in:

As Siobhan and her bridesmaids readied, the guests relaxed into the drawing room. The groom, Mark, slightly-less-relaxed, made small talk and had photos taken with his best man on the steps outside. The availability of different rooms like this meant the bride and groom could, separately, relax and get ready without having to make anxious conversation with excited guests before the ceremony – oases of calm before the walk down the aisle.

The Ceremony

The drawing room – complete with period furniture and a lovely piano – is where ceremonies take place. There are tall windows across two walls – leaving us very much at the mercy of natural light. One window was bright as anything while the rest of the room was, to the lens, almost dark – lots of ISO switching throughout! I ended up pushing the ISO quite high to ensure things were kept sharp, absolutely vital for moments like the bride walking down the aisle.

Technically a difficult shoot, then – but aesthetically there is nothing better than daylight hitting the right notes, as it did at several points of the ceremony and the blessing.

The Study

The study at Elizabeth Gaskell’s house is a lovely, book-lined room that is accessible only to the happy couple after their ceremony. It’s a chance for the two to have a moment together before the chaos of well-wishers – and the lighting in there is wonderful! Siobhan & Mark were able to take a moment together in there, and I joined them for a few minutes before taking my leave and heading to the guests outside.

Outside Elizabeth Gaskell’s House

The grounds are open for weddings at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House – and in August they were beautiful, green and covered in brightly coloured flowers. We used the flowers as a background for the group photos. And then Siobhan, Mark & I took a stroll around the grounds, giving them another breather and a chance for us to take photos all around the historic site.

And finally then, before departing for the reception – there was just enough time to do the classic confetti shot from the front of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, and into the waiting taxis. Congrats Siobhan & Mark!

Note: all images in this blog are very low-res to increase your loading times; if they look a bit blurry that’s why! For sharper, truer images of my weddings, click here.