Emma & Damian’s Leaf Manchester Wedding
I’m going to stick my neck out here – Leaf on Portland Street in Manchester is going to be one of the most popular urban wedding venues within the next twelve months. Located in the heart of the city centre, Leaf is a seriously cool mix of bar/cafe/restaurant/music venue with oodles of charm & character.
It’s a seriously stunning place!
Castlefield Rooms ceremony on a sunny spring day
The day had so many locations and little sub-plots as it unfolded. It started with me photographing the preparations at Emma & Damian’s house where Emma’s bridal party (and Ralph the cat) had gathered to prepare for the celebrations ahead.
It turned out that Emma’s cousin, Claire of Everwood Films, was the videographer for the day. I’d photographed Claire’s wedding in Thailand last year with my good friend Paul of Ginger Beard Weddings – such a small world and it was wonderful that our paths crossed and we got to work together.
The actual wedding ceremony was at The Castlefield Rooms. Situated next to the famous Dukes 92 bar & Albert’s Shed Restaurant in the Castlefield area of Manchester, it’s a fab place and made for a fantastic start to the day with drinks, canapés and entertainment put on for the guests to enjoy after the ceremony.
Another good friend of mine, Liz of Unity Ceremonies conducted the wedding ceremony beautifully as always. I highly recommend using a celebrant rather than a registrar as you get a much more personal and memorable service, so many of the guests commented on how much they enjoyed this particular part of the day.
An unannounced visit to the location of their first date!
After the couple portraits around the streets of Manchester, Emma & Damian suggested we head over to the location of their first date, a little Italian Wine Cafe called Veeno just off Albert Square.
The newlyweds were treated to a spontaneous round of applause from the customers and staff as they made their way to the bar. They enjoyed a romantic glass of Prosecco whilst I snapped away from a distance.
We also managed to fit in a little dancing on our stroll back over to Leaf on Portland Street. An outdoor Samba class was being held in St. Peter’s Square and as we walked by, Emma & Damian were encouraged to join in by the dancers. Great fun!
Stunning urban wedding reception at Leaf on Portland Street, Manchester
The final destination was Leaf, and as I’ve already mentioned, this place is seriously cool and was a truly gorgeous setting for the wedding reception.
A special mention must go to Liz (apologies if I got your name wrong), one of Emma’s bridesmaids who delivered one of the best wedding speeches I’ve ever heard. Bravo!
In fact, the whole day was a complete blast so I’ll shut up now and let you enjoy some of the highlights of this Leaf Manchester Wedding.
Supplier Shout Out!
Epic weddings like this just wouldn’t be possible without a team of talented and dedicated suppliers working behind the scenes. So huge high fives to the following who worked their asses off to make the day so memorable:
Claire of Everwood Films.
Tom and the staff at Leaf Manchester.
James at Citiblooms.
All the staff at The Castlefield Rooms.
Liz at Unity Ceremonies.
Rachel of Rachel Rose Events.
All the staff at Veeno Italian Wine Cafe.
Caz of The Wedding Alchemist.
Thank you
My heartfelt thanks to Emma & Damian for having me along for the ride. It was a real pleasure to be with you throughout the day and capture so many incredible moments. Have a wonderful honeymoon!
2019, 2020 & 2021
This year is almost fully booked and I’m currently just over 50% booked for 2020.
The 2021 enquiries are also coming in fast so please get in touch sharpish to secure your date if you like my work.
Lots of love
Steve x
All images are © Steve Grogan Photography.