Harriet and Chris’s Hope Mill Theatre wedding was brilliant from start to finish. Harriet and Chris booked me after Harriet was a bridesmaid at Ismay and Paul’s Whitstable wedding last year and I was really looking forward to hanging out with such a fab bunch of people again.
Harriet and Chris met in a chip shop In Sheffield after a night out with friends. They started chatting, swapped numbers and two weeks later went on their first date….and that was pretty much that. Four years later Chris surprised Harriet with a trip to New York where he proposed in a candlelit bar. Three years ago Harriet and Chris settled in Manchester where, they tell me, they are surrounded by the best friends they could ever ask for.
Here’s what they had to say about working with me for their Hope Mill Theatre wedding photography:
Working with you couldn’t have been more of a dream. You slotted perfectly into our day and have created moments we will cherish forever. We decided to book you because we felt your style of photography suited our day, we wanted to tell our story as a couple while being a very relaxed and informal day. We can honestly say we didn’t really even notice you were there. We also both absolutely hate having our photo taken and if I’m honest I was really dreading our portrait shots but I actually really enjoyed that time. We just cant thank you enough – I never thought photos could mean so much – but they honestly mean the world.
Scroll down to the bottom to read more about Harriet and Chris’s Hope Mill Theatre wedding photography and the rest of the day in their own words.
The Ceremony
We opted for a Humanist ceremony – getting married for us was about our friends and family witnessing our love for each other and a humanist ceremony really meant we could base the entire thing on our shared values and beliefs. The ceremony started with a short history of our relationship, followed by reasons why we loved each other and our own tailored vows. We asked three very close friends to read at our wedding but not share the readings with us beforehand, hearing these readings on the day really was something very special. Guy Otten from the Manchester Humanist Association was our celebrant and again he totally understood what we wanted to achieve. We had lots of compliments about how lovely our ceremony was and it actually turned out to be our fave part of the day.
The Venues
We had been living in Manchester for quite a while and really had fallen in love with this city. It’s nightlife, culture, food, music, history and architecture meant that our hearts were set on getting married here. Loving our city lives meant we knew we wanted a city centre wedding, our ceremony in a historical, bright and airy space but our reception in a very industrial imitate space to create a party feel. We instantly fell in love with both our venues – The People’s History ‘Museum and Hope Mill, and booked them as soon as we’d seen them. The fact that it meant our guess travelling across the city in buses made it even better. Both venues were incredible from start to finish, letting us express our vision for the day, and we’d recommend them to everyone!
The Outfits
Harriet – my dress was from the amazing Agapè in Altrincham – I wore Lenora by Watters. I had spoke to them over the phone before I went to my appointment. When I arrived they had put a few dresses aside for me that they thought I may like, as soon as I walked around the corner it was there hanging on the mirror and I just knew. As soon as I put it on I didn’t want to take it off, and now after the wedding even all dirty and covered in red wine, I adore it. My veil was custom made by the amazing Chloe Mower at Agapè including parts of my Nana’s veil who unfortunately couldn’t attend the day. My accessories were designed and made by one of my closest friends and bridesmaids Naomi Jago – which meant the world! What made me choose all these things was the fact they were all my normal style, just extra special.
Chris – My suit and shirt were tailored by a Manchester tailor and my shoes from Common Project because I’m a big fan of their trainers so decided to get their suit shoes for the wedding. my accessories were also from Naomi Jago which was a lovely touch. Again like Harriet I chose all these things because they were my normal style so I felt comfortable throughout the day.
The Decor and Styling
We chose to work with the fact that our venues were industrial spaces so centred our wedding around copper piping and greys. We wanted a very clear theme so really went to town on covering our venues with homemade decorations. Our centre pieces on tables were Himmeli shapes which Harriet made and we covered our entire venue with these shapes, on tables, hanging from the ceilings and really anywhere they could fit. We wanted modern and something our guests may not have seen before. Harriet wanted A LOT of flowers, our amazing florist was our very close friend, Amy Mutton and her Mum, they totally understood the brief of whites and steely greens, being very freely hand tied and elegant. We were lucky enough to have an amazing wedding planner who styled our entire wedding the day before callled Stef – we couldn’t have done it without her.
The Entertainment
We had Disco Wed for our entire day and it was really great to have a constant DJ – our dance floor was always full and they were an incredible company to work with.
The Best Bits
The ceremony – neither of us felt like there were over 100 people watching us – we just felt like it was us. It was an incredibly special moment!
The Words of Wisdom
Our advice would be to stick with who you are – it is so easy to be overwhelmed by Pinterest, wedding magazines and other people’s opinions. But just stick with what you want – I made the decision to serve guests their desserts on the night as a way to talk to everyone and so many people told me I was mad however I am so pleased we stuck with that decision as it was great. It’s your day so do what you want!!!
The Credits
Hope Mill wedding photography – Babb Photo
Dress – http://www.
Accessories- Naomi Jago
Shoes – Office (bride) and http://www.commonprojects.com (groom)
Florist – Amy Mutton
Venues – http://www.phm.org.uk and http://hopemilltheatre.co.uk
Wedding Planner – https://
Caterer – http://www.thymeoutside.co.uk
Cake – Lucy Semper
Stationary – Luke Thompson (lukagraphics)
Entertainment – http://www.discowed.com
Transport – http://bellevue-mcr.com/
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