12.10.2019 - Our perfect Autumn wedding in the centre of our hometown Manchester. I thought I’d share our day and suppliers and top tips in case you’re drowning in wedmin, newly engaged and not sure where to start, or just like looking at wedding photos like me!

12.10.2019 Autumn Wedding at Great John Street Hotel. Photo by About Today Photography.

First up I would recommend sorting three things first. The Venue, The Photographer and The Florist. Those three big things are a massive step in the right direction and then I found most other things fell into place after I had booked these.

Shout out to our amazing photographers Zoe & Tom from About Today Photography to whom 95% of these photos are theirs. I couldn’t recommend them enough and I am soooo pleased with the way they captured our day. From the big epic shots to the tiny detail, everything is there recorded forever and it’s so difficult not to print all 650 of them! If only I had more walls!

Another thing I would highly recommend is a Videographer if you can afford it. We went for a highlight reel and it is so lovely to be able to watch it back time and time again and share with family and friends. Our Videographer was the incredibly talented Amy Louise who created the perfect highlight reel with all the songs from our wedding. It really is worth the extra money on top of a photographer.

Still from our Wedding highlight reel by Amy Louise Photography.

The Venue

We knew we wanted a city centre wedding almost immediately. I wanted those industrial gritty photos with a boutique feel. Great John Street Hotel was the first out of only two venues we saw and we pretty much decided it was the one straight away. My top tip would be to decide what works for you - City or Country, Traditional or Quirky and then narrow down the search to a top 5. That way you don’t get overwhelmed by visiting loads of places and you also have a couple of back ups in case one isn’t available. We were flexible on dates - knowing only that we wanted to get married in October which gave us a bit of freedom.

Because we had the whole day there, we decided to use all three spaces that Great John Street offered in order to make it feel like different venues. The ceremony was held on the top floor with drinks and canapés on the rooftop. We were so lucky that it was a beautiful Autumn day but there were plenty of heaters and parasols to fend off the Manchester weather if things had been different.

The wedding breakfast was held in the Oyster bar with it’s fabulous chandelier and mezzanine. It turned into the best dance floor after food too.

Always check for a Plan B in case the weather doesn’t play ball and maybe enquire about different spaces in your venue to get the most out of your day.

The Oyster Bar, Great John Street Hotel, Manchester.

The Dress, Suits & Bridesmaid Dresses

I started out without a clue what kind of dress I wanted. Some girls know exactly what they want, others haven’t even thought about it. I was one of the latter. I took all the advice and booked myself into 4 bridal shops across a few Saturdays. The first shop was where I tried on every single style of dress possible. I took my mum and my bridesmaids and to my surprise I loved the whole experience. Trying on dresses is actually fun and I was shocked at how many I liked. We made a whole day of it with lunch and a few proseccos and it was lovely. I would highly recommend bringing your bridal party and turning it into a special occasion.

Ronald Joyce Jodie Wedding Dress from Cheshire Bridal Wear.

I found my Ronald Joyce dress from the gorgeous Cheshire Bridal Wear in Altrincham, who are sadly closing their doors this year but if you’re quick you might be able to bag a bargain in their closing down sale. I loved the off the shoulder bateau neckline and simple Mikado material - not forgetting the bit of bling on the waist and of course the pockets - which was basically what sold it to me!

The groomsmen suits were hired from Whitfield & Ward where we found the perfect Autumnal colours to fit with our theme. Ben chose a copper tie from Cad & Dandy and Whitfield & Ward sourced groomsmen ties to match the bridesmaids dresses.

Groomsmen suits from Whitfield & Ward, Bridesmaids Dresses from Coast.

Accessories

Leopard Print wedding shoes. Photo by About Today Photography.

Another tip from me is to do your wedding your way. Choose a pair of shoes you love and will wear again, get your nails done exactly as you like to wear them and choose make up artists/hair dressers whom you know and trust. It’s a little known secret that I pretty much wear something leopard print everyday so I didn’t want to let my wedding day be any different. I found these shoes from Lost Ink and I love them! I have worn them at least 10 times since too! I got my nails done in the fab So, West Didsbury and I couldn’t recommend them enough for totally getting it.

My hair was done by Hannah who has been my hairdresser for as long as I can remember and makeup by the gorgeous Amy who I have also known for years. They are also really good friends so it was the ultimate dream team! My hair piece was custom made by Peacock & Pearl who totally got my vision of Autumn leaves, it was perfect for when my veil came off and I still felt like I had some bling in my hair.

Flowers

My love of The Flower Lounge is no secret and I knew exactly who I wanted to do my flowers when Ben proposed. Sian and her team are the best in the business and really helped put the whole look together. Sian is an expert in seasonal flowers and we used a mixture of local and European grown. I requested Autumnal with quirky feathers in my bouquet and Sian nailed it.

The Flower Lounge also hires accessories including lanterns, vases and the fab hexagonal arch which proved really popular for guest photos. Every single person commented on how amazing the flowers were and they truly transformed the rooms from gorgeous to wow!

Bridesmaids Bouquets from The Flower Lounge.

Stationary

Frain and Grain do the most beautiful illustrations of North West wedding venues and I had a very clear vision in my mind for our Wedding plan having seen something similar on Pinterest. After an initial first meeting with Mark, we got to work straight away on designing all the stationary for the big day including the wedding invitations.

I love the invitations so much I have had one framed which is a fab way to remember the day. I also want to hang our table plan on the wall too in the new year.

Great John Street Hotel Table Plan by Frain & Grain

Framing wedding invitations - a cheap and easy way to remember your day!

Styling

Wedding table decor from Florence & Vera.

As much as I really really wanted to do the table dressing myself, I am so glad I enlisted the help of Kate from Florence & Vera. If you are able to dress your venue the night before then it could work out cheaper to do it yourself but there was practically no time for me to do it the morning of. It also really takes the stress out of the day knowing everything has been taken care of. I met up with Kate and Sian who helped dress the tables too and we designed the layout together. That way I had lots of creative input with two experts in the field and knew the venue would be dressed to perfection.

We went for an eclectic feel which is very much my style and focused on all the autumnal colours. Teals, oranges and brass and copper all mixed together to bring together a gorgeous scheme. Other little details included Autumn leaf place names made by Lucky Nibs and charger plates from White House Crockery which I won in an Instagram competition - it’s always worth an enter if you feel lucky!

Leaf place names from Lucky Nibs. Photo by About Today Photography.

One last minute decision which totally paid off was to hire vintage festoon lights from local light extraordinaire Love Lights The Way. They finished off the mezzanine railings alongside the Flower Lounge’s spectacular floral banister.

Entertainment

We made our own playlists for the drinks reception and wedding breakfast but hired the brilliant Cassettes as our wedding band for the evening do because nothing beats a live wedding band. The Cassettes recorded a bespoke first dance for us and have an amazing repertoire of songs that kept everyone on the dance floor till the end!

The Finishing Touches

A few bits I brought from home included the “Story of Us” wire clipboard with mini pictures of us over the years printed out and guestbook signage on my trusty letterboard. The cake was from Marks and Spencers with a wedding topper from Etsy. We chose cocktails as our wedding favours which went down a storm. Guests could pick between an Espresso Martini or Negroni which are our favourite go to drinks.

Our guestbook was customised by Liumy who makes the most gorgeous books. We hired a Polaroid camera from Snap & Love so our guests could take pictures and sign the guestbook. It made a brilliant momento of the day. And finally I bought two balloons from Balloonsmith for our Flower Girl and Page Boy to walk down the aisle with. It was a genius idea as they were so excited to hold these balloons and walked like a dream with no tantrum in sight!

Balloon from Balloonsmith. Photo by About Today Photography.

So there you have it, a couple of tips for creating the perfect Autumn Wedding. Remember to just do you when it comes to getting married. The day is all about the two of you and should reflect you in every way. Don’t worry about traditions if you don’t like them - make your own. A mix of suppliers that reflect you as a couple is the best way to create that vision. Happy planning!

Manchester City Centre Wedidng. Photo by About Today Photography.