Manchester City Centre Wedding Photography, by wedding photographer Karen Julia
Welcome to my blog!
I'm a full time professional wedding photographer based on the edge of Manchester City Centre. Whilst I mainly cover Manchester, Liverpool, the North West and Lake District I love travelling to other areas of the UK. I work in Liverpool City Centre with such regularity that I have a loyalty card for Q Park! I established my business in 2005, and since then I've covered over 200 weddings from Scottish castles, Priories in Kent, country house venues throughout the land from the Borders to deepest Hampshire and lots of gorgeous boutique & modern hotels in various Cities inbetween. I absolutely love weddings, and I work with my clients to provide a personalised, bespoke service so you'll get pictures that you love.
Grab a coffee and enjoy looking round my blog. I post pretty much all of my recent weddings on here, and have recently added engagement shoots. You're welcome to get involved with my Facebook page where I regularly post sneak previews & the occasional special offer. :-)
Alicia Hotel Wedding Photography – Neil & Lucy’s Autumnal November wedding, with Sefton Park as a gorgeous backdrop.
Neil & Lucy had booked me through a recommendation as I had shot their friends wedding a couple of years previously. Neil & Lucy were having a candle lit ceremony and the Alicia is great for night time photos as it’s all lit up at night, so I was looking forward to getting some night shots.
Here’s one of my favourite couple portraits from the day, with Sefton Park in the background:
The day started with me meeting Lucy at the hotel. I was a bit early really, but I prefer to get to the venue as early as possible, especially if I’m shooting in Liverpool, but it meant I had plenty of time to get loads of documentary coverage of the girls getting ready, and to get some creative shots of jewellery and shoes, and of course, have a strong black coffee!
Before long, it was time to head downstairs and meet Neil and the guys to get some pictures in the park. Sefton park was looking gorgeous; all autumnal colours and soft Winter light. Loved it! I nipped back upstairs to get pictures of Lucy getting in to her dress, before heading downstairs to the candle lit ceremony. The room looked amazing!
After the ceremony, the couple relaxed with their guests whilst enjoying some drinks and I took this opportunity to get some reportage coverage of those post ceremony hugs and congratulations. We then all headed across the road to the park to get a few group shots, finishing off with some couple portraits just as the sun was setting.
I stayed well in to the evening to get those dancefloor shots after the first dance. Neil & Lucy were great to work with. Thanks guys!
Alicia Hotel Wedding Photography – Slideshow Video:
Last Drop Village Hotel Wedding Photography – Jo & Barry
Last Drop Village Hotel Wedding Photography – Jo & Barry’s Autumnal November Wedding at this unique Bolton wedding venue.
Jo & Barry had told me all about their preparations for their day. They were to have a real Autumn theme with pumpkins, pine cones, soft candle light and all sorts of accessories, so I couldn’t wait to see the finished, fully dressed venue. It looked amazing! The couple had put so much attention to detail in, and on the day it really had that WOW! factor.
The day started with me meeting Jo at the venue, and getting those all important details pictures. After the ceremony, the couple relaxed with drinks and had a chance to catch up with guests. We the headed outside for the group pictures but half way through the second shot – there was a dramatic change in weather with thunder and lightning and a downpour so heavy it had everyone running for cover. The rest of the group shots were completed inside, with the accessories Jo & Barry had put together provided a nice autumnal touch to the pictures.
Last Drop is quite a unique location for a wedding, there’s a huge variety of locations for couple portraits and group shots, and even if the weather is too wet for pictures outdoors, there are the stone passageways inside which make a lovely backdrop. It’s seldom too wet for pgotos, but on Jo and Barry’s day the rain was literally going sideways, so at times like that, retreating indoors is the best option.
Rain isn’t always bad though, as you can see by this portrait above that I captured of Jo & Barry later in the day!
Last Drop Village Hotel Wedding Photography – Photo Gallery:
Last Drop Village Hotel Wedding Photography: Slideshow Video
Manchester Town Hall Wedding Photography – Sarah+Jason
Manchester Town Hall Wedding Photography – Sarah+Jason’s gorgeous November wedding, with their reception at Room restaurant and cocktail bar on King Street in Manchester.
I started the day with meeting bride Sarah at Premier apartment on Shudehill in Manchester. As the couple lived out of town they wanted to get ready fairly near the venues, so these serviced apartments provide a lot more space than your average hotel room. You can find out more about them here: Premier Apartments.
Sarah had booked Jodie Smith to do her make-up, so I just knew it was going to be perfect! Jodie is a seriously talented make-up artist and I love working with her.
My favourite portrait of Sarah & Jason:
After getting some documentary coverage of Sarah and the girls, I went off to find the guys who were getting ready in another apartment in the same building. Then it was back to the girls again to get Sarah getting in to her dress, before heading off to Manchester Town Hall to capture Sarah’s arrival.
Albert Square was fenced off with the German markets in full swing so it was decided Sarah would arrive at the Cooper Street entrance. Despite having shot a good couple of dozen weddings at Manchester Town Hall, this was the first time I’d taken pictures of a bride arriving at this entrance, it’s really stunning with the detail being quite different to the other two entrances.
It was on to the ceremony, afterwards I got documentary coverage of the couple greeting their guests, and then after a few group shots, the guests all headed of to Room restaurant whilst I got some portraits of the couple round Manchester Town Hall.
The rest of the day was great, and it was lovely to shoot at Room restaurant as I hadn’t been there before and new venues are always exciting!
Here’s some feedback from Sarah and Jason:
‘WOW WOW WOW!!
We’ve just had a first look through the photos… they’re amazing & really have bought our day back to life. You have captured EVERY detail perfectly. Thank-you so, so much!
Can’t wait to go through again later at a more relaxed pace with glass of wine!!
Sarah x’
Thanks so much guys, it was great to be part of your special day, thank you for booking me!
West Tower Wedding Photography – Michael + Laura’s Wedding
What a fantastic wedding this was! I had been really looking forward to Michael and Laura’s West Tower Wedding Photography! West Tower was a new venue for me, and shooting at new wedding venues is always exciting!I’d met Michael and Laura a few weeks previously for their engagement shoot which involved them both ‘frolicking’ in the corn field next door. We spent most of the shoot in stitches,they were such good fun, so I just knew the wedding was going to be fabulous!
I like to arrive quite early in the day so that I can take a bit of time getting some creative shots of details of the dress, shoes and jewellery. As much as these can be done in a few minutes, by allowing that extra bit of time and arriving earlier, I have a bit more time for creativity. I met Laura at home to capture hair & make-up and the all important details, I then headed off to the Church hoping the weather would clear a little for Laura’s arrival. The rain held off until the large group & confetti shot was done, so we all headed off to West Tower for drinks, canapes and shelter from the rain.
One of my favourite pictures from the day, shot at dusk:
Despite the weather, Laura was totally up for outdoor portraits which was ace! We spread the portraits out over a few different sets of only a couple of minutes each which meant that we got to capture the venue in different light throught the day and evening.
The couple had arrange pink uplighters for the reception, they looked so dramatic! I shot loads of guests portraits with the pink walls in the background. Up lighters can really transform a venue and they looked stunning from both inside and outside.
Hard Day’s Night Hotel Wedding Photography – Helen + Tom
Hard Day’s Night Hotel Wedding Photography – Helen + Tom’s October wedding at St Ann’s Church, Rainhill and boutique luxury venue Hard Day’s Night Hotel, Liverpool.
Helen & Tom were such a fun couple to work with! I’m writing this blog in December and smiling to myself thinking back to their day and how much fun it was. here’s the two of them looking fabulous on the dance floor in the Zygmant suite at the Hard’s Day’s Night Hotel.
When I initially met with Helen & Tom, Tom told me he hated having his picture taken and ideally, he just wanted me to shoot reportage coverage. It’s not uncommon for people to feel uncomfortable having professional photos, and by meeting the couple and having a rehearsal shoot or engagement shoot I got to know Helen and Tom better, and found out about them as a couple and what makes them tick. This really is a worthwhile investment and I think you’ll agree, the couple both look really relaxed in their wedding portraits!
Helen and Tom had also hired Barry from Diamond Lights Videography, and he was great to work with. We had plenty of banter throughout the day, and this made for great pictures too as the guests were in stitches. You can see Barry’s website here, or visit his Facebook page here.
Some feedback from Helen: ‘Well we’ve spent our Friday night undertaking the epic task of viewing our wedding photos!! I can’t believe how fabulous they are! We’ve been laughing, crying (me), cringing (Tom) and oohing and aahing! And so many good photos of Tom…Karen you are a geniusx x’ Thanks guys! It was great to be part of your wedding day, wishing you both a long & happy future together! :-)
Hard Day’s Night Hotel Wedding Photography – Slideshow video:
Gorgeous! I spent a lot of time looking tuhrogh your beautiful blog. I would love to feature one of your weddings on my new blog. Please let me know if you are interested. Hugs, Katherine
Janine & Simon got in touch to book me over the Summer of 2012, and we decided an Autumn engagement shoot would be perfect. I hadn’t shot a wedding at this venue before, but I was aware of it so was ridiculously happy at the opportunity to shoot at Thornton Manor!
On the day of the engagement shoot, Janine had arranged a make-up trial before the shoot. I do recommend that if possible, as it will be an opportunity to see how the make-up looks on the pictures. Meanwhile, I had arrived early to have a good look around. Thornton Manor is huge, and the grounds are expansive so I wanted to have a really good look around before Janine and Simon arrived. There’s so much outdoor space; huge patio area for drinks and canapes in the sun, acres of gardens and a lovely tree lined walkway providing both shade and a dramatic backdrop.
Janine & Simon’s favourite picture from the engagement shoot:
Simon arrived first, closely followed by Janine who was looking stunning with make-up by Nicola Joyce & hair styled in a classy half up / half down look with soft curls.
The three of us had a good wander round the venue and got loads of pictures both outside and inside, and I got to hear all about the couples plans for their wedding day. They are getting married in August 2013 and I can’t wait!! I may have to make an excuse to return to this venue before then.
Chimney House Hotel Wedding Photography – Sarah+Martin
Chimney House Hotel Wedding Photography – Sarah+Martin’s gorgeous September wedding at this picturesque Cheshire wedding venue.
It had been really wet in the week leading up to Sarah and Martin’s wedding, so I was really hoping the weather would clear for their wedding day. On the morning when I arrived at the venue, such was the heat from the sun (barely a cloud in the sky!) that the water was lifting from the ground and trees in a fine mist.
I met Sarah in her room at Chimney House Hotel where she was getting ready with the girls. The whole day was at the same venue, so there wasn’t any travelling between different locations.
After documentary coverage of the girls, It was off to meet Martin and the guys at the bar, before meeting Sarah coming downstairs with her Dad for the ceremony.
Here’s my favourite portrait of Sarah and Martin:
The ceremony was really lovely, but the venue had put some candles on the ceremony table, fairly close to the edge. The registrar was standing in front of the table, and at one point I thought her suit jacket was going to catch fire!! Thankfully I was able to subtly move the candle and the ceremony continued.
The couple enjoyed a drinks reception after the ceremony, and after they’d had a chance to catch up with all of their guests, we all headed outside for some group shots. The weather was still great, and the baking hot sun had dried the ground out, so we were even able to get some group shots of the bridal party on the grass, which was great.
The perfect finish to the evening was a gorgeous sunset, and just before the sun disappeared I was able to get a quick portrait of the couple with the sunset as a dramatic backdrop.
In my wedding portfolio below you'll find a selection of weddings I've shot over the last couple of years. All of the posts are of real couples at real weddings or pictures from my couples engagement shoots. Enjoy looking through them! :-)
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