
Photos by Leah Henson
Candlelit Romance…
Today we have a super chic and stylish warehouse wedding to share with you, captured beautifully by Leah Henson.
A picturesque candlelit ceremony set the tone of the day which was followed by a beautifully styled reception. The details are simplistic but oh so stunning in front of the industrial backdrop.
Leah Henson…
Why you love this wedding…
Victoria Warehouse is such a special venue. The ceremony was candle-lit with a wall of fairy lights behind – perfect! Alex and Martin looked awesome too; you can’t go wrong with a Kooples suit and Alex’s gorgeous Jessica Bennett dress was so unusual. Not only was the styling super amazing, but Victoria Warehouse has some amazing industrial backdrops for photos. The speech that both of Martin’s best men gave was hilarious too – probably one of my favourites ever, I couldn’t stop laughing!
What were the couple’s requirements…
Alex and Martin were so laid back. From the moment I met them, I really got the impression that they were happy for me to capture their day how I saw it in my own style.
Favourite details of the day…
The ceremony room (which later turned into the reception room) is just gorgeous. All of the menus and table numbers were beautifully designed – a super beautiful wedding.
Favourite moment of the day…
I love when couples write personal vows. As a photographer, you feel so honoured to be there with their friends and family hearing their story. Also, wedding beer pong! How can you go wrong?!
Alex & Martin…
Tell us how you met and got engaged…
We met 8 years ago on a night out in Fallowfield whilst Alex was at Manchester University. We were introduced by our mutual friends; a couple who went on to become one of our bridesmaids and best men.
We got engaged in Marrakech last October, in our Riad courtyard on the first night of our Moroccan holiday. The original plan was to do it in the Sahara desert, but Martin decided camels, endless sand and an engagement ring probably wasn’t the best combination!
What were your main hopes for the day…
From the outset we always wanted it to just be one big party with our friends and family. A relaxed, informal get together everyone could enjoy, without losing sight of what we wanted from the day. And one big party it turned out to be.
Was your favourite part of the day…
This is too hard to call. Our candle-lit ceremony set the tone perfectly – with our own personal vows, lovely readings from both mums and of course a beautiful bride.
The best men excelled themselves with a hilarious and highly embarrassing speech and then our band, The Kickstarts, went and put on a top rock n roll performance for the evening. Everything turned out just how we wanted.
How was your day unique…
Whilst we of course took inspiration from elsewhere, we designed and created so many of the day’s elements ourselves – from the decorations to Wedding Beer Pong to writing our own individual vows – which really helped make it feel personal and unique to us.
So many of our guests commented on how ‘us’ the day was, which is exactly the style and atmosphere we wanted. And having a venue as impressive as Victoria Warehouse certainly helped too.
What was your biggest expense…
Our biggest individual outlay of the day was the venue itself, and the food. Which both came as a package. We knew we wanted Victoria Warehouse as soon as we saw it, so we made sure that was sorted then kept costs down on all other elements to bring it all in budget.
How did you save money…
We took on a lot of the creative elements – the decorations and stationery – ourselves. We tried to make it as DIY as we could, whilst we’re also lucky to have some super talented and very generous friends.
Alex’s friend is a florist, who owns Silky Bouquets, so they provided our flowers. One of our Bridesmaids baked us a fabulous naked cake. Alex is a Print Designer, so it was easier for us to design the invites, table plan, order of service etc. ourselves.
We used a supplier, Peter Lockwood Lighting, for our fairylight canopy and backdrop, but created our own candle aisle rather than paying a Venue Dresser to do it for us; sourcing all our own jars and candles. This made a big saving.
What was it like working with your photographer…
Leah was a dream to work with. For our candid shots throughout the day we genuinely didn’t notice she was there, yet she captured all the day’s highlights and more. She was relaxed, flexible and never tried to take over like we’ve seen with a couple of other wedding photographers. We chose Leah specifically for her style of photography so we were all in the same page from the start on what we wanted. And Leah scouted some great spots and backdrops in and around Victoria Warehouse that really brought out the unique features of the venue. We’re over the moon with our photos.
Advice to any couples about to get married…
We’d definitely say the obvious one about making sure you’re doing things exactly as you want to, and not feeling pressure from anyone outside the two of you about what you have to include in the day or who you need to invite. Relax and do it your way.
But also to not just look at the wedding as one day or one weekend. Treat it as the whole planning period and build up, and make sure you enjoy that side of it too. The day itself is over so quick you should make the most of the whole process. Don’t let it consume you, don’t rush it, have fun with it. Milk it in fact. Not only do you only get to do the day once, you only get to enjoy all the planning and preparation once too.
And remember that no one but you is stressing (or even cares) about the detail. They’re great when they come off, but if they don’t, no one misses what they weren’t expecting anyway.
The Team…
Photography: Leah Henson
Venue: Victoria Warehouse
Wedding Dress: Jessica Bennett Bespoke Bride
Brides Accessories: Shoes – Dune
Grooms Attire: The Kooples
Flowers: Silky Bouquets Ltd
Cake: Made by Bridesmaid
Lighting: Peter Lockwood Events
Band/Music: The Kickstarts
Photobooth: Flash Photobooths
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