City centre wedding photography is my speciality as a wedding photographer. Great John Street hotel is located next to St. John’s Garden which was formerly where St. John’s church stood. Next door to the hotel is the old Granada TV building where I worked as a TV editor before I became a wedding photographer although I still do that job except now I’m at Media City. Having worked right next door for ten years I know the surrounding area like the back of my hand and I know all the best spots for photos.
Great John Street hotel is owned by Eclectic Hotels who own a growing number of hotels in Manchester and it was once a school. Many of the old features have been retained and certain rooms in the hotel are named after the school rooms that they once were.
Shelley and Matt had a stunning wedding at Great John Street back in April. It was a glorious sunny day, a rarity for Manchester! We began with Shelley and her bridesmaids having their make up done in one of the gorgeous split level mezzanine rooms that Great John Street has. This gives me the ability as a photographer to get some interesting angles. The huge windows also give me plenty of light too which can be a struggle so often in hotel rooms for wedding photographers.
Matt arrived in his Range Rover and looked very smart in his suit and shades he then headed up stairs to the roof. The matrimonial ceremony took place on the top floor of Great John Street which overlooks the city centre. It’s a great room because it has a large room for the ceremony and wedding breakfast but also a large roof terrace so guests can move indoors and outdoors without having to go too far.
After the wedding ceremony which saw Shelley getting quite emotional everyone basked in the sun on the roof terrace and then we went outside for a few portraits. As a city centre wedding photographer Great John Street is perfect for me. I don’t like the portraits to take up too much time as the day is about the couple having fun with their guests, not about having a photoshoot so I used my knowledge of the city centre to create a very short route so we could keep moving from location to location and waste no time. My favourite photographs from this session are probably the shots of the bride and groom in St. John’s park which I shot with my Canon 5D mkiii and my Canon 135mm f2 lens. This lens is great for getting that creamy bokeh look associated with a shallow depth of field. It gives a very dreamy look and feel to those wedding photos. I also like them because Shelley and Matt are enjoying themselves, they are in the moment. I try to keep things simple and relaxed when shooting portraits and I think this really shows here.
We headed back inside for the speeches which involved having shots of some really lethal alcohol and then it was time for the evening entertainment. Matt is a musician so he was very much involved in the music for the evening and even though the wedding had quite a young crowd it was the older members of the wedding that were really killing it on the dancefloor! It was a cracking wedding, thanks for choosing me as your city centre wedding photographer Shelley and Matt x
City centre wedding photographer Johnboy Wilson
