SARAH + DUNCAN // WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY AT MANCHESTER TOWN HALL AND ST PETER’S ANCOATS

It’s June and it’s one of those clean, clear days: hot but not too hot (though Duncan may disagree with me on that). The skies are steadfast blue, and I’m photographing a wedding in some of my favourite Manchester places for a couple that felt like old friends, even though we’d only met a month earlier…

Weddings have this sort of electricity running through them, and it sparks out in all sorts of ways. This bunch were especially electric. Love and joy and fun was flying out all over the place and everywhere I turned I felt like I was catching sparks.

Sarah and her girls got ready in a room at the Midland Hotel, nervous glances collapsing into can’t-keep-it-in smiles. Then off to the ceremony at Manchester Town Hall for excited faces under beautiful ceilings and lovely window light. It’s a good job Sarah likes it there too, as Duncan booked it for their wedding before he had proposed. Strong move!

After the ceremony there were drinks and hugs, some larking about in front of a bus (don’t worry, it was our bus) and a bit of impromptu busking, after which we climbed on board for Ancoats, for the reception in Hallé St Peter’s (the rehearsal home for our city’s brilliant orchestra). The combination of sun soaked city streets and this big open space for everyone to celebrate in was pretty magical… though mainly because this lot know how to celebrate!

Speaking of sparks, look out for Duncan’s Grandma, who likes to put her hands in her grandson’s beards (she also LOVES to dance).  And then there’s the little lad I found quietly performing his new poem “Sugar Rush” – inspired by the candy table (and, I suspect, fuelled by it too). You might spot Sarah’s reaction to a particularly sharp shoe pinch (her Jimmy Choo-ouch! face) and also the moment one of the Best Men decided to deliver his part of the speech in the form of dance.

Duncan and Sarah are two of the loveliest, most relaxed and considerate people you could hope to meet, and they’re clearly crazy about each other. Thanks so much for having me along you two and for totally trusting me, it was a real giggle and a joy from start to finish!

Here are some of my favourites…