A Modern Manchester City Wedding + Bride in a Backless Maggie Sottero Dress

Stop what you’re doing lovelies because I’ve got something totally beautiful to knock your socks off.

I have a feeling you’re going to fall in love with Holly and John’s elegant, minimal and stylish city wedding, and the bride’s alluring gown too. Marketing manager Holly wed mortgage advisor John on 25 August 2018 in a stylish wedding at Manchester Hall, in the heart of Manchester city centre. After the civil ceremony, the wedding party moved up to the Hall’s rooftop for a sunlit celebration. Taking the room’s modern dark blue and gold styling, Holly and John kept their styling minimal and industrial, with lots of greenery and white blooms.

Photography Sarah Maria Photography

The couple got married on their six-year anniversary, picking Manchester Hall for its flexibility and modern approach.

“We met around seven years ago on a night out in Manchester and were engaged on New Year’s Eve 2016 on a beach on Phi Phi in Thailand. We aren’t a romantic couple so the proposal was more of a drunken ‘Shall we get married?!’ which was perfect for me.”

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“Manchester Hall offered us the flexibility to hold our wedding in the traditional rooms and then our reception on the roof top overlooking Manchester city centre.”

I’m so in love with Holly’s sleek and sensual Maggie Sottero gown. Its simple silhouette is incredibly sophisticated whilst the subtly sparkling embellished border which plunged down the open back from the delicate cap sleeves adds a dash of understated glamour.

“I was looking for classic and simple and this dress was both. I was never going to pick the princess gown!”

Her strappy sandals, adorned with sparkling statement bows, were from Betsey Johnson and Holly let the beauty of the gown speak for itself, adding just a spritz of her signature fragrance, Jo Malone Peony & Blush Suede. Her long hair was styled into film star-style waves and swept over to one side by Kirsty Stewart at House of Finesse, finished with a long, sheer veil. For make-up, she rocked a glowing look with defined eyes and neutral lips, applied by make-up artist Lisa Murray.

“I wanted greenery and fresh seasonal flowers. Sasha at Sassflower was amazing and sourced the most beautiful Café Au Lait dahlias for the bouquets.”

The bridesmaids’ soft blue gowns echoed the simplicity and embellishment of Holly’s own, and were found at ASOS.

“They had bags from Katie Loxton, a gift on the wedding morning, along with a bracelet with their initials and birthstone from Bloom Boutique.”

Capturing the day on camera was Sarah Maria Photography. Her work has such a relaxed and modern vibe and its light, airy feel is ideal for the contemporary rooftop reception.

“Sarah is an amazing wedding photographer and captured our day so effortlessly. We wanted natural photos with no ‘posey’ photos. Every single one of our photos captures people having so much fun and we couldn’t be happier with how they turned out.”

Holly walked in to Manchester Hall’s majestic ceremony room with her step-dad to the sound of ‘Feels Like Home’ by Chantal Kreviazuk.

Their vows and rings were exchanged in front of all their friends and family against a beautiful modern archway of copper pipe and fresh foliage.

John looked very suave in his soft blue Reiss suit worn with a contrasting light grey waistcoat and skinny tie. He finished his look with a statement buttonhole of fresh flowers, put together by Sassflower who also made the girls’ wild bouquets.

“I designed my own engagement ring and wedding ring which was great. My engagement ring is a one carat diamond set in a floral Art Deco shape with a halo of white sapphires which give it a more vintage feel as they tone down the bling! My wedding ring is a matching band of small diamonds.”

After the ceremony, the party headed upstairs to celebrate on the rooftop terrace whilst Holly and John took some beautiful newly-wed portrait shots. They had got crafty to enhance the reception room, keeping everything elegant and modern with plenty of foliage and crisp stationery designed by Awcock & Crease.

“Handmade copper frames were used for welcome signs, table plans and the altar which was adorned with greenery. I made concrete coasters with each guests’ initials on them in copper calligraphy. It took me about six months but was a nice keepsake for guests.”

The guests were treated to a sharing feast of tapas designed especially for the couple by Manchester Hall, enjoyed by Holly and John on a sweetheart table. Singer Josh Goddard provided a live soundtrack to the wedding breakfast whilst, later on, a DJ from Rewind Entertainment was in charge of the dance floor.

“I enjoyed every minute of our wedding. People say your wedding day goes quickly and it’s true. It is gone in a minute and you want to do it all again. Looking back, I’d stress less about minor details. Most people don’t notice what font was used on the place names that you spent six hours discussing!”

The couple’s first dance was to ‘Songbird’ by Eva Cassidy before the Hall was transformed in to a dance floor for partying the night away.

“It was dedicated to John’s mum who is no longer with us.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Try not to worry too much about everyone else having a good time. As long as you are enjoying yourself your guests will too.”

“It’s ‘your’ wedding and one of the only days you can be completely selfish. Don’t be influenced by family, invite only friends and family you want there otherwise you will regret it.”

“We hoped to spend around £20,000. We probably went over by about £10K but didn’t want to scrimp on important things.”

So what do you think lovelies? If you’d like more modern and contemporary styling inspiration then I’m delighted to share these other Love My Dress weddings with you. And, if you are in love with Holly’s Maggie Sottero gown, then you can see more brides in her designs here. Finally, I must send Holly and John so many congratulations on their wedding and thanks for letting us share it here today. A big thank you also to Sarah Maria Photography for these beautiful photographs.

Ele xx