City Style: Gilly & Sam's Manchester Wedding

The Mancunian sun miraculously chose to put his hat on on Friday, in celebration of Gilly and Sam's wedding. The wedding took place in the heart of Manchester, giving us the opportunity to play around with photographs in the victorian splendour of Albert Square. Gilly literally sparkled in the beautiful handknitted aquamarine shawl she crafted herself, whilst Sam dazzled in the most stylish pair of shoes to have set foot on Manchester's streets in a long time. The wedding was relaxed stylish, and thoroughly them and it was a pleasure to celebrate with them and to wish them well as they step forth into marital bliss!

Gilly & Sam - Engagement!

Congratulations to Gilly and Sam, who will be getting married in Manchester on 9 April this year. It will be an honour and a privilege to be wedding photography at their wedding - I am looking forward to it so much! The wedding is a real reflection of their personalities - understated, elegant and sophisticated. I am keen for the photography on the day to reflect that, so we had a wander around Manchester together to explore ideas and try out some interesting locations. Manchester is stuffed full of iconic architecture, but how to include those visual references to their location and still capture the emotion?

We explored Albert Square, with the magnificent arches of the townhall as a strong frame, but I was more taken with the fountain in the corner of the square. Images taken there have the potential to evoke black and white films set in Italy - films like La Dolce Vita or Roman Holiday. I liked the strong graphic shape of the windows of Kendals too, which tells the story of a city built on commerce. In April they will be softened by the cherry trees starting to bloom and I think that could look wonderful.

Matrix Revolution

Gilly and Sam are opting for super cool, understated city wedding which will culminate in cocktails (and other beverages) at Revolution in Parsonage Gardens Manchester. As part of our engagement session, we popped our heads into Revolution and I was struck by this rather magnificent doorway. It was Sam who noticed the striking resemblance to Orpheus' furniture of choice, in Matrix reloaded!

Manchester Wedding: All aboard!

, originally uploaded by Margaret Clift McNulty.

The most gorgeous bus conductor Manchester has ever seen, the lovely Melanie! More images coming soon at Cocoa Rose Boutique Wedding Photography my website for Edinburgh wedding photography.

Manchester Wedding Photography: On the road!

, originally uploaded by Margaret Clift McNulty.

Finally on their way - the new Mr and Ms Derrig! More images coming soon at Cocoa Rose Boutique Wedding Photography my website for Edinburgh wedding photography.

Manchester Wedding: We're all going on a...

, originally uploaded by Margaret Clift McNulty.

...nope, not a summer holiday, but a fabulous big blue bus all the way into town. Mel and Chris, trying not to notice the driver taking the wrong turn... more images coming soon at Cocoa Rose Boutique Wedding Photography my website for Edinburgh wedding photography.

Manchester Wedding Photography: The Happy Couple!

, originally uploaded by Margaret Clift McNulty.

Leading the way with the photo frames - Mel and Degs (I mean Chris)! More photos coming soon at Cocoa Rose Boutique Wedding Photography my website for Edinburgh wedding photography.

Manchester Wedding Photography: Snapshot!

, originally uploaded by Margaret Clift McNulty.

Two of the first up to have their photos taken in frame! More photos coming soon at Cocoa Rose Boutique Wedding Photography my website for Edinburgh wedding photography.

Manchester Wedding Photography: In the frame...

, originally uploaded by Margaret Clift McNulty.

The Proud Parents - another of the series of framed images at the Albert Shed, Manchester more images will be coming soon at my wedding photography website.

Manchester Wedding Photography: Cheers!

, originally uploaded by Margaret Clift McNulty.

More images at the Albert Shed at Mel and Chris' wedding! More images will be coming soon at my wedding website.

Manchester Wedding Photography: Framed!

, originally uploaded by Margaret Clift McNulty.

Mel had the fantastic idea of providing photo frames for people to pose with - and the Derrig's were first up! Images were taken in the Albert Shed, Castlefield, Manchester - more images will be coming soon on my wedding photography website.

Natural Light Wedding Photography - Louisa

, originally uploaded by Margaret (Degserella).

The third of the series of bridal portraits of Louisa Anderson nee Wilkinson lit by window light. I love the way the light pools around her. The image was shot on a stone staircase at The University of Manchester and is entirely lit by natural light, diffused through pale-coloured stained glass.

When photographing a wedding I like to produce a mixture of formal and candid shots. The majority of the shots will be shot in colour and processed through Lightroom to optimise contrast and to ensure perfect white balance. Certain images are selected for black and white conversion. Selected images are then opened in Photoshop, with one or two portraits further processed to enhance their impact and artistic qualities. The bridal portraits here are good examples of that process.

The image was post processed in Lightroom and then Photoshop. The process included desaturation, addition of texture and manipulation of layers using the screen and overlay modes. some cloning out was required, where a lightshade protruded into the background.

To see the full wedding go to Cocoa Rose Boutique Wedding Photography my website for Edinburgh wedding photography.

Wedding Portrait Journalism - Louisa

, originally uploaded by Margaret (Degserella).

This was an unposed candid - I love it! The image was processed through Lightroom 1.4 from RAW, converted to a JPEG, tweaked and then processed in PS2. Layers using the screen mode were used to lighten the image, which was also desaturated with a slight duotone effect warming the shadows. Texture was added using a layer and parts of the bouquet burnt in, to enhance the impact of the flowers. To see the full wedding go to Cocoa Rose Boutique Wedding Photography my website for Edinburgh wedding photography.

Mrs Anderson

, originally uploaded by Margaret (Degserella).

I shot Mark and Louisa's wedding at the weekend, my first official wedding shoot as Cocoa Rose Boutique Wedding Photography. I learned a lot and had a lot of fun. I love this series of bridal portraits lit by window light on the beautiful staircase of Manchester University. With huge thanks to Mark and Louisa for being my first wedding booking!

To see the full wedding go to Cocoa Rose Boutique Wedding Photography my website for Edinburgh wedding photography.