Mike & Louise | Hope Street Wedding

Mike & Louise’s Liverpool wedding was an elegant and stylish city affair. They chose two contrasting Liverpool venues; the beautiful setting of the Concert room at St George’s Hall for the ceremony, and the chic and modern Hope Street Hotel for the reception. Louise looked absolutely stunning in her Justin Alexander dress and gorgeous lace Elizabeth Dickens veil, still looking tiny despite hiding a secret 10-week baby bump (due very soon – all the best Louise!). One of my favourite photographs is the moment when Louise’s Dad saw her in her dress for the first time – so full of emotion. After the ceremony, guests enjoyed a drinks reception in St George’s Hall, before heading over to Hope Street for the wedding breakfast. Good food and drink were a high priority and was an important factor in the decision to hold the wedding at Hope Street Hotel, renowned for its excellent food, as well as views across the Liverpool skyline. I had heard great things about sister restaurant, The London Carriage Works, who provided the catering, so I was particularly excited for dinner 😉 It was by far one of the best wedding breakfasts, if not best meals, I have ever tasted, it really was exceptional. And it looked good too. In fact it was so outstandingly good I’m going to include the menu:

Starter: Pressed terrine of Lakeland rabbit and leeks wrapped in sweet cure pancetta with a baby leaf salad and wholegrain mustard dressing, with L’Aristocrate Viognier wine to match.

Main: Duo of Blackfaced Suffolk lamb with pan roasted loin and confit shoulder, carrot puree, cabbage parcel, sweet potato and puy lentils, with Turi Carmemere wine to match.

Dessert: Trio of mini tarte tatin, Salted Caramel Ice Cream, Chocolate Mousse

Are you drooling yet? 😉 I can’t wait to go back there for dinner sometime… Thank you so much Mike & Louise for seating me at a table with your guests and feeding me so well! (in fact, I was on the same table as the bride and groom. Now that’s special!)  A well-fed photographer is a happy photographer, and one who is much more likely to stay on a bit later, and edit a few extra photos… 😉

The room was perfect for photos; light, neutral and airy with fabulous views across Liverpool. Tables were decorated with delicately pretty ceramic heart table confetti, flowers and flower balls made by the bride and her Mum. The meal was followed by eloquently funny and moving speeches, and exquisite white chocolate and pink peppercorn truffles the couple had handmade as favours – quite a challenge in the middle of a heatwave! I loved using the pale stone of the Liverpool architecture as a backdrop for Louise & Mike’s couple portraits, and later on the Hope Street suitcases were a fun prop to play with. It was a super day, filled with love and laughter, and I loved being a part of it – thanks for having me Louise & Mike and for looking after me so well. I felt like an honoured guest, just one who didn’t sit down very often 🙂

Credits

Bride’s Dress: Justin Alexander (The Bridal Path, Childwall, Liverpool)
Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo
Veil: Elizabeth Dickens (The Bridal Path, Liverpool)
Headpiece: Rosie Willet
Jewellery: DiamondLove
Groom’s Suit: Moss Bross
Groom’s Shoes: Next
Groomsmen Suits: Moss Bross
Bridesmaids Dresses: Twobirds
Bridesmaids Shoes:Mixture – Kurt Geiger, Nine West, Debenhams
Hair: Maria from Minskys, Liverpool
Flowers: Faye at Isabelle Daisy, Liverpool
Cake: Crosby Cakes
Stationery: The Paper Doll, Liverpool
Ceramic table confetti: Alayna Ellis
Flower balls: homemade by bride and mum (mostly mum…!)
Favours: homemade white chocolate and pink peppercorn truffles (very stressful – especially during a heatwave!)
Ceremony Venue: Concert Room, St George’s Hall. (Couple provided their own drinks from Majestic Wines for the drinks reception)
Reception Venue: Hope Street Hotel with food by The London Carriage Works
Harpist: Branka Crowder (ceremony/drinks reception)
Pianist: Ben Gordon (played at Hope Street during the evening reception);
Video: Film Your Own – they provide the cameras and editing, we did the filming. It actually turned out really well, so glad we did it!
Nails: Laura at AB Beauty did my amazing wedding nails, they lasted about 4 weeks!!