Spicer Manor wedding photography, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire

Isy and Ian’s wedding at Spicer Manor, Huddersfield

I was looking forward to photographing Isy and Ian’s wedding at the amazing Spicer Manor, Huddersfield. I had a perfect vibe from Isy and Ian from Zoom meetings, and I knew they would be an ideal match for my photography style.

Morning

I love arriving at a wedding in the morning. The day is a new page of a story waiting to be written, and I’m the illustrator, and my camera is my pencil. I headed up to meet Isy and the girls, and instantly I got a good feel, and everyone was lovely. There was a friendly, chilled-out vibe, and the room was filled with excitement. Spicer Manor is a fantastic wedding venue, as the beauty of it is everyone is together. The bride and her girls were all together in the cinema room, whilst Ian, the groom and his friends and family, spent time in the kitchen.

Not too weddingy

Isy and Ian are my perfect wedding couple; they wanted fantastic pictures in a documentary way and for me to capture the wedding day. Isy and Ian have attended many weddings over the last few years, and their brief was that they didn’t want anything too weddingy. The day was billed as a big party, and everyone seemed to be up for it. In the morning, I spent my time between the bride’s and groom’s rooms just to ensure that I captured everything. One lovely moment was when Isy gave out all her presents to Team Bride; there were some brilliant reactions which I obviously captured. One obvious thing was how thoughtful Isy was and how much time and effort she must have spent shopping for the gifts.

DIY

I always said that the best weddings are personal ones, which was the case with Isy and Ian’s. Everywhere I looked, I could see lots of Do it Yourself things. The theme was travel; everyone had a travel ticket as their place setting. The couple had met on an overland bus trip, and Isy’s mum had made a fantastic wedding cake in this theme. Isy’s mum also had created some lovely cake pops with a travel theme which I may have sampled.

Ceremony

The ceremony was a blessing conducted by their friend. It was a lovely personalised ceremony in the perfect setting. The service was short and sweet. There were a couple of readings but not too weddingy, which was precisely what the couple wanted. 

The Afternoon

After the ceremony, we had confetti, drinks and canapes, and everyone mingled, smiled and laughed, which is exactly how a wedding should be. We popped around the front to take a few group shots, but I walked around capturing lots of delighted people for the rest of the afternoon. The weather behaved itself, and everyone enjoyed the afternoon.

Spicer Manor is a unique wedding venue and has a great relationship with the wonderful Bradleys Catering, which serves some fantastic food. The not too weddingy wedding decided that they wouldn’t have traditional speeches so the rest of the afternoon loads of food was eaten and drinks were consumed.

Evening

After the wedding breakfast, I had ten minutes of capturing some portraits with Isy and Ian, and they did a great job; we just had loads of fun, and they exchanged a few hugs and kisses. When we returned, the guests started their game of cricket which got a little competitive. People bounced on Space Hoppers, and a fantastic match of limbo ensued. I love this time at a wedding when people are relaxed and enjoying the day.

First Dance

The first dance was a first dance where everyone got involved; no awkward ten seconds shuffle, just everyone on the dance floor. The rest of the evening, everyone got involved in showing shapes on the dancefloor, and a fantastic day was had by all.

I absolutely loved my first wedding at Spicer Manor, and I look forward to many more. Isy and Ian were brilliant, everyone at the wedding was lovely, and it was a perfect wedding day.

Thank you, Isy and Ian, for booking me as your photographer.

If you are looking for a documentary wedding photographer, please get in touch at john@johnsteelphotography.com