The Best Manchester Wedding Venues
Confession. I’m not really a city person. I did my stint at University and it was always a bit of a relief to get home, take a deep breath and look at some hills. But I do love, living so close to Manchester, that I have access to the city and all it has to offer. This is so true of weddings. Whilst most weekends are spent in the countryside of Lancashire, Cheshire or the Lake District, I do occasionally get to visit Manchester City Centre for a chic urban wedding.
If you’re planning your Manchester city centre wedding then hopefully this blog post will help. Here’s a run down of some of the best Manchester wedding venues.
Manchester Town Hall
I’m such a history geek. So visiting Manchester Town Hall for a wedding is an absolute treat. There probably isn’t a more iconic building in the city centre. Built in the late nineteenth century – the building is gothic opulence at it’s finest. Outside it’s imposing, inside it’s spectacular. The tiles corridors, gothic staircases, huge stained glass windows, elaborately painted ceilings and impressive grand rooms make it the perfect wedding venue. As a photographer I’m spoilt for choice and even if the weather is terrible there’s plenty of indoor places for pictures. You can choose to just have your wedding ceremony here and move on to somewhere else for the reception – or go whole hog and spend the whole day here. Check out Lauren and Aron’s Town Hall Wedding on the blog here. Currently Manchester Town Hall is closed for renovations but I can’t wait to get back!
Hope Mill Theatre
Hope Mill Theatre is a quirky venue just outside the city centre. A working theatre that can be hired out for weddings. This venue offers something very different. The ceremony is held in the theatre space and there’s a great bar for you to hold your drinks reception. You won’t find much in the way of green spaces outside but that’s not a problem because there’s lots of amazing, gritty urban backdrops to choose from. This venue is perfect for alternative couples looking for a quirky venue with all the amenities of the city centre on the doorstep.
The Whitworth Art Gallery
I think this is an absolute hidden gem of a wedding venue. Tucked away in the University district on Oxford Road, the Whitworth is a beautiful space. Combining old architecture with an amazing modern entertaining space – it’s a photographers dream. The light is perfect and the gardens surrounding the Art Gallery mean you can mix gritty urban portraits with something a bit more soft and floral. The modern glass cafe makes the most impressive setting for the wedding reception – and it’s such a clean space you can really make it your own. Veronica and Angus chose to hold their wedding at the Whitworth last year and it was beautiful! Check it out here.
Great John Street Hotel
I love this stylish boutique hotel in the city centre. The decor is beautiful, the staff are super helpful and there’s loads of fab little spots around the hotel for photographs. You can choose to hold your ceremony here too, or just your reception. The roof terrace is perfect for summer weddings but it works just as well for the rest of the year because of the patio heaters. The hotel is perfect for intimate relaxed weddings.
Louise and Anthony made Great John Street the location for their fab winter wedding.
Gorton Monastery
Just outside Manchester city centre is this incredible wedding venue. Don’t be put off by the surroundings – it’s not exactly in the most picturesque location. But once inside all that is forgotten as you walk around with your mouth hanging open because this place is incredible! A former monastery (the clue’s in the name!) it’s now set up for civil ceremonies and wedding receptions. If you’re planning a big do this could be the perfect venue choice – you’d have a hard time filling the space! There’s a sweet grassed courtyard that’s perfect for pictures and endless pretty alcoves, windows and doorways to take advantage of too! The staff here are incredible – and they use really cool earpieces which I was very envious of. They make sure your day runs entirely to plan.
Beth and Michael chose Gorton Monastery for their summer wedding and it was a triumph! Take a peek right here.
The Lowry Centre
Want something completely different for your city centre wedding venue? The Lowry centre could be just the thing. Inside there’s mad colours, awesome architecture and bags and bags of space. There’s an awesome reception space with huge windows and masses of natural light flooding in. Outside you’ve got all the architecture of the quays to use. Iain and Krista held their wedding reception here in October last year and it was awesome!
Stockport Town Hall
Not technically Manchester city centre but you know – within the Greater Manchester area. Stockport Town Hall is beautiful example of a late Victorian/early Edwardian architecture. It is seriously grand and imposing! Inside doesn’t disappoint either – the beautiful wood panelled ceremony room, amazing ballroom space and those marble tiles in the foyer! It doesn’t even matter if it rains – there’s heaps of places to have your photographs. I absolutely loved spending Clare and Adam’s wedding day at Stockport Town Hall.
Please keep checking back to the blog – I’ll be adding more favourite Manchester Wedding Venues when I discover them. If you’re planning a Manchester wedding and would like to chat to be about your plans please visit the Contact page and get in touch.