Highlights from Lisa & David’s brilliant wedding at The Monastery Manchester

The Monastery Manchester

Lisa & David at a wedding fair at Stonyhurst, organised by Little White Books over a year ago. Fast forward to Summer 2022 and here we were at this stunning venue with my being a Monastery Manchester wedding photographer again. This stunning former Monastery, (also known as Gorton Monastery) is an incredible venue for your wedding or event. The Monastery was a consecrated place of worship until 1989, when the building and land was sold to property developers. Sadly their project never materialised and the building remained empty, vandalised and needing new loving owners.

It describes itself as:

“The Monastery, designed by E.W. Pugin and built back in 1872 for the Franciscan Order, operated as a consecrated place of worship until 1989, when the building and grounds were sold to property developers for a project that was later abandoned. The Monastery was subsequently stripped, vandalised and left tragically derelict.

The Grade II* listed building was brought from the brink of destruction in 1996 by a community of volunteers led by Elaine and Paul Griffiths, who bought the ruinous shell for just £1, before proceeding to raise the funds urgently needed to restore this renowned architectural masterpiece. After many years of painstaking restoration, Manchester Monastery operated with great success as a commercial venue, hosting weddings, conferences, private meetings and all kinds of events, winning over 30 industry awards for excellence”.

The Monastery Manchester is now an ideal location for weddings, corporate events, parties…but importantly for calm, sanctuary and a peaceful place for self-wellbeing and spirituality.

Monastery Manchester Wedding Photography

I have photographed weddings and events at The Monastery Manchester on a few occasions. Being there again for Lisa & David’s as their Monastery Manchester wedding photographer was a really exciting opportunity. This venue is simply gorgeous to work in, let alone being a Monastery Manchester wedding guest. I have been a Monastery Manchester wedding photographer several times now, and love working in the natural light - especially the gorgeous sunlight in the afternoon. I recently photographed a gorgeous styled shoot as a Manchester Monastery wedding photographer for Little White Books too. You can see it here. I caught up with Lisa & the girls at The Manchester Piccadilly Hotel for a few getting ready photos - nothing too organised, just a few keepsakes of her and her Besties. And her dad requested for a few too, which was fine by me! So I spent just under an hour shooting some natural documentary images, as part of Lisa & David’s Manchester Monastery Wedding Photographer photo collection before heading off to the venue to catch up with David and the guests arriving for the ceremony. On to Stage Two of the day’s shoot as a Manchester Monastery Wedding Photographer. The wedding guests were all arriving, excited and looking forward to Lisa & David’s big day, while Lisa and her dad drove quietly in his car to The Monastery Manchester. There were lots of hugs and kisses in the reception area at The Manchester Monastery - many aimed at David. An emotional onslaught I don’t think he was quite ready for! As Lisa arrived, the guests were all seated in anticipation of her walking down the aisle with proud dad, and I documented the short (wind swept!) journey from car to venue as part of my Manchester Monastery Wedding Photographer wedding story. A string quartet played as Lisa walked down the aisle. Nervous and excited, Lisa pulled a few funny faces at David as she arrived. I like that in a bride! The good news about The Monastery Manchester is that there is a LOT of space available to work as a Manchester Monastery Wedding Photographer. I was travelling light, shooting on 35mm and 85mm lenses, with my new silent shooting Nikons. Only my knees creaked, ha ha.

Wedding Photos at The Monastery Manchester

After the ceremony, it was time for a few family photos in the garden. These wedding photos at The Monastery Manchester were photographed quickly, aided by one of the bridesmaids (thank you!) Lisa & David stayed out for a few more couples portraits - all natural and unposed classic images as part of my being their Manchester Monastery Wedding Photographer. The couple didn’t want masses of portraits anyway; they were more interested in my telling the story of the day, mingling with the guests and producing a great set of photos for their Monastery Manchester Wedding Collection.

Jason Fox Who Dares Wins TV Presenter

As I mentioned, I also photographed a recent Wellbeing Day at The Monastery Manchester, with guests speaker Jason Fox. Jason is the TV presenter of the current Channel 4 TV Series Who Dares Wins. He talked about his career in the SBS, some of the situations he’d been in, plus how he has dealt with PTSD and ongoing mental health issues. His message was to not suffer alone, in silence, but to reach out and talk to family and friends. A very strong message fully embraced by the two hundred and fifty delegates at The Monastery Manchester that day.

Anyway, I digress, so here’s some of my favourite photos from the day…