Ideas for a Manchester Wedding

We recognise that many of our clients have had to postpone their wedding ceremonies this year. We have created a series of inspirational blog posts for your future wedding. These blog posts will include different themes and ideas for your wedding that we hope will excite and inspire you as we move forward.

This Studio 54 inspired wedding shoot in the Castlefield Rooms in Manchester transports us back to the 1970s.

Studio 54 was a nightclub that flung open its doors to music and glamour in 1977. Located in Manhattan, New York City, the nightclub was famous for its extravagant parties and the guest list of celebrities that glided through, including Andy Warhol, Calvin Klein and Diana Ross.

Boho Chic Weddings, planner and photographer, and Glorious by Heidi, bridal headpiece designer and fellow planner, led the team of talented suppliers.

The Castlefield Rooms are known for hosting boutique and out of the ordinary events at their city-centre venue overlooking the Bridgewater canal. The acclaimed restaurant Albert’s Shed is attached to the venue, serving modern British food and providing contemporary, alfresco eating spaces.

The design team chose a disco and tropical glamour theme, selecting a colour palette of just three bold colours; gold, white and green.

To make a statement, the florist, Sam Williams, selected only green coloured plants. Many of these plants are typically found in the jungle, forest or in destinations with a hot climate so this added an exotic element. Each type of plant has completely different shaped leaves. Plants such as monstera, fern and palm created striking foliage arrangements for the table and bouquet.

For the artistic arrangement of the tablescape, the team have used a smooth white table cloth, opaque white champagne flutes, white seat covers as well as speckled gold candle votives, gold martini glasses and vases of green leaves. By combining a variety of textures and using a selected palette, the finished look is slick and clean-cut.

Extra Special Touch created a napkin that cleverly doubles up as a wedding menu. Their service allows you to personalise napkins and linen for every occasion.

Paper Cutt Design beautifully designed the table name tags, invitations and programme. Maintaining the three-colour palette, the stationery features green and gold foiled leaves on a sharp, white background.

The wedding cake was made up of three white tiers. Between each tier is a gold or silver band. Pinned to the cake is a single plant stem with many leaves. Marie Antoinette Cake Design created this bespoke design and although it is minimal, the cake still has a big impact. They also baked cream puff profiteroles and dusted them with gold colouring.

Disco music appeared from the clubbing scene in America in the 1970s and this music was regularly played in Studio 54. Being inspired by this nightclub, it seems only right to have disco balls, miniature and large, as decoration in this shoot. The balls are not only a direct link to the time that disco music was at its peak of popularity but the reflective mirrors also create a fun and glitzy effect.

Men were expressive with their taste in style in the 1970s and the boundaries of what was considered appropriate clothing for your gender were blurred. In this shoot, the groom is dressed in all white and then wears an all-black outfit. Dressing in just one colour is a bold fashion statement and makes him look confident and distinctive in the photographs.

Jumpsuits were an adaptation from overalls and it became very fashionable to wear them in different materials for different occasions. For example, denim, knitted or cotton jumpsuits would be worn during the day. In the evening the material became stretchy and slimming with metallic and bold patterns so that you could move easily on the dance floor.

The model bride wears several white jumpsuits, with various lengths of sleeves and removable feather shoulder pads. The shape of the jumpsuits accentuates her figure making her look powerful and glamorous. Wearing a jumpsuit is also a contemporary choice for a wedding in contrast to the traditional white dress.

Completing the model’s outfit is a headpiece handcrafted by Glorious by Heidi in her studio in Cheshire. She has used metallic, geometric shaped Swarovski crystals with ivory rounded pearls to create the spikes for the wedding tiara. Against her white jumpsuit, the hair accessory gives an extra, golden sparkle, reassembling a halo.

In keeping with the golden theme, London Victorian Ring Co provided a gold women’s wedding ring together with the men's wedding ring in gold and platinum. The hand-engraved women’s wedding ring in 18-carat yellow gold is set with nine round brilliant-cut diamonds. The 2.5mm wide, D-shape band is engraved with the paisley pattern, inspired by vintage designs. The diamonds are held in a millegrain edged box to add interesting detailing to the ring.

The men's wedding ring is a 5mm two-tone platinum and 18-carat yellow gold band with a modern matt finish. The flat court profile means that the ring has a flat outside profile while gently rounded nearest the finger for a comfortable fit.

Wearing a ring with two contrasting metals is a stylish and unusual choice for the wedding ring.

We thought that both of these rings would fit well with the shoot theme as not only are they made from gold metal, but they are also different from the standard wedding ring designs and this shoot celebrates style that is out of the ordinary.

Overall this shoot was a discotastic success. It brought together the extravagance and glamour from the iconic seventies, combined with jungle exoticness that the green foliage provided.

• PHOTOGRAPHY & PLANNING - Boho Chic Weddings
• BRIDAL HEADPIECE & PLANNING - Glorious by Heidi
• BRIDE’S DRESS - Charlie Brear
• BRIDAL SALON - The White Closet
• STYLIST - Emily K Weddings
• FLORALS - Sam Williams
• HAIR & MAKEUP - Jen Eachus Bridal Hair and Make Up
• SWEETS & CAKE - Marie Antoinette Cakes
• LIGHTING - Love Lights the Way
• MENU - Extra Special Touch
• VOTIVES - Savon Claire
• VENUE - Castlefield Rooms
• CEREMONY OFFICIANT - Sarah Jayne Hall
• INVITATIONS & STATIONERY - PaperCutt