The Bluecoat Wedding Photography
Jade & Matthew had their amazingly colourful wedding at The Bluecoat in Liverpool last July. And what a colour explosion it was! Everything from the flowers to the confetti and even Jade’s hair were in keeping with the brief!
I started with Jade and her girls in the morning. She was one of the calmest brides I’ve ever seen! Maybe it’s because she’s a teacher?! From there we made the trip into town. Matthew and the rest of the guests were all waiting in the bar for the ceremony to begin. This was my first full wedding at The Bluecoat. I’d only shot a ceremony there before and I absolutely loved the big ceremony room! With a break in the rain post ceremony we were able to use the garden for drinks and canapés (which were amazing!) Then we explored the rest of the grounds and gallery for photos. We got so many great shots in a short space of time because the venue is quite small yet so versatile. Another bonus is that all the profits from weddings go back into the gallery which is pretty cool!
Anyway, that’s enough from me, here’s Jade to tell you a bit more and to offer some words of advice! There’s also a list of suppliers at the bottom!
Planning a wedding at The Bluecoat
Why did you choose your venue and the time of year you had the wedding?
We are both teachers so the summer holidays seemed perfect for us. We also thought the weather would be good but we had rain in July (great British summer!) So maybe don’t pick the summer for the weather!
The Bluecoat was a venue that I knew about from volunteering there while I was at uni. We didn’t actually know what the rooms looked like or even that it was a certified wedding venue until we went to look around. The thing that sold it to us was just how lovely and helpful the staff were and how open to ideas they were too. The profits from weddings go directly back into the arts organisation so that was really important for us too. It’s a bit of an unusual venue for some but it fitted us perfectly.
What was most important to you when planning your wedding?
Having all of the people we know and love there was the most important. We said we would rather go for a cheaper venue and be able to have everyone we wanted than a pricier venue and have to cut down the guest list.
Oh and also making sure people didn’t go hungry
The food was important to us, that we could have something a bit more laid back so everyone got a decent meal to line the stomachs for drinking!! We had sharing bowls rather than the ‘normal’ meal and were so glad we did.
Was there anything you found particularly stressful and was there anything you’d do differently?
The only thing we found stressful was the Covid related worry of how many guests, people getting Covid before the wedding etc. Everything else was fine as the venue and all of our suppliers were amazing and helped with any advice we needed. I don’t think there’s anything we would do differently other than maybe stocking more tequila at the bar so guests didn’t move on to random shots of Tia Maria
How easy was it finding your suppliers?
We used Instagram to find most of our suppliers. Unfortunately the make up artist I had booked went out of business during Covid so I asked existing suppliers for recommendations. I found the most amazing make up artist as a result. Definitely ask for recommendations from people already in the wedding business – they know best!!
Overall, did you enjoy the planning process?
I’m a bit of an organisation geek and love a good Excel spreadsheet so was in my element!
The finer details
Did you get rid of any of the “traditional” bits of a wedding and if so, why?
We didn’t cut the cake – we put it on the itinerary but we were having a great time dancing and drinking so we just didn’t bother on the day
Also, we chose not to spend ages having photos ourselves as we wanted to spend most of our day with our guests. We got tonnes of gorgeous photos as Emma was brilliant but glad we didn’t miss out on any of the fun!
Did your wedding have a theme or colour scheme and what inspired this?
We just wanted lots of bright colours and a fun, laid back day. We had a bit of a “colour” theme in the end as we were at an art gallery. The table names were Pantone colours and we had bright, colourful flowers and confetti.
What was your favourite part of the day?
During our wedding breakfast we had the lovely Victoria Sharpe playing on piano. Having everyone together in one room, eating, drinking and singing was one of our favourite parts. It was just a lovely atmosphere.
Are there any nuggets of advice you’d love to share with couples planning a wedding now?
One of our neighbours gave us the best piece of advice for the wedding day itself . To make sure we took a small amount of time just the two of us as the day goes so fast. We went and sat outside for a bit together and just took the day in and were so thankful we did.
If you’re planning a wedding at The Bluecoat please
get in touch for more info on having me as your wedding photographer!
Suppliers
Flowers: Karen McGrath
Dress designer: Wtoo by Watters
Dress shop: Flamingo Boulevard Bridal Salon
MUA: So Coco Rouge
Hair stylist: Gemma Louise Hairstylist
Hairband: Rocks For Frocks
Shoes: Irregular Choice
Suit: Peter Posh
Tie & pocket square: Belfast Bow Co.
Cake: Claire Southern Macarons
Cake topper: The Letter Loft
Piano: Victoria Sharpe
DJ: Wedding Jam
Face painting/glitter: Wish Upon A Sparkle
