A WEDDING WITH A DIFFERENCE AT THE NORTHERN MONK BREWERY
IVANA & MARTIN TIE THE KNOT AT THE CHAPTER HALL AT THE NORTHERN MONK BREWERY IN LEEDS.
In October 2023, I headed out to capture the beautiful wedding of Ivana & Martin at The Northern Monk Brewery in Leeds. Here’s their wedding story…
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The wedding venue: Northern Monk Refectory, Leeds
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The lovely couple: Ivana & Martin
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The best bit: the Slovak Folk Ceremony
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The time of year: 6th October 2023
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The weather conditions: VERY windy, some sunshine and some clouds, but no rain
BEER, BRICKS, BRIGHT FLOWERS AND FAIRY LIGHTS
Ivana and Martin chose the Northern Monk Refectory in Leeds as their wedding venue because they both love drinking beer and honestly, who can argue with that? It’s an industrial style wedding venue with exposed brick walls, beer barrels and of course, lots and lots of fairy lights. The room, on the top floor of the brewery, accessed by an impressive staircase which I made sure I put to good use in the photos, was the perfect blank canvas for the couple to put their stamp on, which they did with absolutely gorgeous, brightly coloured flowers complete with sunflowers from @ivyandevebespokeflorists. With windows on both sides, the venue offered some amazing natural light and the bar in the corner created the perfect focal point for the wedding reception, while the other side of the space was used for the ceremony.
A HAND-FASTENING CEREMONY IN RED, WHITE, BLUE AND TARTAN!
And speaking of the ceremony, as Ivana is from Slovakia, their wedding celebrant did their hand fastening with ribbons in the Slovakian colours of red, white and blue to represent the bride and green tartan ribbon to represent the Scottish heritage of the Groom. In a happy accident, I turned up to their wedding wearing a green tartan dress as well so all in all, everything matched perfectly and the groom’s family were very complimentary about my outfit, if you’re reading this, thanks guys!
A LITTLE SHOUT OUT TO ALL THE CELEBRANTS OUT THERE...
Now speaking of celebrants, I’d just like to take a moment to say how much I love weddings with celebrants. Okay it means the wedding ceremony isn’t legal (but you can always do that bit another day), but it does mean it’s incredibly personal. Celebrants really take their time to get to know the couple, and in the case of Ivana and Martin, their celebrant told a really lovely story about them both for their wedding ceremony, which was completely personal, memorable and a great moment to be a part of. I honestly think if traditional wedding vows aren’t your thing, then this is a great way to go.
WINDSWEPT CONFETTI, GROUP PHOTOS, WEDDING PORTRAITS & PART TIME.
After the ceremony it was time to head outside for one of my favourite things to photograph, the throwing of the confetti (which given the very strong winds on the day I have to say, went surprisingly well!) In keeping with the red, blue and white colours of Slovakia, we also took some amazing group wedding photos in front of a navy blue metal container, which really made the red bridesmaid dresses pop, don't you think?
The bride and groom and I then headed off for some wedding portraits, in one of my most unusual locations to date, an industrial style office estate and let me just say, the buildings, architectural staircases and industrial features made for some awesome wedding portraits. Here are just a few of my favourites…
As portraits weren’t a priority for the bride and groom, we didn’t spend too long over this part of their wedding day, and instead we headed back to the reception venue so they could carry on mingling, drinking and enjoying the wedding day with their guests. With people travelling from Slovakia, Scotland and everywhere in between to be there on their big day, as you can imagine, the focus was on catching up and having a good time and they definitely know how to have a good time. After the wedding breakfast, complete with traditional Slovakian biscuit favours (handmade by a family member) and a pork pie wedding cake, it was time for the first dance.
MRS NOON'S DANCEFLOOR DEBUT & MY FIRST MIDNIGHT CEREMONY...
Ivana took to the dance floor in a light pink denim jacket with Mrs Noon written on the back and after that, the fun really started. At 9pm, the midnight ceremony took place (yes, it's okay it didn’t happen at midnight). This is essentially a Slovakian folk ceremony where the bride and groom sat on two chairs, which the wedding guests lifted into the air as the bride and groom each took a shot. Then the groom dances with the female wedding guests, while the bride dances with the male wedding guests. I have to admit, as my first Slovakian midnight ceremony, I am not quite sure I grasped all the meanings behind the tradition but I definitely enjoyed it and I certainly hope it won’t be my last.
After snapping some final photos, in particular of the groom’s absolutely fabulous 90 year old nan who didn’t leave the dance floor from start to finish, it was my time to head off and leave Ivana, Martin and their wedding guests to enjoy the rest of their beautiful brewery wedding reception.
If you like the sound of Ivana and Martin’s wedding day, or better yet, if you love their wedding photos, then let’s talk about your special day.
I'D LOVE TO HEAR ALL ABOUT YOUR WEDDING PLANS - FILL OUT MY CONTACT FORM BELOW TO GET IN TOUCH...
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