Having your wedding in a disused swimming pool might not be the obvious choice of venue for most couples, but for Natalie and Liam it was the most perfect setting for their day.
The venue was Victoria Baths in Manchester, a grade two listed building that opened in 1906 and has since been restored. “We had a non-religious ceremony in the Pineapple Room (so named because of the pineapple in the stained glass – it originally housed the Male 1st Class wash baths)”, began the bride. “From there we had a drinks reception in the Turkish restrooms before our wedding breakfast and reception in the Male 2nd Class pool which now has a dance floor!”
Natalie found her unique bridal gown at The Mews in Notting Hill. “I spent over a year trying on dresses that weren’t quite right”, she said, “but as soon as I walked in to The Mews, I knew ‘the one’ was there – and it was. The dress was Flemming by Rime Arodaky.”
Te couple didn’t have a specific theme, but they wanted everything they picked to fit in at the venue. “We had a loose colour scheme and triangles featured in lots of the designs (inspired by the architecture of the baths). The baths has a lot of beautiful green tiles in all shades, so we wanted a colour that would complement our surroundings and so we went for grey with copper details. We wanted it to feel like a modern wedding in an old setting and somehow this seemed to work. Designing and creating lots of things ourselves meant it was totally unique and really reflected our style.”
“We just had the best day from start to finish and we left for our honeymoon straight after the wedding so we remained in a state of bliss for another four and a half weeks!” the bride concluded. “The best thing about planning our wedding was knowing we wanted the same thing right from the outset. It all came together perfectly with the help of friends, family and the companies we’d hired – everyone was brilliant.”
