Summer Wedding Photography at Norton Grange Hotel

As a wedding photographer, my style is a mix of informal documentary coverage and relaxed and fun portraits, and this summer wedding at Norton Grange was a perfect time for some great wedding photography.

The grounds aren’t immediately apparent as a backdrop for natural photos during the wedding reception. Still, there are many areas to use, and the outdoor area is an excellent space for the guests to mix in the lovely fresh air and flattering natural light. I loved capturing some great wedding photos of the couple in the gardens and paths of this gorgeous wedding venue.

Bride in striking sunset pose at Norton Grange Hotel

The Mercure Norton Grange Hotel and Spa

The Mercure Norton Grange Hotel and Spa, to give it its full and somewhat wordy title, is actually a lovely venue for a wedding in Greater Manchester. What it lacks in gardens, it makes up for with warm and friendly staff, good food and well-run weddings. Ok, technically, it is in Castleton, Rochdale, but they count it as Manchester.

There are two wedding rooms to choose from for your civil ceremony: the Hopwood Suite and the Springhill Suite.

Josie and Michael

Josie is a dance teacher, which explains some of the shots below. When talking to her on the phone before the wedding, I said I was looking forward to a unique first dance. Josie politely told me that wasn’t going to happen. She spends every day dancing and intends to keep her first dance simple. I was in for a dancing surprise; I’ll get to that later.

On the special day, the weather was beautiful, though the light was hard. The guys all had their shades, though, so they looked cool. I quickly looked around the venue and got ready for wedding photography.

Josie and her bridesmaids had two adjoining suites for the bridal prep, which they put to good use even if it was hectic. I said hi to the ladies and got some shots of them having their make-up done by the make-up artist.

Then I went and found Michael and his groomsmen. They were all in the bar… To be fair to them though, they were getting ready there.

I got a few shots, then headed back to Josie as I knew that she was doing a reveal for her dad.

The Ceremony

One lovely moment in the ceremony was Josie and Michael’s two young boys coming down the aisle. They had been provided with bubble guns and had a whale of a time shooting everyone.

Jodie had asked me to capture their first kiss from the front with their guests in the background. I cleared this with the registrar before the ceremony, then nailed the shot.

The rest of the day went really smoothly, and we got all the shots Josie had requested, along with many documentary images. The dance surprise I mentioned earlier was the father and daughter dance. It was no slow rocking side to side on the dancefloor. It was a high-energy dance to Baggy Trousers by Madness and a fitting end to a brilliant day.