The Ivy
A FUN, INTIMATE, CIVIL WEDDING IN THE CITY FINISHING AT THE IVY BIRMINGHAM FOR A BEAUTIFUL ART DECO CELEBRATION
When Darren and Michael first got in touch with me regarding their wedding in Birmingham City Centre, I was so happy – they were planning a relaxed, stylish wedding with an intimate ceremony, visits to various city pubs and ending up at The Ivy Birmingham for an elegant meal. Darren and Michael seemed like the loveliest people and I couldn’t wait to shoot their wedding!
Getting ready
I turned up at Darren & Michael’s house, where the grooms were getting ready, it was a lovely relaxed atmosphere. I met Finn, their little Boarder Terrier who was all dressed up for a family photo shoot before we headed over to the ceremony, he looked so cute.
The guys both wore a tailor made suits from Moss Bros, they looked so cool & sophisticated. Their shoes were hand made from Loakes, shirts tailored by Tywhitt, the cologne Darren wore was Chanel Egoist & Mike wore Aqya De Parma-Oud.
The ceremony- Birmingham Register Office Wedding
The wedding ceremony took place at the Birmingham Register Office in the city centre. It was a intimate affair with just close friends & family. The ceremony was emotional, which brought pretty much everyone to tears. After the ceremony the happy couple were showered with confetti, and then the afternoon celebrations began.
The afternoon – Pub Crawl Wedding
We all set off on a little pub crawl around the canal side of Birmingham. First we went to 52 Gas street, where we had a warm welcome from the staff with glasses of fizz around. The manager took us to a lovely room at the back of the pub. He thought would make a great background for some photographs of the guys together. It was also a chance to take some relaxed photographs of Darren & Michael chatting & having a laugh with their guests. The next stop was the Gin Vault. A quaint cellar bar on the canal side, where the quests sampled a selection of gins! As we walked to the next bar I took loads of relaxed portrait photographs of Daren & Michael in various settings around Birmingham. Taking in some of the sights like the ‘floozy in the Jacuzzi’, the Town Hall and the Cathedral. After our third pub it was time to head to the wedding breakfast venue.
The Ivy – Wedding – Birmingham
The wedding breakfast took place at The Ivy, Birmingham, which is adorned with art deco features. It really is incredible inside, a Photographers dream!
Darren said they chose this venue because they loved The Archer room, a small private room upstairs that can be hired out for functions & events, they loved the Art Deco look. They were inspired to use a peacock theme with the buttonholes, the cake, menus & truffles. Darren said they had an Art Deco theme with a twist. For dinner they had a fancy meal in the gorgeous Archer Room, and it was absolutely delicious. After dinner they made some lovely speeches, with Darren reciting a romantic, ‘tear jerker poem’, then a quiet celebration that lasted into the evening.
The Lovely Couple
Darren and Michael met 7 years ago on line. On New Years Eve 2018 Michael surprised Darren with a book that he had made of all the reasons why he loved him. They had just finished watching the new years celebrations on TV when Michael gave Darren the book. Darren felt emotional reading it & on the last page was the proposal- an image of Michael on one knee asking Darren to marry him!
Some tips from the guys for planning your wedding
‘We only had a year to plan our wedding, talk about what you both want, write down ideas, come up with a plan, look at what you can afford. Remember it’s your day so have what you want don’t follow the herd, have something that the guests might not have experienced before and that they are going to remember.’ They said that their best part of the day was saying their vows & having their photographs taken!
