industrial wedding at Northern Monk Refectory, Leeds
Hey world! If you’re reading one of my blogs for the first time, I’m Steph. I’m a wedding photographer living in Birmingham! I capture bad ass wedding all over the UK and today’s blog is in one of my fave cities, Leeds. I love Leeds! The people; The bars; The food; The scene, Leeds is just a happy city to be in! So when I got to capture an awesome wedding in one of the coolest venues in Leeds, I totally did a happy dance!
Today’s blog is featuring a wedding I shot back in 2019! It’s a bloody good one and I hope it will inspire all you DIY industrial wedding couples out there!
A Piss Up At A Brewery! The official hashtag for Ben & Bethan’s wedding, how awesome is that folks?!?
A mutual friend recommended me to Ben & Bethan. We met up at an amazing pizza joint in Leeds and we instantly hit it off! Doesn’t take much, if you like a good craft beer or cocktail; food; animals and just being your awesome self, then we are going to get on like a house on fire!
Ben and Bethan are both teachers in the Leeds area and from my experience, you teachers have the best party weddings, and this pair didn’t disappoint! They wanted a relaxed wedding where they could just hang out with all their faves, getting merry and have a bloody good party. What better place to do this in Leeds, than at a brewery, not just any brewery, Northern Monk Refectory?
Northern Monk Refectory in Leeds is THE wedding venue for all you lovers of craft ales and industrial vibes. This venue has you sorted and is in the heart of Leeds!
Ben & Bethan actually did the legal stuff a few days before their wedding day at Leeds registry office. On their wedding day, they decided to have their nearest and dearest sing during their blessing, having friends in a barbershop quartet is pretty handy for this! Then they had family and friends do speeches and do the blessing for them. I absolutely loved this! It was so personal and filled with so much joy! I recommend all couples planning a city or industrial to look into this idea!
Bethan looked a bohemian dream in her flower crown and gorgeous dress from Asos… yes you read correctly, ASOS! Whenever I choose to post a photo from this wedding on my Instagram, everyone comments on how awesome the dress is!
When it comes to styling the room, they kept it simple and gorgeous. Using wildflowers and incorporating hops to tie in with their awesome wedding venue. They had to make sure to leave plenty of room for their guests to sit and chat, drink beer and eat amazing food, especially pie from Pie Eyed!
The speeches were short and super fun! Ben and Bethan love cryptic crosswords and it turns out this love was inherited from the parents. Ben’s mom created a fun and sweet critic crossword in her speech. Ben’s mom was a tough act to follow, but Ben pulled it out the bag with a special message from Bethan’s favourite sportsman, Geraint Thomas! Husband points right there!
After speeches it was time to clear the room and have a quick wander down into Northern Monk’s distillery! Yep, I got to go into Leeds best brewery’s distillery, don’t be too jealous! It was so much fun for their couple photos. Ben and Bethan didn’t really want any couple photos, but when I suggested using the awesome distillery, they were totally game!
The party was… AMAZING! Bethan is a bride of many talents as she grabbed the microphone with her sister and joined her dad’s band for a song! I mean, how friggin’ sweet is that?!? Once Bethan put the microphone down, it was time to party!
I got to photograph my first ceilidh! It was so much fun and scary at the same time, being in the middle of all the guests swinging each other around, yep that was scary! haha
This industrial wedding in Leeds was amazing… AMAZING! Which is why i’m sharing it with you all again! Ben and Bethan are truly inspiring, having their wedding their way and having the best party with all their loved ones! This is how it’s done folks!
So if you’re looking for an awesome industrial wedding venue in Leeds, then definitely check out Northern Monk Refectory!
