A Wedding at Victoria Baths, Manchester: Sixties Mod Style, Vintage Wallpaper and Northern Soul
Caroline wore a sixties shift dress with a beaded high neck and a pearl comb in her hair. Scott wore a slim navy suit with a cream rose in the lapel. By the evening they were dancing to Northern Soul in an Edwardian swimming baths, under strings of bunting. Caroline and Scott’s Victoria Baths wedding was Mod from start to finish, and it suited the building perfectly.
Victoria Baths: a historic swimming baths wedding venue in Manchester
Victoria Baths on Hathersage Road was opened in 1906 by the Lord Mayor of Manchester, who called it a “water palace”. The pools closed to swimmers in 1993, and ten years later the building won the first series of the BBC’s Restoration. It’s Grade II* listed, and today it’s licensed for wedding ceremonies in five spaces, from the Gala Pool to the Turkish Baths Rest Room.
It’s a real treasure of the past: not quite restored to its former glory, but enough that it looks like a piece of history rather than a modern reproduction. In Caroline’s very first email she told us about the venue, and even then we felt it fitted their style perfectly.
From Salford Lads Club to the Baths
We first met Caroline and Scott back in March at Salford Lads Club, for their Smiths-inspired engagement shoot, and we’d been looking forward to their wedding ever since. They both love sixties Mod style, and their day wasn’t about to buck the trend.
The morning had all the right details: gold strappy sandals, champagne in coupes, a bottle of Jack Daniel’s on the side, and brown brogues laced up over bright orange socks. Their ceremony was in a grand wood-panelled room with fluted columns and a marble fireplace, and afterwards guests leaned over a stone balcony to shower them with confetti.
Vintage wallpaper and a seaside photo board
We knew how the Baths looked on their own. Seeing them on the day, decorated beautifully and filled with guests who looked as if they’d stepped out of an old movie, really took our breath away. There was a hand-painted seaside board with two bathers on donkeys, faces cut out for the guests, and silver balloons scattered across the tiled floor.
The building had amazing spots for couple shots, so we were spoilt for choice. Our favourite was some very vintage-looking floral wallpaper, perfect against Caroline’s beaded neckline. We also found a kiss up on the gallery, beside a row of old wooden doors stacked against the glazed brick. Elsewhere hung a 1916 memorial shield ringed with smaller silver shields.
Happy tears and Northern Soul
The speeches brought a few happy tears, Caroline’s included, and plenty of laughter around the tables. Then came the energetic Northern Soul dancing under the bunting, and everything felt in keeping with the theme.
One thing we love about our style of photography is the wonderfully diverse range of weddings it brings us, from churches to tipis and barns to country houses. It would be easy to claim we’ve seen it all, but the truth is that weddings are more individual than ever, and we’re constantly amazed by our couples’ imagination. Caroline and Scott are the perfect example, and we’re proud to have captured their day.
Why we love a wedding at Victoria Baths
If you’re thinking about Victoria Baths, here’s our honest take after Caroline and Scott’s day:
- It rewards a theme. Sixties Mod, seaside kitsch or something all your own: vintage styling looks completely at home here.
- Explore beyond the pools. Old wallpaper, stacked doors, trophies and tiled corridors gave us more portrait spots than we had time for.
- It’s made for dancing. Northern Soul under bunting in a former pool hall takes some beating.
- You can marry there too. It’s licensed for ceremonies in five spaces, from the grand Gala Pool to the smaller Turkish Baths Rest Room.
Planning your own wedding at Victoria Baths?
See more on our Victoria Baths wedding photographer page, browse our Manchester wedding photography and summer weddings, or get in touch to check your date.
