Manchester Marriage

Don't you just love it when visiting a place you happen upon a marriage like I did with this one in Manchester.  They had chosen the Neo-Gothic magnificence of Manchester Town Hall to plight their troth. All the guests have boarded the motorised transport and all that is left is for the bride and groom to join them.

The photographs have all been taken including the 'kissing the bride', or in the pursuit of equality maybe it is 'kissing the groom'.

Now everyone is off to what is traditionally called the wedding breakfast, although as can be seen from the shadows the time is around 17.00. The bus is one of my all time favourites, a 1951 Leyland Royal Tiger and both it and the Guy Arab IV double decker shown in the first photo were restored by the expertise of Manchester's Walsh Brothers and are owned by Belle Vue Coaches

Manchester Town Hall was designed by Alfred Waterhouse and completed in 1877 and has many notable sculptures.  I think the marriages take place in the Great Hall outside which on the floor are mosaic patterns of bees (symbolising industry). The other pieces of magnificence inside are Ford Madox Brown's Manchester Murals.  I didn't get a full on photograph of the Town Hall but happily the building featured  on one of the 2012 "A-Z of Britain" postage stamps

The 250 ft Clock Tower is occasionally opened to visit. The three clock faces seen from Albert Square in front of the Town Hall apparently bear the inscription "Teach us to number our Days" but it's too far away for my myopia.

 An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet this week sojourning at M here

ABC Wednesday - Naval Wedding

I've just done an ABC post thinking that M for Mill would be perfect then (after I had posted) realised that I'd done M for merry-go-round last week so really I should be posting N, doh.  I'm not sure whether this is my short or long term memory cracking up but I've scrambled together some appropriate N for Naval Wedding. Here goes. The White Ensign flies over the church while friends and crew

 present their sword.

 and then cross

 for the bride and groom to appear.

 Babies make an appearance (too cute to miss out) appropriately naval themed.

Everyone moves off and the White Ensign is lowered. Not all naval personnel are in uniform.

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet