Freemason's Hall, Greater Manchester

The Freemason's Hall is a magnificent building set in the heart of Manchester City Centre on Bridge Street. From the outside, the venue looks a little grubby, but once you get past the reception desk you realise that this is a gem of a building. We got married there on 26th August 2006 and I can honestly say that the venue and staff were fantastic.

The food was absolutely delicious and many of our guests commented that when attending a wedding, they don't always expect to get good food especially because there are so many people to serve, but the food here was gorgeous. We opted for the £18.50 per head three course meal which is fantastic value. We had Tomato and Basil Soup with bread rolls for starters, followed by lamb in Rosemary Jus, fresh (and they WERE fresh) Market Vegetables, and Roast Potatoes for our main course, and Strawberry Vacharane for dessert. EVERYTHING about the food was fantastic.

We used the Derby suite which is on the "ground" floor. It's actually up several steps which I imagine would be a problem for disabled users or those having difficulty with steps, and the bar area again was up a flight of stairs. Although it didn't inconvenience us, I felt as though our guests were somewhat spread out a lot of the time.

For my entrance into the Main Hall for the ceremony I decided to come down the spiral staircase. To get into the building without being seen by any of the guests or my waiting groom, I had to make my way upstairs via the staff stairs and corridors. These were a tad dirty and my dress had to be squeezed through several tight spots and hooked up around my waist to avoid getting it dirty!

The duty manager on my wedding day was incredibly helpful throughout. He had a thorough knowledge of what I wanted for my day and it was coordinated very well on their part.

For our photographs as there is no outdoor space aside from a small rooftop garden, we decided to make the short journey round to a small but intimate park area at the bottom of St. John Street/ Byrom Street which served us very well for our confetti and outdoor photographs.

All in all, I thought the venue, staff and food were fantastic.