“If you want a really cool set of pictures taken around red brick Manchester, with the mills and the beauty of all of that it’s brilliant.”Hallé St Peters in Ancoats, set up for a wedding event. The venue was the location for Corrie star Jack P Shepherd’s wedding party with wife Hanni at the weekend.(Image: Halle St Peters)

When word got out of a big Coronation Street wedding taking place in Manchester last weekend, many assumed the star-studded celebrations would be held at one of the city’s luxurious five star hotels.

But Corrie legend Jack P Shepherd and his partner Hanni Treweek chose a hidden gem venue instead – in the achingly cool Ancoats district of the city.

For the happy couple chose Hallé St Peters, the former church at the heart of Ancoats that was transformed in 2013 into the rehearsal and events space for the city’s Hallé Orchestra.

Jack and Hanni hosted their film-themed wedding breakfast at the venue, organised by Manchester’s Taylor Lynn Corporation, after bussing their family and friends over after their marriage ceremony at Manchester Cathedral.

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They have since described their special day as “wedding of our dreams”.

Jack and Hanni got married in Manchester last weekend(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)

As the principal use of the desconsecrated church is now for the orchestra to rehearse, it’s only available on selected dates through the year for public events, although they host around 15 weddings a year.

The celebrations of Corrie star Jack and Hanni have been the venue’s most high profile wedding to date though, with soap fans loving all the photos posted by Corrie stars and famous friends at Hallé St Peters last weekend.

Hosting weddings and events at the venue helps to support the Hallé Concerts Society, which is a not-for-profit organisation, and its community work.

So anyone choosing to hold a wedding there is also doing their bit to contribute back to Manchester’s cultural life too.

Halle St Peters in Ancoats was the location for the Corrie wedding party(Image: Halle St Peters)

Hallé Venues Director Martin Glynn said that Jack and Hanni already knew of the venue before they enquired about holding their wedding there.

Martin said: “They lived in Ancoats for a while so they knew the venue well.

“Anyone in Cutting Room Square when a wedding is on will see brides coming in and the confetti coming out. For a lot of our clients the fact it is so central is why they love it, it’s not a country house, it’s something that fits a specific set of tastes.

“But if you want a really cool set of pictures taken around red brick Manchester, with the mills and the beauty of all of that, it’s brilliant for it.”

Around 15 weddings a year are held inside the main space at Halle St Peters(Image: Halle St Peters)

It’s also been used in Coronation Street scenes before too – also with a wedding theme. The scenes involved Kym Marsh’s character Michelle Connor as she was looking for a wedding venue in the soap back in 2018.

The venue underwent a major refurbishment and extension to incorporate The Oglesby Centre opening in 2019, but was forced to close almost as soon as it opened due to Covid.

Martin says: “It’s still a bit of a hidden gem, because for that first year and a half after we opened it was all socially distanced.

The Victoria Wood Hall at Halle St Peters is used for choir rehearsals but can be hired for events(Image: Halle St Peters)

“We now do about 15 weddings a year, but the principal use of the building is not as an events space, it’s to service our orchestra’s rehearsal needs. So it makes it quite an exclusive place for weddings as we don’t have that many dates we can do.

“I always say to clients who come here, we do weddings frequently enough to know what we’re doing, but not enough to take them for granted – every event is bespoke.

“But we’re not for profit, so everything that comes in helps to pay for the organisation and our community work. There’s a nice ecology in that.”

The Grade II listed former church in Ancoats(Image: Halle St Peters)

Hire of Halle St Peters starts from £5,500 + VAT, but each package is bespoke.

The venue holds a full Premises Licence and a Wedding Ceremonies Licence for civil ceremonies.

You can get married in the former church space, while the Victoria Wood Hall (named after the comedy legend who was formerly the Halle Children’s Choir Patron) is on the first floor which is often used for drinks receptions, and the main hall can then be converted for wedding breakfast and evening receptions.

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