Styal Lodge Wedding Photography | Kerry and James
Kerry and James
STYAL LODGE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY
Styal Lodge Estate - An idyllic setting for a whimsical wedding
Styal Lodge is a purpose built estate designed to host special events and intimate cheshire weddings. This contemporary lodge is a family run, bespoke wedding venue giving exclusive access to newlyweds wishing to spend their day with their nearest and dearest.
Situated on part of the golf club estate, you can put away your wedge and occupy it with a glass of champagne and a handful of confetti as you spend the day in this fantastic, rustic lodge.
I met Kerry in the morning, who was sat in the mirror having her hair done. Guests were soon to arrive from hotels nearby, and so the excitement was certainly beginning to build up! Kerry had her bridesmaids carrying out little jobs to prepare for the day, such as setting out the party games outside and also signposts for guests to follow when they arrived.
The great thing about Styal Lodge is that everything is under one roof, with the preparation rooms, ceremony room, wedding breakfast room and also kitchen all under the same roof. Accommodation is only a drive stroke away over the courtyard for family and guests to stay which is very handy. This, combined with the fantastic team and wonderful catering team at Top Table make Styal Lodge a quality Cheshire wedding venue.
Both mothers of bride and groom were busy preparing a stick tack board telling guests to party! which was a lovely touch. Due to the pandemic Kerry and James’ wedding had to be rescheduled and so the wedding party had waited patiently for this day to come around - and “party!” they would!
A heartfelt, emotional ceremony at Styal Lodge
The guests had soon arrived and congregated in the entrance to the lodge. After all the meeting and greeting with the groom and his family, everybody took their seats for our Bride to walk slowly down the elegantly dressed floral aisle.
The ceremony itself was very emotional with some great bursts of humour thrown in. You could tell how much this meant to Kerry and James who performed their nuptials in front of their closest friends and families at the top of the lodge.
The ceremony was conducted by Your Ceremony who made sure everything ran smoothly whilst also being very relaxed and reassuring while I told the story of their wedding in photographs. It was soon on to the first kiss as everybody applauded before Kerry and James were to head up the aisle one last time as newlyweds for their processional.
We were then outside as everybody was ‘at the ready’ with handfuls of confetti. There were some lovely moments as the two of them were completely showered in autumnal coloured leaves coming out of the entrance.
Styal Lodge has some lovely areas for portraits, and so once we had photographed our group shots we jumped straight into a golf club buggy and headed for the lake; the ideal, picturesque backdrop for pictures of the bride and groom together.
Top Table Catering; a lavish, delectable menu of delicious food
The fantastic team at Top Table events and catering looked after us and catered to the needs of the wedding party throughout the day, delivering a varied menu of tasty canapés fresh from the kitchen to guests during the afternoon.
We were soon into the speeches which were hilarious and embarrassing (to Mark) in equal measures! Our groom’s best men had pulled up some old photos and videos from facebook and instagram to really put him on the spot!
We were then into our first dance before partying the night away with South-West band!
“Stephen, Thank you so so much for all of these wonderful photographs! I cannot look at them without crying as you have captured the day perfectly! We cannot thank you enough for how wonderful you were on the day as many of our guests commented on how polite and kind you were and since seeing your photographs they were blown away by your framing and artistic style! We honestly couldn’t be happier that we went with you. You are genuinely a lovely guy through and through and have given us the gift of capturing our day in the most spectacular way possible.”
Twilight wedding festoon photograph
Before leaving I just had to get a night lit portrait of Kerry and James in the gardens of Styal Lodge. My idea was to frame them using the festoon bulbs which light up the seating areas in the gardens. The sun and so making use of the minimal twilight wedding light available, I used a flash to light up Kerry and James from behind, and a mirror underneath to frame them both perfectly.
I had a brilliant time photographing Kerry and James’ wedding here at Styal Lodge. If you like my style of photography and are currently looking for a wedding photographer, please feel free to drop me a message.
Styal Lodge weddings photographed by Stephen McGowan. If you are getting married and looking for a natural wedding photographer then please get in touch to discuss more.
Supplier List
Dress: Brides of Cheadle Dress by: Essence of Australia
Make Up: Jade Ford
Suits: Marc Darcey
Venue Dressing: Special Day Events
Flowers: Flowers by Jemma Holmes
Cake: Piece a’cake
Ceremony: Your Ceremony
Catering: Top Table
Videographer: The April Frames
Band: The Wonderfolk
Cheese Cake: The Cheese Hamlet
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Weddings at Styal Lodge
Wedding days at Styal Lodge are all under one roof. As an exclusive venue, it means that this rustic lodge is yours for the day, with preparation, ceremony room and wedding breakfast room all being catered for by the very helpful and friendly staff and catering teams on hand to see to your every need. This bespoke, unique wedding venue will give you the opportunity, along with their help, to create your perfect wedding day exactly as you would wish it to be.
When it comes to drinks and dancing, Styal Lodge can cater to various party sizes. The bar is dedicated to serving you and your guests with a drinks menu offering of ales, gins and spirits to really get the party started. Styal Lodge also has full facilities for a DJ or live band making this venue the consummate rustic lodge for your special day. Wedding photography at the venue is a dream, alongside the committed family team there to help as much as possible to make your day as magical as it can be.
Staying over after the Wedding
Styal Lodge is set in the peaceful National Trust village of Styal, Being so close to Wilmslow and also Manchester airport, there are plenty of affordable accommodation choices to look into, such as The Stanneylands Hotel in Wilmslow, or alternatively there’s the Radisson Blu and Hilton Doubletree at Manchester Airport, all with good reviews and a low cost, keeping prices down for your travelling guests.
ARE YOU GETTING MARRIED?
If you or someone close to you are getting married and want to have a chat regarding your day, why not drop me a message to chat about your wedding
Photography Information
Photographs were taken using a Canon 5D Mkiii camera, a Canon 6D camera and a selection of lenses (mainly the 24mm-70mm series ii 2.8L, 70-200 F4.0, a wide angle lens 17mm-40mm F4.0) and two Canon 600EX-RT flashes to maintain consistant exposure in light and dark conditions and also for night time flash photography for images with contrast. A Canon 100mm F2.8 macro lens was used for close up details for the wedding photography.