Styal Lodge is a premium wedding venue, nestled in the picturesque National Trust Village of Styal, in the beautiful Cheshire countryside. We first encountered the team, through an introduction from our friend, client and wedding photographer extraordinaire, Jonny Draper – more coming up about Jonny, as we are currently working on the latest iteration of his website. When we first met them, over ten years ago, the owners of Styal Lodge wanted a new look for their website, which would more reflect where they were positioned in the world of weddings. The brief was to showcase the potential of the unique venue, through the spectacular photography they had access to, and to provide an inspirational – and aspirational – representation of the Lodge.
The website has developed and grown and changed over the years, as we continue to work with the team. Like the venue itself, they understand the importance of tweaking and refreshing their online presence and ensuring that the website is always up to date, contemporary in style and with the ease of use for potential brides and grooms, high up on the agenda. Text has been pared back, ensuring that what is essential is clear and unambiguous, but then via the Contact Page, a number of options are offered to provide more detailed information and guidance. Subtle pop-ups are added to the website when an Open Day, for example, is scheduled – we do these additions so that we can guarantee that the design of the pop-ups is compatible with the site, as a whole, and ensure that once the event is over, they are removed.
The whole website is a visual treat – not only because of the photography, but because of the more subtle elements, such as typography, colour palette, flow of site. It is uncluttered and unfussy, meaning that the visuals speak for themselves. It is simple in design, but elegant and without some of the over the top flourishes, which often put in multiple appearances on wedding related websites.
if you’re looking for a similar online experience, what next?
If you are reading this blog, you’ve found our website, so hello. We would strongly recommend that your next step should be to scroll through our other blogs and look at our portfolio. Looking at one website we’ve done, even if you love it, really isn’t enough to decide if we are who you are looking for. We are very honest in our blogs, because we like this quality. We like to explain our processes, decisions, thoughts. We like you to know what we like – and what we don’t like. We most definitely want you to know that we aren’t based in West Didsbury, in the North West of England any more. We moved seven years ago, to northern Istria, just over the Italian border into Croatia, to live a life which would be in a warmer climate and less stressful than city living, giving us the opportunity to be more creative. We have retained our UK client base and continue to work only with UK clients. Taking on European clients would just complicate our business model, and as most of our clients come via word of mouth or recommendations, or sometimes by someone reading something like this, we’ve decided that we are more than happy with the way we do business. As we think are our clients, as they are a very loyal bunch, some of whom we’ve been working with for fifteen years, when we started out.
If you’d like to discuss a project with us, you can complete the contact form right here on our website, or if you’d prefer to have an initial chat, just call me on 0161 445 7759. (We still have our Manchester number, for ease and it’s now ported to my mobile, so I’m generally always available to take a call).
We very much look forward to hearing from you, if you think that we might just tick your boxes.