Jonty & Sarah’s timelessly beautiful Lancashire wedding, with Heather Butterworth Photography

Published by Claire Gould on February 11, 2021February 11, 2021

A lovely micro wedding from one of our new English Wedding members, Yorkshire wedding photographer Heather Butterworth. Jonty & Sarah tied the knot (lucky things!) in October, with their closest family present to witness a beautiful intimate ceremony and socially distanced reception. It’s genuinely beautiful – as I’ve said before, human connection is everything right now, and seeing that love isn’t cancelled just means the world to us.

Lovely Jonty and stunning bride Sarah were married at Stanley House Hotel in Lancashire, and give the venue – along with all their other suppliers – a resounding 11/10. Do read Jonty’s full English Wedding interview below for all the scores and more supplier recommendations 😉 All images by Heather Butterworth Photography (naturally, another strong 11/10!)

Wedding photographer’s website

https://www.heatherbutterworthphotography.com/

How did you choose your photographer?

Inevitably research research and more research! So many to choose from, with websites that all look amazing! However, there was something about some of Heather’s pics that really caught my eye and resonated with me. I’ve always been more drawn to natural shots and whilst I appreciate that some wedding pics need to have a ‘pose’ element, I liked the way that Heather had achieved this in her image gallery.
I now know how important it is to get the right photographer- after all, with the exception of my credit card statements and obviously my lovely wife, the only other thing I have are the pictures to look back on!

Were you pleased with your wedding photographer? Do tell… we love a brilliant review!

Pleased….no. ECSTATIC…YES! Heather was discreet throughout and the way the day was captured is nothing short of amazing.
The Photographer is a massive part of a wedding and choosing the right one should not be taken lightly – after all you are entrusting someone to capture the best day of your life that will serve a lifetime of memories..
Heather is an 11 out of 10.

Videographer details if applicable – and any thoughts for other couples about having a wedding video?

So…..I wasn’t overly bothered about having a videographer. My wife logically said that in lieu of the evening reception where we saved a few quid (due to our mate covid and not me being tight!) lets use this service too. I left it for her to decide. The result….apart from saying ‘yes’ to me, I think that’s the next best decision she’s ever made!
Delighted with the video – captures and showcases the day brilliantly. Hours of footage taken but superbly edited in to a wonderful 4 minutes. I think I watched it about 50 times when I first received it and because it is short, sweet and to the point, I have easily forwarded it on to others who couldn’t be there due to the guidelines who have all remarked more on how good the video is….rather than how well I scrubbed up!
James is brilliant at what he does and himself & Heather work so well together.
I now feel that a videographer should be right up there on the wedding priority list – just sacrifice a few people that you didn’t want if it was a financial challenge!!
Probably no surprise….. 11 out of 10!

Tell us about your venue – what made this place special for you?

Stanley House Hotel and Spa, Mellor near Blackburn, Lancashire.
Stunning place, amazing staff with a special shout out to the wonderful Natalie who was our main contact. Communication was fantastic and really couldn’t do enough for us.
Testament to how good a place is….was when all the Covid stuff happened and ‘wedding date one’ was canned and another arranged – not a penny out of pocket despite going from 150 people at the evening reception, to no evening reception.
Top marks – another 11/10

Did you love wearing your outfits? How was the dress / suit shopping experience?

Due to our ages (early 40’s) it was never going to be the big Hollywood wedding with all the regalia. I hired my gear from the Dreamaker in Burnley (excellent and recommended) and Sarah bought a traditional 1920’s dress from Phase Eight.

Did you hire a florist? Tell us about any floral amazingness

No – the whole room was styled and managed by www.creativeevents.company based in Penwortham in Preston and they were brilliant. In truth, we only met them once, told them what we liked and pointed out some ideas from their showroom….and they did the rest. We didn’t hold back – fairy lights, candles, flower bombs, red carpets, ceiling robes etc and we were blown away with what they did. Every guest commented…and the pictures are now even better to look back on.
Another 11/10

Did you hire a wedding planner?

Nope – small affair but if you use the wonderful Natalie at Stanley House, you probably won’t need one!

As cake lovers here at English Wedding we’d LOVE to know who made your cake, and how delicious it was?

Family friend – Mel at Betty Mays in Clitheroe. Loads of experience of wedding cakes from when she worked at large corporate hotels but now runs her own cafe/coffee shop. Design was amazing (cat themed) and the taste was sensational – never in doubt!
Same theme 11/10

Tell us about any special personal touches, or creative projects you made yourselves

Sarah (wife) doesn’t have any immediate family left with us so on her bouquet of flowers, had 3 photos of them hanging from the stalks.

Did you personalise your vows or have any wedding readings? What were they?

We had planned originally planned some vows and readings, but when the national covid restrictions came in to force where we were told that the ceremony has to be reduced to 15 mins, we just did the bare minimum.

What was your first dance song? Why did you choose it?

Ha ha! We wish – no evening reception due to our mate Covid.
At the request of my teenage nieces, we did end up having to do an impromptu tiktok 10 second mime/dance to DJ Shawny’s ‘Go Daddy Go’ – does that constitute a dance?!! If so, it wasn’t very intimate – not when my 73 year old mother ‘bounces’ across the camera!