Jess and Joe married at Sopley Mill, in a charming micro wedding with the loveliest yellow floral styling. The vibe is joyful and the day looks beautiful – as does our gorgeous bride! The rustic elegant vibes are perfect for a smaller wedding. The lovely pair chose Dorset wedding photographer Libra Photographic to capture their day, and they’ve given Nathan a wonderful review below, which has lifted my spirits no end this Wednesday morning!

Joe and Jess’s wedding plans were hugely affected by the pandemic, with 3 postponements and a reduction in guest numbers from 100 to 30 – but they took the opportunity to have a second celebration with all of their guests when restrictions were lifted, and we’re absolutely head over heels with their intimate wedding. Oh! And while you’re here, do check out 20 questions to ask your wedding photographer – it’s a great starting point for choosing your wedding photographer!

 

Wedding photographer’s website

https://libraphotographic.co.uk

How did you choose your Sopley Mill wedding photographer?

We knew that we wanted our photographer to be perfect as the memories and photos would be all we had left after the big day. We wanted to make sure we felt comfortable around our photographer as we spent so much of the day with him.

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

We LOVED our photographer. He was so friendly and instantly put us and all our guests at ease. He has great ideas and it shows in the photos, they are incredible! He captured our day perfectly.

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

Our venue was an old mill, which had so much character and charm..it was beautiful. We were very lucky with the weather and were able to enjoy the outdoor space which was stunning, plenty of nearby fields to use for some amazing photos and landscapes. There was also plenty of room inside for all our guests as it was over 3 floors. We ended up having a smaller number of guests due to covid, however the rooms still felt full. So many quirky spaces to spend intimate moments together and enjoy our day.

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

Shopping for my dress was much easier than I thought it would be. I am very indecisive but found my dress in the 1st shop I went in and only tried on 5 dresses in total! My husband was forced to leave it quite last minute as shops were shut due to covid…but when they did reopen he found his suit very easily and enjoyed the experience more than he thought he would!

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

Yes we used a recommended florist from our venue and she was fabulous. We had a long discussion over the phone where I was able to tell her all my ideas and she gave me plenty of suggestions. We had a flower swing in the gardens and had flowers and fairy lights all down the staircase, and they were exactly how I pictured them in my head.
The bouquets also smelt AMAZING!

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

My sister and mum made our wedding cake. We had a semi naked lemon cake with lemon curd and vanilla icing. It was so yummy!

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

I made all the centre pieces myself using scrabble letters with disney quotes (I’m a big disney fan). I also made all the place names using wooden scrabble letters and magnet strips so the guests could take them home. I also made all my own signs for the day 🙂

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

We chose honey bee by Blake Shelton.
We didn’t want to have a slow song as we didn’t want it to feel awkward with everyone watching so we chose a slightly more upbeat song, which we both loved. We are big country music fans!

How did the pandemic affect your wedding plans? Do you have any advice to share with couples planning their weddings right now?

We hated the pandemic! We had to postpone 3 times in the end and went from over 100 guests to just 30. It made the experience very stressful and I think towards the end it did take some of the enjoyment away.
It did mean we were able to have 2 special days, as we organised our own wedding reception later in the year when it was possible to have unlimited guests.
I would say just try and enjoy it no matter what happens, whatever is meant to be will be!