Having your family as a big part of the day can make a wedding extra special. For today’s gorgeous couple, capturing their daughters’ excitement made the day beyond magical! I love the photos from Dorset photographer Libra Photographic at Helthfelton House – it’s a new venue for us, and one I think looks stunning!

Lauren & Jonathan have written some amazing reviews for their wedding suppliers, especially for their wedding photographer and make up artist – do keep scrolling if you’re planning a wedding in the south west and looking for brilliant suppliers because we have them right here!

Wedding photographer’s website

Libra Photographic https://libraphotographic.co.uk/

Wedding photographer review

Choosing a photographer isn’t a decision we made lightly. We were looking for someone that we liked artistically, but also on a personal basis. You spend so much time with your photographer on your wedding day, and they witness/capture some really intimate moments. We wanted someone that we trusted to produce beautiful images of our day, so that it was forever frozen in time.

We wanted to capture the natural shots, but also have someone who could guide us through the posed ones. We met Nathan at a wedding fayre, and instantly liked him. We continued to look around though, because as I said, this wasn’t a choice we made lightly! However, no one matched up to Nathan.

Nathan was impeccable from the day we first met him all the way to the end. We had several postponements due to covid, and Nathan was gracious and understanding throughout. We had an engagement shoot with him, where he was happy to include our children, and these came out beautifully. We knew in this moment we had made a great choice.

Fast forward to on the day, Nathan was much more than a photographer. He kept me informed on timings throughout the day, and what was happening next – without your phone or watch it’s all a bit of a blur! He even whipped out a lighter and lit the candles on our cheese ‘cake’ table as someone had forgot! Nathan was patient when we needed him to be, he was bubbly and enthusiastic with our guests – in fact we had many comments from guests about how great our photographer was! Nothing was too much trouble. Nathan even managed to spot a rainbow, and grabbed us for one of my favourite shots of the day! I will treasure our photos forever.

Your best wedding moment or memory

The quiet moments where it was just us. We did three solo shoots over the day with our photographer, Nathan, and these were honestly some of my favourite moments. It was just us, soaking up the day and being happy in the moment.

Tell us anything you did differently – we love hearing about NEW traditions (or none at all!)

Our ‘wedding cake’ was a cheese stack! One of my favourite decisions!

Venue name + review

Hethfelton House – Shelley was our coordinator from day one. We booked our venue back in 2018 for the wedding to take place in the summer of 2020. The venue had a two year wait, as they only do a few weddings a year, but really thought the venue was worth the wait!

Unfortunately due to the pandemic, our wedding was cancelled. With two reschedules, we finally had our day in the summer of 2023 – 5 years later! Shelley was amazing throughout this whole time. Being extremely courteous and understanding over the pandemic with having to postpone several times. She was always happy to answer any queries via email, and even sorted the bar out for us!

One of the reasons we loved the venue, besides its beautiful surroundings and regal house, was because we could choose all of our own suppliers. This was extremely important for us as we wanted Thai food for the wedding breakfast. Sheet liaised with our suppliers leading up to the day, and everything felt very organised. The day itself ran very smoothly, and everything felt very taken care of. We will treasure Hethfelton House in our hearts forever.

Tell us a little about your outfits – both of you!

My beautiful wedding was from Minster Bridal Boutique, and designed by Martina Liana. This felt like fate, as Martina is an Australian designer and we have always wanted to move there! We spent 2 months travelling around Australia together, so it just felt perfect. Jonathan’s suit was from NEXT. I was on the look out for quite a particular colour, and the one we chose was perfect.

Dress or suit shop name + review

Minster Bridal Boutique – Very professional throughout the process. I liked that they picked dresses out for you to try, and then would pick out more based on your feedback. Wedding dress shopping can feel overwhelming, and they know what dresses look like on!

Florist name + review

Edwards Flowers – They really took the time to hear what we wanted, and everything turned out perfectly. Just as I imagined. I would highly recommend.

Cake maker name + review

Renoufs – We had a cheese stack as our ‘cake’. They were great! They let us take away some samples to try, and then when we chose our favourites, they were really easy to communicate with. Everything was as we wanted and the cheese is as delicous!

Stationery maker’s name + review

I did my own!

Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?

I decorated the arch with faux flowers. I created the seating plan with a multi picture frame – I loved how this turned out! I got handy with my cricut and created all of the place names, and personalised gifts for my bridesmaids. I designed and printed out invites, and menus on the day. I created a newspaper informing guests of our day, and little facts about us.

First dance song? Playlist recommendations?

A million dreams – Pink

Hair + makeup name + review

Makeup – Olivia Sharp
If I could give Olivia 100 stars then I would!

Olivia just has this gentle and calm presence that puts you at ease. I had an amazing experience with Olivia from the first moment I reached out to her via social media, she responded so quickly and was extremely professional, yet very friendly. I booked a trial and felt I was really listened to the whole time, we went through swatches of colour for the eye makeup and discussed in detail the ‘look’ I was going for. Unfortunately I had a bad experience prior to this with a trial so I was extremely anxious. Olivia made me feel so calm and I trusted her instantly. I looked in the mirror at the end of the trial and cried – I couldn’t believe how amazing I felt. On the day of the wedding, Olivia arrived at the pre agreed time and was super prepared. She did my make up, my bridesmaids, and my mums. Everyone looked incredible. Olivia went above and beyond, and even helped me put on my earrings and necklace, whilst my daughter needed feeding, to ensure I was ready in good time. I hope Olivia knows how much that meant to me. Honestly, if you are thinking of booking or having a trial then don’t hesitate. I would recommend Olivia to everyone.
Hair – SLA Couture Hair – I loved my hair on the day, along with my bridesmaid and mum! Everything lasted really well, and it was all exactly as I had asked for!