The secret garden wedding

We get to work in some of the most spectacularly beautiful locations, but the garden we had the privilege of visiting and working in last week (we added chandelier magic to the wedding marquee), is a vision which keeps dancing in our heads, and we wanted to share just a touch of its beauty with you.

A case of no names, no pack drill, we can't reveal its location, nor share some of the vistas which could give away the identity of this extraordinary parkland with woodlands, manicured lawns, traditional formal flower beds, sculptures and touches of whimsy here and there, fields of flowers, orchards, a vineyard, a potting shed we would be proud to call home...and more...but we can share just a touch of what we saw growing and in bloom in but a small pocket of this floral wonderland ... it was all I could do to stop myself from grabbing the flower scissors, get picking and start arranging...so I captured beauty on the end of my iPhone instead.

In flower at the moment are artichokes, tiger lilies and delphinium (literally 2m tall), calla lilies in jewel colours, delicate lace cap hydrangenas, rare breeds of lavenders, dahlias (the most beautiful specimans we think we have ever seen), and more, more, more. We were a tad glad that the massive beds of hellebore were not in flower because that may have been a temptation-to-pick just too hard to resist.

We hope you enjoy the tour through just a little corner of this national treasure.

x

x

artichokes

calla lilies

calla lillies

cosmos

dahlias

dahlias & deplhinium

one of the fields of flowers

lacecap hydrangea

dhalias

tiger lilies & delphinium

tiger lilies & delphinium

Rebecca & Nick - Real Weddings Summer issue 2010/2011. Centennial Parklands Dining.

Form Over Function got married

springtime wedding #1 - ali & sam



bridesmaid bouquet



ceremony backdrop flowers

 No, really, it can't be July since we showered a little picture love our blog's way?!

Ok, promise to make it up to you this week as we play serious catch up on the lovely things we have been up to in the past few months.

We tried to be all 2010 on Friday and do a day in the life of a wedding for Ali & Sam on our facebook page (sneak peeks of which you see here), but the iPhone refused to play when it came to uploading images (and it wasn't us being techno-illiterate promise), so here we are on a chilly, grey Sunday morning in Sydney, blogging instead, and thinking how great it was the sun shone down on such a lovely, lovely couple on Friday when they married under a stunning weeping willow at Centennial Parklands.

And those extremely large ducks you see looking oh so cute as they take a walk through the park with Ali & Sam? Let me tell you, they were tres scary up close and personal when I was setting up the ceremony flowers by the lake (even armed with a candleholder on a stake to gently try to prod them away from me, just in case they got too close, it was scary). But who can blame the proud new parents? There were little ducklings everywhere ('tis Spring after all), and they were just being protective.

Ali + Sam

Proud parent ducks & Sam + Ali

After the ceremony, Ali, Sam and their guests strolled to Centennial Parklands Dining where the wisteria around the restaurant is in spectacular bloom, for a reception that was all about fantastic food, wine, friends and dancing. Ali opted for a classic, and classy, combination of navy & cream for the day, so we dressed the tables with beautiful midnight blue tablecloths, and created centerpieces with a collection of beautiful cream ceramic vases and bowls filled with the best spring has to offer: hyacinth, jonquils, freesia, ranunculus, roses and carnations (now, now don't turn up your nose, they are such a beautiful flower used in massed arrangements like those shown here). Adding her own touch to the tables, Ali used etched silver tin hearts tied off with cream and navy ribbon as the place cards for the guests.

When we arrived towards the end of the night, it was evident no-one wanted to leave. Now we know that's always a good sign of how much fun was being had. We'll share a few more of our happy snaps below, but really look forward to sharing Cameron Bloom's beautiful images in the not too distant future with you. x


cream ceramic bowl with ranunculus and more



navy cloths, cream ceramic vase with spring blooms



hyacinth, jonquils, ranunculus, carnations, roses & more



centennial parklands dining - a spring setting

Centennial Parklands Dining #5 - Table 4, please take your seats

As much as we try to be in denial at Form Over Function, it's winter (to state the obvious), in some ways we should be grateful, for winter is the season that brings kale into glorious bloom in delicious shades of mauve, purple, cream and pale sage green. Who would have thought a relative of the cabbage could look so, so beautiful in a floral arrangement? It's also the season for privet berries to turn deep purple-black, and together with fragrant lavender, roses in mauve hues and lovely, lovely velvety dusty miller, it's a season which gives us the scope to make up gorgeous textural arrangements like the one shown here.

From our hire range we combined delicate beaded votives before each guest, beautiful taupe dupion silk overlays with an aubergine silk organza edge, beaded aubergine napkin rings, menus from our fern stationery range, and we placed a large mirror centerpiece under the flowers and pale aubergine fabric lantern to reflect all that lovely warm glow.

It makes for a cosy and intimate feel, and who could ask for more when it's cold and grey outside, and you wish it wasn't?

Enjoy.

x

Photography by Luke Jarvis.

Centennial Parklands Dining Expo #4 - Table 3, please take your seats

Chocolate is one of our very favourite things. To eat. To smell. And to dress the world with.

And whilst red is a colour traditionally associated with weddings, it's usually a colour introduced via the rose.

Here we've gone for a red wedding look with a twist, pairing it with chocolate, forgoing the roses for the lushness of vanda orchids in a ribbed ceramic vase, and adding a chocolate flower bowl playing host to a sculptural arrangement of succulents and Australian natives, including leucadenron in a gorgeous shade of rhubarb with green stripes.

It's a look that is modern, yet warm, created with items from our hire range. And just as suitable for a corporate event or a private celebration, as a wedding. It's a table setting designed to reflect the season of winter or autumn.

Table numbers are calligraphied and showcased in leather frames. Burnished red vases in chic modern shapes and finishes are at the centre of tables laid with silken chocolate overlays.

This is a recreation of a wedding we styled in May for a couple at Centennial Parklands Dining who wanted their celebration to feel warm from the moment guests walked in. And it did - from the glow of the candles and lanterns, to the shades of the vases, flowers and succulents.

It's always a good idea to consider the time of year your celebration is being held when your thoughts turn to styling. The sky won't fall in if you opt for a white and green theme for an August wedding or event, but it's a cooling combination, and the venue, and your guests, will feel instantly warmer if you turn to tones which might include burnished red, camel, chocolate, cream, latte, aubergine, burnt orange, rust, copper, bronze (and most definitely not all at once). Still have your heart set on green and don't want to let it go? No need to, but consider adding some chocolate to the mix.

Enjoy. x

Photography by Luke Jarvis.

 

Centennial Parklands Dining Expo #3 - Table 2, please take your seats

For those of you in Sydney, hasn't it been wonderful to see the sun again? Even if the air temp was frigid? Almost looked like spring, so long as you were all cosy inside, looking out.

Since we can see the dark and rainy clouds gathering on the horizon heading our way already, we thought we'd make it keep feeling like spring for just a little longer. At least in our virtual world.

Cream and navy is such a classic, beautiful combination. Mother of pearl beaded napkin rings on cream napkins. A nest of sweet vases and candleholders in different heights, textures and hues of cream, at the centre of a table laid with a midnight blue cloth. Fragrant, soft arrangements of erlicheers and jonquils. A candle aglow before each guest. All available from our hire depot.

Simple, lovely, a case of less is more.

Enjoy.

x

Photography by Luke Jarvis.

Centennial Parklands Dining Expo #2 - Table 1, please take your seats

We thought we'd warm up the early part of the working week with a look at how we put together this elegant look for the open night we styled at Centennial Parklands Dining.

Now as you can see here, having a vintage, classic or elegant feel for your wedding day does not mean having to necessarily go all girly (and it would also be perfect for a special private or corporate dinner party).

We think this look is a perfect option for a couple looking for a vintage feel that is feminine and romantic, yet has touches designed to not make the men in the room feel like they don't belong there.

From Form Over Function's hire range we hit the shelves to chose beautiful black linens featuring a taupe tassel motif, a large round mirror for the centre of each table to reflect all that warm glow, and then gathered a collection of chic glass candle sticks in three different heights, antique mirror finish candleholders, some with delicate crystal detail, and small arrangements of delectable antique roses (all real). Matching napkins -- only this time taupe with the black tassel motif - are held in place by silver picture frame napkin rings featuring the guest's name to complete the look, along with embossed menus from our stationery range.

One of the lovely things about this look is its adaptability: want less black? Forgo the overlays, and use just the napkins. Want a bit more white? Forgo the taupe napkins and substitute some beautiful white damask ones from our linen hire range.

Instead of the candle aglow in the antique mirror finish hurricane, we could do a large arrangement of flowers for you instead. Instead of antique roses, the flowers that would work in with this look could also include peonies, david austen roses, sweet pea, hydrangea, hellebore, carnations (now, now don't snicker, they actually look beautiful when arranged in a tight, low mass), baby's breath (ditto, truly), julia roses, freesias, violets, lily of the valley. To name a few. But definitely not all at once!

We'd love to hear your thoughts: what do you think of this styling?

More lovely images from the very, very talented Mr Lucas Jarvis, tomorrow.

Enjoy. x

Centennial Parklands Dining Expo #1 - Ten looks, which to choose?

We have to admit we're feeling just a little bit fluffy around the edges at FOF headquarters today after spending a wonderful evening at one of our very favourite venues in Sydney (fantastic food, stunning parklands setting, beautiful room, great staff, what's not to love), meeting lots of happy brides and grooms-to-be checking out Centennial Parklands Dining for their day (and it's not because we were the ones sipping champagne!)

[And for those who attended how yum were the bocconcini, cherry tomato & basil on lavosh, the blue swimmer crab, with apple & celeriac remoulade & roe, the Thai beef salad with Szechaun pickled cucumber, the cured ocean trout & fennel tartlet with eucalyptus honey and last but so, so not least, the miniature sticky meringues with fresh cream & raspberry compote?]

Now it's not every day we get to style ten different events in the one venue at the same time, so the team embraced the challenge with gusto, and although we are in the midst of winter (and a damn chilly one at that), we worked to bring summer, spring, autumn and winter to the venue all at once. As well as a wedding cake, dessert & lolly station that would have disappeared within the hour if one of our trusty assistants, Sam, had not been there to stand guard (in a lovely, smiling way of course).

And whilst the night was designed to make it easy for couples to find everything from a DJ and celebrant, to a stylist (that's us) to put their own individual stamp on their wedding day, some of the designs we came up with would work just as beautifully for a special dinner or lunch, be it for a corporate or private celebration.

When we launched into the blogosphere earlier this year, we promised we would offer a behind the scenes look at what we do and how it comes together, so over the next couple of weeks, we will be sharing lots of beautiful images captured by the very, very talented Mr Lucas Jarvis, of last night's showcase at Centennial Parklands Dining, and walking you through the whys and wherefores of each design.

But here's a sneak peek at some of the lovely images you have to look forward to.

Enjoy.

x