Centennial Parklands Dining Expo - Tables #3 - It's not just about the bride

Now we have to reveal, it doesn't happen very often, but we think it's lovely when it does: a couple meet with us and ask for their wedding to be styled in a way that reflects both of them, in colours they both love, with touches both feminine and masculine.

Sometimes it is not always just about the bride, and the groom gets a say too (oops, did we just dare to write that?!).

So this was the inspiration behind this look we showcased at the Centennial Parklands Dining Expo - to come up with a design that was pretty without being girly, a design we could "man up" with a touches of beautiful pale camel suede and chocolate leather, while retaining a chic, contemporary look that is not at all gentleman's club.

We covered the table in a luxurious pale camel suede overlay from our hire range, and dipped into our hire depot to style the centre of each table with a chocolate ceramic ribbed vase filled with a pretty and soft arrangement of deep blue hydrangea, velevety dusty miller and the Australian native berezillia, added a delicious cornflower blue milk glass vase, a posy of oh so pretty thistle (though I was not thinking that when dealing with the thorns preparing said pretty posty) in an amber frosted glass vase, and a scatter of the same amber glass votives aglow with candlelight.

The cream, latte, chocolate and cornflower blue colour palette flowed through to the "vintage duo" stationery from our range - used for everything from the framed table number to thank you cards atop each gift box and menus tucked into each place setting alongisde napkins held by chocolate leather napkin rings.

We love, too, how it is a look that would work well, whatever the season, or whatever the event - be it wedding, private celebration or a corporate dinner to celebrate the end of another great working year.

Enjoy x

All decor items available for hire from Form Over Function. Stauionery by Form Over Function. Form Over Function styling and flowers captured with beauty and grace by Photography by Anliette.

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

Liz & Sean, the MCA and a Real Wedding to remember

At last, at last it's here. We've been a little bit excited waiting for the always divine, stylish, chic and inspirational June issue of Real Weddings magazine to arrive on the stands and here you can see why. We loved styling this wedding. We loved working for this gorgeous couple (inside and out). And we love the fact we can share all its gorgeous details in living colour with you now courtesy of the talents of Trish from tealily photography, who captured the day so, so beautifully through her lens. We look forward to sharing many more details with you tomorrow.



Enjoy



x

On our marks, get ready, design ten tables now

Our blog has been feeling decidedy unloved because we've been busy working on designing several corporate events, meeting with lots of brides to be and spending time in the country preparing for a very special event later this year, so as we turn to the next thing on our to do list -- designing at least ten different table looks for the open night at Centennial Parklands Dining next month --we thought we'd share some of our favourite tables from the open day we styled at this beautiful Sydney venue in February.

The only thing that makes this fun job so hard is sticking to only designing ten (ok let's make it twelve) tables when we have so much delicious new stock on the shelves in our hire depot and more on the way.

We hope you enjoy the inspiration and if you are wanting to attend the open night on Thursday July 8 (gorgeous canapes, a glass or two of bubbles, the opportunity to see the venue's tables dressed in lots of different ways... what's not to love) cross over to our facebook page, drop us a line and we'll organise an invite for you.

Till soon,

Alicia x

An eventful life

'Tis the season to be busy, and we can't think of a better time to launch Form Over Function into that world wide blogosphere out there - a space where we'll tap away and post pretty photos, funny photos and simply stunning ones too; a space where we'll work to keep our clients and fellow travellers inspired, informed and maybe even amused, as we share the behind-the-scenes workings of an event design & hire company that hates to do the same thing twice.

We love Fridays in here. Happy and excited clients looking forward to their event on the weekend, means happy and excited us.

Burnished red dahlias sit on our desks today - such beautiful structural flowers in gorgeous, gorgeous shades - fresh from our pre-dawn trip to the flower markets in Sydney.

Their season is drawing to a close (sadly, but we look forward to cymbidium orchids just a week or two away), but one of our brides Aivee will enjoy masses of white dahlias with a just-there touch of pink, on her tables at Pavilion on the Park across from the Art Gallery of NSW tomorrow.

In Gloucester, in country NSW, Matt and Holly spent yesterday unpacking the boxes of style we shipped them earlier this week to transform their marquee for their wedding on a family property.

Wanting to steer clear of the all-white wedding, they turned to the colours of a country sunset, which they love, for inspiration.

And we love that they wanted to break out of the traditional country wedding thing and create a celebration that was their very own, so we came up with all it takes to warm up what is -- let's face it -- an (expensive) white plastic tent, and shipped it to them.

Deep aubergine marquee walls feature on two sides, large hanging vases from our hire range filled with purple orchids add interest, and we've created arrangements of delicate amber & violet beaded branches to fill the stunning metre tall tangerine vases which will feature in the corners of the space. Tables will be overlaid with delicate aubergine silk, with smaller tangerine vases picking up on the styling in the corners of the marquee, and pretty, pretty candleholders, some aubergine silk, others delicated beaded.

And wait till Matt sees THE dress.

I just caught up with Matt on the phone to check how set up was going, and might offer them a job - it's done. Was finished last night, so they're off to enjoy barefoot bowls with their family and friends for the afternoon.

Now that's what we call good planning.

And we love a groom-to-be who cares and takes an interest in every aspect of their looming wedding day: Matt described to me how they've sited the marquee so the open side faces west to capture the setting sun, and yesterday afternoon he and Holly took the time out to stand in their marquee watching the light change within as the sun set over the hills, casting a glow over the aubergine walls and tangerine vases.

Serious yum we think. Photos to follow soon.

Now, as much fun as it could be to keep blogging tapping, writing, we have flower arrangements to create...but who's complaining when this is what we are surrounded by:

Enjoy the view.

Alicia x