Featured: Claire & Peter, a marquee wedding in the Southern Highlands - Real Weddings magazine

There are so many people who worked together with heart, a sense of humour, a desire to rise to any challenge (tree in the wrong place anyone?), to create magic on the last weekend in October last year, but I want to take the time to make tribute to a few, without whom we could not have been allowed to shine.

Firstly to Claire & Peter and their families: for believing in us, trusting us, welcoming us into their home and their lives, and not once making us feel we were anything but treasured and respected.

To my team on this one -- Shane, Anna, Sam, Peter, Bettina -- for working with flair, dedication, a serious lack of sleep, and possibly too much pizza, too late at night, for way too long. I can never thank you enough for all you did, not only in the months, days and hours leading up to the wedding day, but for being back up at dawn on Sunday, smiles on your faces and ready to make the post wedding celebration brunch one to be remembered by everyone who attended. For the thousands of roses you helped me strip, the marquee walls and table linens you labouriously steamed by hand (have your backs recovered yet? ;-)), the lace bar you lovingly created, for the several truckloads of gear you prepared, packed, loaded, unloaded, set up, packed, unloaded, cleaned and stored. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

To Karin Johnson, who manages Your Event Solution at Bowral: you were a calm and professional joy to work with for the months leading up to the event, as well as on the days we toiled away together leading up to the wedding. I love that you don't want to give no as an answer. That your tiffany chairs are impeccably white. That you knocked yourself out to design a marquee construction site that required serious packing, so we could place it where the view was best, allowed Peter & Claire (and us)  the long banquet tables of our dreams, and saved the cherished weeping cherry in Mrs Mason's front garden.

Thank you all for helping us make it happen.

Love,

Alicia x

Event design, styling & management, flowers, stationery & mirror seating plans all

 by Form Over Function.

Crystal and etched glass vases and candleholders, chandeliers, latte damask table runners, white linen, lace bar, antique bench, ottomans, side tables, silver table lamps, glassware & cutlery, latte damask and latte self stripe marquee walls

 all available from Form Over Function's hire depot.

Site construction design & management, marquees, timber flooring, white tiffany chairs,

 banquet tables, catering & serviceware equipment hire & outdoor lighting

 by Your Event Solution.

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Centennial Parklands Dining Expo - Table #2 Vintage Romance

One of the joys -- and challenges - of styling a whole lot of different looks for the one venue on the one night (as we have to when we take part in an expo at Centennial Parklands Dining) is how to create different seasonal looks to encompass the moods and colours flowers offer at different times of the year, only we're attending flower market on the one day, in the one season, to gather all we need to style the tables.

But the flower gods of Tasmania smiled upon us this February and supplied us with these delicious pink peonies - a flower we would normally only have access to in late October through to early December.

Combined with the fact we had access to blackberries in season, rosy crab apples picked fresh from a tree growing at the gate of our favourite farmer's property on the outskirts of Sydney, watermelon hued dahlias and lusicious velvety celosia in shades of sunset pink, we were a bit excited about designing this arrangement for the very new cream and vintage glass footed flower stands now on the shelf in our hire range. (This was their very first outing. They would also make excellent cake or sweet stands for a dessert buffet, as as there's a lovely cut glass plate under all those delicious flowers, but we digress.).

For this romantic, vintage setting we placed a large mirror at the centre of a table clothed in cream linen, added a crystal cut plate filled with rosy crab apples to the side of the main centrepiece, scattered glass votives with a fleur de lys embossed pattern around the mirror and before each guest. Cream napkins were held by a beaded cream napkin ring and a cream gift box tied up in chocolate and dusty pink striped ribbon, with fresh blackberries as a top knot, were at each place setting.

Etched wine glasses carried the vintage feel through to the tableware, and cream and chocolate stationery, with pink caligraphied names, from our stationery range finished off the look.

Cream anyone? Would you like one lump, or two?

Enjoy.
x

Form Over Function flowers and styling captured with grace and beauty by Photography by Anliette.

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

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

With the weekend almost here - & a wet, wet, wet one forecast for our home town - I thought those spending the coming days curled up with their lap top seeking inspiration for their wedding day might enjoy seeing more of the styling touches from Liz & Sean's wedding day at the MCA.

Now these images I captured with my trusty Canon DSLR (point, shoot, works most of the time...yay), so no comparing with what Trish from tealily photography captured & was published in Real Weddings, okay?

And we've also been good & updated our online hire depot, so if any of the items here catch your eye, it's all available for hire - the turquoise blue candlesticks; the mirror table runners; conical glass candlesticks in a range of sizes (I love how they allow us to tuck fresh blooms within); the footed glass vases filled with massed arrangements of white peonies, hydrangea, david austen roses & lissianthus (well flowers for sale not hire but you know what I mean); the tiffany blue, white & darkest charcoal table linens; white chesterfield ottomans; oversized ornately framed mirrors & more.

The stationery we designed just for Liz will be on our online stationery store soon too, but those who don't want to wait that long, just drop us line.

But my favourite shot? Steven Khalil, who designed the dress for his friend Liz, fussing over her just before she made her big entrance. And the simple beauty of the peony bouquet: there's nothing tricky here, just superb blooms at their peak. More wedding flowers should be like this, methinks.

Enjoy. Alicia x