Featured - Bride To Be: Jolene + Long, Bathers' Pavilion, Balmoral, Sydney + Bradley's Head Mosman - A Sydney Harbour wedding

event styling, styling and furniture hire, event management, ceremony and reception set up - form over function
bridal party, ceremony and reception flowers - form over function
photography - tealily
cake - faye cahill cake design
venue - bathers pavillion
stationery - by Jolene, the bride @ mamboism

Featured - Real Weddings: Julia + Jonathon I Gunners' Barracks, Mosman, Sydney I Pretty vintage and peony wedding

This very special issue of Real Weddings marks its tenth year of being on our newstands.

 And we're very proud that our work -- and the couples who have entrusted us to help make magic happen -- have appeared in every single issue of such a beautiful publication since 2002.

Here we share the wedding of the truly lovely Julia and Jonathon, from the latest issue.

The wedding took place at Gunners' Barracks, Mosman, on a warm and sunny summer morning by Sydney Harbour, followed by a lunch time reception that flowed into the late afternoon.

Julia came to us with a vision of a room styled to reflect the colours and mood of a pretty summer day, so we topped the tables in beautiful buttercup damask cloths from our hire range, used cream footed flower stands with cut glass bowls from our range to pick up on the chandeliers in the room and went on a deleriously happy buying spree at the Sydney flower markets to create lush bouquets of peonies, david austen roses, freesia and touches of dusty miller, and reception flower arrangements featuring exquisite dahlias, peonies, david austen roses, ivy berry, blackberries and more, in hues of pastel pinks, lemons, whites, creams, coral and sunkissed orange.

The ceremony, which took place under azure skies in the historic sandstone courtyard of the barracks, featured a large hanging vase with a massed arrangement of blooms as used in the bouquets and the reception, marking the point where the vows were exchanged. Overhead, glass baubles filled with nothing but dahlias in pastel shades were hung with a range of delicate ribbons in a range of pastel shades, and to the end of each pew were tied arrangements of dahlias, balckberries, ivy berry and more.

Enjoy.

x

Exquisite images by Bailie Photography

Exquisite make-up by Christina Cleary

Featured - Real Weddings: Daini & Luke I Jonah's, Palm Beach, Sydney I A coastal chic wedding

Daini + Luke's Style File:

Photographer: McKay Photography

Venue: Jonah's, Palm Beach

Event design, styling, flowers, hire and management: Form Over Function

Dress: Amsale @ Angela Wilson

Caroyln + Terry I Ottoman Cuisine Restaurant, Sydney I A cocktail wedding by Sydney Harbour

It's impossible to resist the urge to post for the first time in six months (guilt, guilt) -- let alone on the last working day of 2011 -- and not share with you the beauty, grace, generosity of spirit and fun of Carolyn and Terry's wedding at Ottoman Cuisine, by Sydney Harbour.

What was there not to love about designing, styling and co-ordinating a wedding for a woman, who, unable to choose between all the special women in her life, slipped a poem she wrote, printed in pink, into the invitations asking anyone who wore pink on the day to be her bridesmaid.

And so they did. Thirty of them. Wearing everything from just pink fingernails or shoes, to being decked out in pink head to toe. And one very dapper gent in hottest, hot pink vest.

Rising to the joyous challenge, we came up with the idea of bouquets of sweet pea in various shades of pink being handed to each delighted, pink wearing guest as a surprise on arrival. (That made for 35 bouquets created for the one wedding - definitely a Form Over Function first).

For Terry and Carolyn, this wedding was all about the love and laughs they share, the life they've built together, and the family and friends who surround them. They wanted a great party with fantastic food, wine and music. And it was. Guests were also treated to a two metre long cheese bar, a lolly station, a band which kept the dance floor packed all night, and a night by Sydney Harbour no one is about to forget in a hurry.

And speaking of generosity of spirit - a special thank you to Israel, from Israel Smith Photographers for sharing so many of his images, so we could share them with you.

Enjoy.

Alicia
x

A close up of our wall of flowers

Even though it was winter, we were spoilt for choice for white blooms, and had the unadulterated luxury and joy of Carolyn trusting us to pick whatever we wanted to use on the day

We dipped into our hire range of vases to put together a collection of differing heights, widths and shapes to bring out the best in the parrot tulips, freesias, vendella roses, arum lilies, hyacinth, stock, gladioli, astilbe and range of foliages we selected at the flower markets to create this wall of  flowers. White cymbidium orchids with the palest of pink throats featured on the ceremony table.

A simple vase of  beautifully shaped glossy leaves can be every bit as beautiful as a vase of flowers.

Early afternoon view from the penthouse suite at Sheraton on the Park, where the bridal party got ready.

So excited. Much dress twirling practice to be had.

Delivered: our bouquets of hand tied vendella roses for all.

Carolyn's sons prepare to walk their mum down the aisle.

Detail of Carolyn's Pronovias gown and vendella rose bouquet.

Pearl and diamond wedding day earrings and wedding bands, all by Cerrone.

Sunset, Ottoman Cuisine,Walsh Bay

A fleet of Rolls Royces ferried the bride and the bridal party to Ottoman Cuisine, where the ceremony and reception took place 

Candle vases from our hire range lined the entry to the venue

Trays of pink sweet pea bouquets bound with grosgrain ribbon, for guests who wore pink in honour of being Carolyn's bridesmaid for the night. Thirty guests did just that. 

Carolyn's two nieces hand out the bridesmaid bouquets

Arrival: we created an inviting entrance with flowers and candles echoing the styling in the space just around the corner....

Terry, the expectant groom, keeps an eye out for Carolyn's arrival

We created the candlelit backdrop for the evening ceremony by bringing in sleek white consoles from our hire range, and lining them with conical glass candlesticks, also from our hire range, in various heights, as well as tall bullet vases filled with masses of white gladioli - one of Terry's favourite flowers

A small round mirror covered table played host to the unity candles used during the ceremony; candleholders Carolyn and Terry now have as keepsakes of their wedding day.

Now that's what we call an arrival.

Vows...

Rings...

We did it! (Could they look any happier?)

We think the littlest one of the all was just as happy (love how she sneaked in souveniering a freesia along the way)

Exquisite cake art from Faye Cahill Cake Design who used the pattern of the wedding stationery as the inspiration for the piping and topped the cake with her signature overblown rosess. Carolyn's response upon seeing it carried out? "Look at that cake! Oh my god. I can't believe how beautiful. Just look at that cake." We could but concur. 

                                                                                

Now that's a cheeseboard. We searched high and low for matching cheeseboards in the differing sizes needed to accommodate all the varying shapes and sizes of the most extraordinary cheese bar we have ever had the pleasure of creating. They were nowhere to be found. What to do? Buy a tree, get it sliced, assign beloved member of team to sand, oil, sand, oil, sand, oil and sand again for lots of hours, and presto, one 2m long single cheeseboard of beautiful camphor laurel wood is born. Available now for hire!

Dipping into the larder of the finest cheese importer in the country goes down as one of Form Over Function's culinary highlights for 2011 (which is saying something since we got to be a restaurant reviewer this year but we digress). Not only was there an entire wheel of two year old grana reggiano from Italy, but manchego from Spain, tetemoin from Switzerland, goats cheese from France....we could go on but won't. Corella pears, mounds of fresh strawberries, Iranian dates, Barossa Bark (should come with an addicition warning), quince paste....and no names, no pack drill, we had to sneak a packet of Jatz onto the board for one very special guest....

Eighteen jars...eighteen types of lollies...way more than eighteen kilograms of lollies....two very, very happy flowergirls (and the grown ups all found their inner child)...

The bridesmaids hit the dancefloor...

First dance. It's a wrap.


Carolyn + Terry's Style File:

Photographer: Israel Smith Photographers
Venue: The Wharf Restaurant
Event design, management, styling, decor and furniture hire, flowers: Form Over Function
Rings + Earrings: Cerrone
Dress: Pornovias @ Fashions by Farina
Wedding cake: Faye Cahill Cake Design

Featured: Elissa & James, Observatory Hill Marquee - Cosmopolitan Bride

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.

,

Featured: Alison & Sam at Centennial Parklands Dining featured in Modern Wedding