A summer wedding for Sue and Steve at the Crown at Ampney Brook . The couple chose their venue as they loved the laid-back, relaxed feel of this wedding venue. Further, the location was ideal for their celebration. It boasted ample inside space to celebrate and enough outdoor space with a beautiful little bridge for those fabulous photos.

I met Sue and her sister Tracey, at The Crown and the three of us hit it off at once. We explored ideas, shared inspirations and discussed colours, fabrics, décor, centrepieces and flowers for the wedding party. In fact we had a glorious time chatting everything weddings – so much so the coffee got cold! And we all went away with homework to do. Me to create the proposal for the venue decor and wedding florals and Sue to make decisions on colours etc.

But, before the wedding could happen the venue closed for extensive renovations. After much thought, Sue and Steve put their plans on hold and decided to wait for it to reopen.

As it turned out, that was the best decision they could have made. For the transformation from the original décor of the hotel to its refurbished look was a breathtakingly beautiful one. Indeed nothing remained of the ‘before’. The flooring was new as were the walls and ceilings, bridal suites and guest rooms. Everything was stone and wood with gorgeous details everywhere.

The Wedding Day

Sue stunned her groom in her full length lace bridal gown. While Steve cut a handsome dash in a blue three-piece-suit with light blue tie. The bridesmaids wore dresses with a subtle baby blue chiffon skirt and silver sequinned bodice.

It so happened that the summer of 2022 was the hottest on record for decades. Not a cloud in sight to spoil these visions of loveliness.

The Fabulous Functions team arrived at The Crown at Ampney Brook and installed the white draping around the bar so it wasn’t a feature in the ceremony and wouldn’t appear in the photos.
We removed it after the ceremony to allow the serving of drinks. Then we placed lanterns in the aisle to the ceremony table and a gorgeous long low arrangement on the registry table.

The Table Décor

The lovely rustic trestle tables we arranged in a banquet style setting with four rows and guests setting on both sides of the rows. This style of setting works well in this venue and created a convivial setting for a summer wedding.

We used ruched chiffon runners along the length of the tables. And we then set in place small glass vases with arrangements of fabulous fresh flowers in Sue and Steve’s colour palette of blush pinks, blues and creams.

Next we placed clear glass candle holders and elegant tapered candles along the centre of the tables in-between the floral arrangements. We also added loads of clear glass tealights holders and tealights. There were multi levels of details and interest along the length of the tables.

Sue also chose us to create her wedding florals. It was such an honour that she entrusted us with both décor and wedding florals. But it helped us ensure that the flowers used for both the wedding florals and centrepieces complemented each other.

Personal Touches

We loved the personal touches created by Sue’s sister Tracey, who made the delicious wedding cake. And Sue had a charm made with photos of both her and Steve’s Mums to add to her bridal bouquet.

The Flowers

Sue had selected a romantic blend of blush pinks, subtle baby blues and creams. So a beautiful bouquet filled with hydrangeas, roses, nigellas, lisianthus, thistles and a whole host of other beauties was the order of the day.

While we’re talking about bridal bouquets why not check out our blog about the bridal bouquet?

The table arrangements also featured these flowers and were all so very different in their design and composition. The mix added to the details for each table. The aim of course being to create a beautiful sight to delight the eyes add lift the heart.

Sue and Steve placed in us great faith to create for them a magical place for a summer wedding. One where they’d make their commitment to each other, make beautiful memories and celebrate with their nearest and dearest.

Thank you so much Sue and Steve for entrusting a summer wedding vision to us. We wish you a long life together filled with much happiness and sunshine.

Are you the social sort?

If you are then why not follow us on social media to keep up to date with our happening and to see even more of our decor? Follow the links to Instagram , Facebook and Pinterest

You can also head over to our wedding collections and take a look at our wedding flowers packages and our venue styling packages

Meeting Lucy and Sam at the Kings Head Hotel was so much like meeting old friends – because we’d communicated so much in the previous weeks. I had a good grasp of the vision they wanted to create and had with me many samples of the colour tones in the fabric they’d chosen with which to create a gorgeous rose gold wedding theme. 

I also had with me many samples of agate slices for them to choose from. They loved the ideas of what the French call “joindre l’utile à l’agréable”  – a lovely phrase that translates to “to combine the practical with pleasure.”

In this instance the agate slices would serve as both guest place names and guest favours. Sam and Lucy chose the natural colour agate slice as they were the perfect complement for the rose gold tones of the vertical drops they’d chosen for the chair decor.

Fast forward many months and the much-planned and much-anticipated wedding day arrived. They and we were super excited to see all the planning and preparations come to fruition in the rose gold wedding theme that Sam and Lucy had wanted to create.

Rose Gold Themed Wedding Décor

The décor was classically elegant in its simplicity and the rose gold theme suited the Kings Head Hotel wedding venue beautifully.

The personal touches were apparent everywhere in the decor and especially in the personalised post box for the guests to leave their card and gifts. And the table plan continued the rose gold theme of the wedding decor.

NB: We have a selection of wedding post boxes for hire and you can find them all, including the one you see here, in the treasure trove section of this website.

“We had an absolutely perfect day!! Thank you so much for all of your hard work and efforts, we couldn’t be happier with how everything looked!”

Lucy and Sam

For More Inspiration

If you want to get an idea of how we work and what we do checkout our Instagram and Facebook feeds for inspirational images and ideas. We update them both on a regular basis.

And also the section on our blog that has a range of venue styling themes to inspire you. And of course, we’re always happy to chat and bounce ideas around. If you’ve looked through our website and not seen what you’re looking for please don’t go away without talking to us first. If we don’t have it there’s a jolly good chance we can either source it for you or make it for you.

We have a web form here: https://www.fabulousfunctionsuk.com/contact-us/ but if you prefer to pick up the phone or drop an email here’s how you can:

Mobile: 07511 842 451

Email: hello@fabulousfunctionsuk.

Photos on this page by kind courtesy of the fabulous Twirlygirlphotography

We had the honour and pleasure of working with David and Steph, who let us loose to create magic on their wedding day. I loved that they felt confident in wanting to follow their passions and creating a decor that was true and authentic to them.  Hence, I worked with both of them to create their gorgeous autumn themed wedding, in Spring! How fabulous is that?!

Below are some vibrant photographs of David and Steph’s autumn themed wedding.

Here’s a video overview of the venue transformation involved in this couple’s wedding day:

You can see more accessories in our Treasure Trove page. Pop on over and have a look. You are sure to find items you’ll love for your venue decor.

Join Our Social Media Family

Follow us on social media to keep up to date with our happening and to see even more of our decor. Follow the links to Instagram , Facebook and Pinterest

Second Marriage Dress Etiquette

Of late I’ve been giving some thought to two questions I’ve seen asked in various Facebook groups, that relate to second marriage dress etiquette:

1. Should one wear a wedding dress for a registry office ceremony?
2. Are there rules around second marriage style etiquette? Or put another way, a bride to be, marrying for the second time, wanted to know if it was acceptable to wear a white wedding dress for her ceremony.
   
   My own thoughts on both those is a big YES – of course. If that’s what you want to do, if that would make you happy, then go right ahead. 
   
   But you don’t have to only take our word on second marriage dress etiquette for it. I’ve done a little digging to see what big wedding-related websites are saying about second marriage wedding dress etiquette. Hitched.com have an article from late last year, Second Marriage Wedding Dresses: The Rules and Etiquette Revealed. They posed that some second-time-around brides have the lustre of the wedding shopping process tarnished by remarriage etiquette uncertainty. It seems there’s often a worry over whether or not white is appropriate for a remarriage.
   
   But, as they say, browsing for a second wedding dress ought to be as enjoyable as it was for your first. Further, some brides hold a conviction that a second marriage puts white out of the bridal picture. But yet, when Meghan Markle wed Prince Harry, a second marriage for her, she wore white.  And wonderful she looked too. 
   
   And anyway, the whole white wedding thing has nothing to do with purity and everything to do with Queen Victoria deciding to wear white because it complemented the lace on her dress. You can read more about that in our blog, Something Old and Something New that takes a brief look at a few of the classic wedding traditions.

Say ‘I Do’ in Glorious Colour

White is wonderful yes. But there’s nothing to say you can’t say I do in colour too. Red is a popular choice for a wedding dress – for the first time or for a second marriage. As this Vows Bridal website points out: ‘Coloured wedding gowns are everywhere these days. Red also signifies good luck in many cultures so is a perfect choice for a wedding dress and certainly one to chose when considering the etiquette for a second marriage wedding dress.

Brides are breaking from tradition and going for a unique look that can reflect their personalities. These wedding gowns may have just a little colour, or be completely one colour with absolutely no white or ivory to be found.’ A red gown will sure as heck make a statement! Red is a popular choice for weddings around Valentine’s Day and Christmas.

But it’s best to use the colours that suit you as a guide – that way you’ll both look and feel amazing. And, as the Hitched article says, you could always put a twist on traditional white by opting for a super chic white trouser or jumpsuit. 

Put another way, when it comes to second marriage dress etiquette rules – there are none. It’s the 21st century – do whatever you feel!

Incidentally, should you be in the Swindon area and should you not ever have had a colour and style analysis done, then now might be the time. If you’re thinking of going down the coloured wedding gown route for your remarriage then knowing the colours that best complement eyes and your skin tone will give you a head start in your quest for the perfect wedding dress!

If You’re Feeling Social …

… do follow us on social media to keep up to date with our happening and to see even more of our decor. Follow the links to Instagram , Facebook and Pinterest and see the latest additions to our accessory hire range as well as the fab venue transformations that we produce for our lovely couples.

Something old and something new

All the occasions we celebrate are riven with traditions. Easter has the eggs and the bunny, Christmas has Father Christmas/ Santa Claus – and more besides – depending on the nation. And, of course, every family puts their own spin on these regular calendar markers. And weddings are no exception.

So here’s a quick tour round some of the classic wedding traditions from horseshoes, to chimney sweeps to the well-known rhyme featuring something old and something new and something borrowed and something blue.

Chimney Sweeps

Back in the days when most of us had chimneys, to have a chimney sweep turn up at your wedding was seen as great good fortune. If he wished the couple good luck that was a very good omen indeed.

Remember Dick Van Dyke inn ‘Mary Poppins’?: ‘Good luck will rub off if you shakes hands with me’.

Chimney sweeps had, as Sooty the Sweep explains, this luck dispensing ability invested in them by King George II, when a sweep was the only one brave enough to stop his out-of-control carriage and save the king’s life.

As a result the king issued a royal decree declaring chimney sweeps as bringers of luck that one should treat with respect.

Lucky Horsehoes and Edible Traditions

Then there’s horseshoes – an ancient symbol of good luck of course. Since time immemorial we’ve hung them over doorways across the globe to protect the home from evil spirits.

The giving of horseshoes to a bride is a tradition of long standing. Well before Christian times people thought that a horseshoe resembled a crescent moon and that made it a very potent fertility charm! But, more recently, in Victorian times the tradition became established as a way of bringing good luck to the newlyweds for the duration of their lives together.

The Wedding Cake

Steeped in as much tradition as it is in fruit and brandy is the old fashioned wedding cake.

The Wedding Attire

The traditional white wedding dress is a relatively new one for British brides after Queen Victoria made them fashionable. As this Vanity Fair article explains, Queen Victoria made such a sartorial impression nearly 180 years ago that her example of wearing white is still considered mandatory by many a traditional bride. Further, Victoria’s choice of white bore no relation to any notion of purity.

Victoria wore white for no other reason than that it complemented the delicate lace on her dress. Before Queen Victoria caused a sartorial stir women of the lower orders wore their best dress and those with a bit more money married in a colourful dress that they could recycle for other occasions. And IF, before Queen Victoria, a bride wore white, it symbolised wealth rather than purity – they could afford to have the dress cleaned.

A Wedding Rhyme – Something Old and Something New

There’s a related tradition that may have its origins much earlier than the white dress:

Something old,
Something new,
Something borrowed,
Something blue.

The origins of the rhyme are not clear but you can find references to it as an ancient custom in an 1876 edition of ‘Notes and Queries’. (Wikipedia) In Britain this old couplet is a direction to the bride on what she should wear. Originating here, the tradition has since spread across the globe.

Tradition holds that the something blue takes the form of a garter – and there’s yet more tradition behind that. In some wedding rites the bride had the garter plucked from her. Saucy? Or Chauvinistic?

Additionally, something blue combines with something old as a device to baffle the Evil Eye – feared to render the bride barren. Preventing such an unfortunate occurrence is the wearing of something borrowed. Properly speaking this should be the undergarment of a women blessed with children so as to pass on her fertility to the bride.

When I got married, many moons ago now, I observed this tradition but in my own way. I borrowed a necklace, the new took the form of my dress and shoes and the blue was a garter.

Popular Culture

This particular tradition is not ignored by popular culture. It made it into the ‘Friends’ episode: ’The one in Vegas’. Monica tells Chandler she has to have ‘Something old and something new, something borrowed and something blue before they can get married. So, to fulfil the borrowed part of the rhyme they stole a new blue sweater from a shop and for the old they pressed a used condom into service!

How about you? How did you meet the rigours of this something old and something new rhyme at your wedding? If indeed you met them at all. Or if you’re planning to tie the knot soon do you plan to?

Why don’t you let us know? We’d love to hear from you. Drop a note to: hello@fabulousfunctionsuk.com Our full contact details are here.

Tradition With a Twist

The website of Wedding Ideas Mag has lots of ideas on how you can follow the rhyme while you can find a list of 12 modern day takes on the tradition in this article: ‘12 Modern Items to Replace Your Something Old, New, Borrowed, and Blue’.

The wedding world has been thrown a whopper of a spanner thanks to the global pandemic Covid-19.

Couples are still falling in love, still saying “Yes” to the question “Will you m….” and we are so happy because we love all things weddings. The questions, the researching, the discoveries. The decision making, and the journey to the glorious “I Do’s”

This styled shoot brings together two beautiful cultures – A Jamaican groom and an Indian bride, creating an elegantly beautiful fusion of two cultures.

We chose the Lotus flower; India’s national flower and the Humming Bird; Jamaica’s national bird to symbolise the union of the two cultures. The colours are strong and vibrant while lending the opportunity for softness and sophistication.

These were used by Payal of Caligraphy by Payal to create an original design which could then be reproduced in the various elements of the stationery. Nicky of Polkadot Creations designed the welcome board and the banner and Anna of Evelyn and Elliot created the menu cards and the place cards.

Multicultural Wedding Couples

We created two looks for our multicultural couple: the traditional white wedding and the traditional Indian wedding.

We created two looks for our multicultural couple: the traditional white wedding.

Both representing the lives of our modern day couples who want to honour their heritage and embrace the diversity of the world they live in.

Set in the beautiful Kings Head Hotel and featuring the tall sweeping heights of the modern Assemble rooms; giving couples the choice of décor and style for their celebrations.  The centuries old walls of the vaulted cellar is perfect for a fabulous party to celebrate the start of your beautiful journey.
The Kings Head Hotel has some fabulous spaces perfect for your celebrations big and small. From the Corn Hall which comfortable seats 400 guests to the library for an intimate gathering of 10 guests.
We chose the Assembley Room which can accommodate up to 180 guests.

We chose a banquet style setting for this setting, The table supplied by the accessory hire company, Hospitality Services LTD were complemented with the lovely crossback chairs. The tables and chairs echos beautifully the natural world associated with both countries.
The centrepieces were long lush green garlands, interspersed with blue hydrangeas and purple / fuchsia anemone.
The lushness and vibrancy of the centrepieces brings to mind the vegetation associated with the two continents in which the two countries are situated.
And of course there had to be candelights, giving a soft romantic glow to the setting.

Why settle for one gown on your wedding day when you can wear two? The gorgeous white wedding gown is the beautiful creation from the fab designers at Theia Couture. Created in a soft crepe and embellished with delicate beading on the straps at the back

For your entertainment, this blog about wedding traditions around the world is a fun read. It’s perfect for finding out about some of the fabulous traditions wedding couples from around the world follow.

We would love to have you in our social media family, please like and follow us on social media to keep up to date with our happening and to see even more of our decor.
Follow the links to Instagram , Facebook and Pinterest

“What is a charger plate?”  That’s a good question. And, unless you’re in the wedding or events world, or do a lot of entertaining, it’s possible you’ll have no idea what they are.

A charger plate is a simply a very large plate used for decorative purposes.  They’re sometimes referred to as service plates or under plates.

Why Would You Use a Charger Plate?

We use charger plates to dress a table for special events such as a wedding, vow renewal or special birthday. They dress a table place setting and help to define your theme and style. Charger plates come in a wide range of styles, shapes and materials from glass to china to wood or metal. Or even melamine or plastic. They can be plain or decorated.

When you’re designing the style for your table, consider the look you want to achieve. Is the feel going to be a modern and contemporary one? Or are you aiming for a particular vintage era or something edgy and minimalist. Or maximalist on the other hand? Whatever look and feel you’re aiming to achieve, there’s a charge plate to complement your style and decor aesthetics.

The charger plates form part of the guest place settings. You can have the plates for your various courses set on top in readiness for your guests sitting at their tables. Or you can place the napkins and place cards on the charger plates. Your plated entrée and main courses are then placed on top of the charger plates during the meal.

Chargers are always removed from the table after all guests are finished eating the main course. They’re taken away with the dinner plate still on top, as this clears the table and leaves it ready for the serving of dessert.

Charger Plate Hire

If you plan to use charger plates a lot, it may serve you to buy them. Though this may restrict the range of chargers you have at your disposal for each of your events. Each event deserves its own style of charger plates depending on the theme, style and colour palette of your event.

Fabulous Functions UK has a range of beautiful charger plates at your disposal. Do contact us to discuss the range and style of chargers that we offer to find one that will best complement your wedding or event.

And don’t forget our promise: if we don’t have them in stock – we’ll source them for you.

 As you can tell, I love using chargers in the design of the tables. They lift the table design and, on a practical note, they protect the table from spills.

I trust this blog has inspired you to want to incorporate chargers in your table-scape designs.

We’d love to have you in our social media family. Why not follow us on social media to keep up to date with our happenings and to see even more of our decor? We have lots of inspirational photographs across all our social media. We have a presence on all three of the platforms you see below so you should find us somewhere that you are.

Follow these links to our Instagram , Facebook and Pinterest accounts.

Your Marriage or Your Wedding? When you are planning your wedding, you may begin to think they are one and the same thing. Sometimes circumstances makes us take a look at this assumption.

When you got engaged and started planning your wedding, everything in your world was full of love and excitement.

Your wedding prep went into in full swing. You searched Pinterest and other online sources for inspirations for your dress, shoes, veil, venue and venue décor. Then contacted and chatted to suppliers about your dreams and your vision for your big day.   

But that was then.

And this is now. And now we’re in the grip of the Covid-19 virus pandemic and your plans have been thrown into disarray.

Your Marriage or Your Wedding? What’s the Important Thing?

You’re going to feel crushed – of course you are. All that careful planning for naught. That IS how it will feel.

So take a step back and ask yourself what’s the more important: your marriage or your wedding?

Surely what matters most here, is the act of putting an official stamp, on your being joined together as a couple? In a blog on the topic of getting guests to pay for themselves we touched on that.

 But now more than ever it’s about getting this perspective on what matters. 

So What To Do?

Now – as I write this blog, we’re in effective lockdown. The UK Prime Minister has prohibited all ceremonies – funerals excepted. At the moment the restriction is in place for three weeks.  After that who knows what may happen?

You need to take action and get a contingency plan it’s clear.

Here we talk about what we can do and how we can help you:

What You Can Do

1. If you haven’t already, contact the person conducting your wedding ceremony. They will be reorganising the ceremonies they have already booked. 
2. Talk to your venue. They’ll be following guidelines for the health and safety of their clients and staff.  What are they offering you?  
3. If you can, consider continuing with the ceremony with the two of you and your witness. Then organise one hell of a celebration at a later date!
4. Stream the ceremony to your family and friends who can connect via Facebook or other video link. 
   
   Indeed a couple recently did exactly that: Read all about it !
   
   Nothing was as planned. The bride bought an off the peg dress and bouquet. They sourced a photographer and they had their day a month early.
   
   Not the wedding they’d planned for. But memorable and moving in its own right. They were able to commit to each other and start their married life together. 
   
   5. And your final option is to postpone. Put the whole thing off, till a later date.
   

You’re Not On Your Own In This

If Covid-19 is one thing, it’s a leveller. Every single one of us is affected one way or another.

Fabulous Functions UK is affected business-wise with couples rescheduling their wedding and celebrations to later in the year, or even to 2021. We’re also affected on a personal level. We were in the final planning stages of a family wedding due to take place mid-April.  I have the honour of creating the decor and styling the venue.  

They’d met with me and made all the final choices. We’d gone through all the locations for the accessories and chosen the final stands for the centrepieces and design combinations for the floral displays.  Confirmed all those little details to add the personalised touches.

Then came the lockdown. But the couple concerned followed the advice above and made a plan!

They’re going to continue with the legal ceremony as planned with only the permitted witness in attendance. And then there’ll be a mega celebration for when we can have the venue again. And it’s going to be ‘just FABULOUS!’.

Cancellations, Postponements and Fingers Tightly Crossed!

From the moment it became apparent to us all that Coronavirus is way more than ‘just another form of flu, I’ve had a mixture of responses from couples booked with me. 

Some have postponed until later. Some have weddings set for beyond this initial 3-month social distancing period so are continuing to plan for it – but are forming a contingency plan too.

One couple, who had planned to postpone till 2021, are now rethinking and may decide to go ahead with their ceremony as soon as possible. And have a celebration with family and friends when they can. 
So they’re looking to have their marriage first and their wedding later!

Don’t Panic!

As challenging as all this is, , it WILL end. And when it does, your wedding or other celebration WILL be fabulous. Fabulous Functions UK will make sure of that.

Don’t fret. Don’t chew your nails. And above all don’t press the panic button! Call us now – let’s schedule a video call and have a good sit down with a coffee and our notebooks.  Our number is: 07511 842 451.

Giant Garden Games for Hire – for indoors or Outdoors

Giant garden games are of course fantastic if you’re having an outdoor wedding or party – a big BBQ party for example. But you don’t have to be, to find a use for them – they work as well inside too. Wherever you plan to use them – or have to use them because of unexpected and unwelcome weather conditions – they offer hours of fun for the young or the young at heart. 

Giant Garden Games Hire Packages

‘Oh, we’ve got a giant Jenga in the garden shed’ – is what you could be thinking now. Great! But if you don’t, don’t panic. Because we’ve got a brilliant giant garden games hire package.

Contact us here to enquire.

We’ve got FIVE giant garden games for hire. You can choose to hire any four of them for the package price of £60, to delight your guests.

The Five Giant Garden Games

1. Jenga – our giant Jenga stands 5 feet tall when built. Challenge your guests to build this it as tall as they can before it tumbles.

2. Noughts and crosses – also known as Tic-Tac-Toe – is a classic pen and paper game transformed here into lawn/patio or indoor floor fun.

This one measures 120cms x 120cms, with five noughts & five crosses of 30cms x 30cms each. 

3. Skittles – This forerunner of modern bowling is an old lawn and pub game. Our set contains nine skittles, a king pin and three balls.

Each skittle is 23 cms high.

4. Connect Four – Standing at a mega 100 cms tall and 120cms wide, this giant Connect 4 comes with extra large discs. We don’t guarantee that they’ll help you to win though.

5. Giant Dominoes – We wager your grandparents never saw dominoes like these!

The game of dominoes has been around from as early as 1120 CE, in China. Though we suspect not in giant form like these.

Other packages – we offer a range of venue styling packages to meet every need. We have three venue styling packages for you to choose from.