David & Viv approached Dovetail three months before their Big Day with a view to us decorating two function rooms, an outside terrace and a large ramped entrance to their wedding reception venue, The Oak at Hockley Heath. Their wedding was taking place the day before at Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons in Oxfordshire: the Saturday night was a black tie wedding reception for up to 100 close friends and family.
The couple had a clear idea of the overall look and feel that they wanted to achieve which provided us with a good starting point with the design scheme. They wanted to create a romantic and serene atmosphere throughout the venue, with as many twinkly fairy lights as possible! We also assisted the bride with a number of surprises for both the guests and the groom, including sourcing a giant ice sculpture, special effect coloured lighting, a gobo light for the dance floor and painstakingly hand-making ornate favours.
There was a great deal of space to cover in a short period of time as we were unable to access the venue until the morning of the event. This meant preparing in advance a lot of the decoration for fitting on site….the days and weeks leading up to the wedding were a frenzy of flower and foliage garlands, fairy lights and making the favours! Logistically we were also tasked with arranging and taking delivery of a number of additional items for the event: it was quite a challenge ensuring everything was laid out properly and then styled so as to be in keeping with the overall theme.
We feel that the venue styling and decoration reflected Viv and David’s personalities: elegant and sophisticated but in a classy and understated way. The couple entered the venue via a 30m entrance ramp decorated with candles and white and lime green flower garlands, intertwined with fairy lights and ribbon. This romantic theme then continued throughout the main function room, eating area and even the bathrooms! Both Viv and David were overwhelmed with the finished effect, saying it far exceeded anything they could imagine and had been the icing on the cake for their perfect wedding celebrations.
‘When planning an event, especially your wedding, detail is very important & so is the importance of actually enjoying it & not feeling stressed. When we met Kyla & Helen from Dovetail we had an instant rapport. The girls are very professional whilst having artistic flair. They listened to what we required & came up with some fabulous ideas! Nothing was too much trouble or a problem.
Our requirements were to decorate our venue, The Oak & make it look amazing. We just wanted to walk in knowing everything was sorted & looking beautiful & they exceeded our expectations! The place looked magical from flowers, decorations, photos, candles & lighting. It truly was amazing. The girls & their team worked extremely hard. They are fabulous girls to work with & we would definitely recommend their services & in face, use them again ourselves. We became very fond of them & would like to think of them as friends’
Viv Gough, The Bride
Dovetail Design is a full-service interior and exterior design consultancy based in Warwickshire, the West Midlands and London. Dovetail has an established reputation for creating and delivering stunning and innovative interior designs and garden designs, coupled with outstanding customer service. Specialising in marquee events, Dovetail also creates bespoke and inspiring designs which reflect the mood or theme of your wedding or special occasion perfectly.