ASK THE EXPERT
All’ s Fayre Gemma Darling, founder of Finickity Fayre and winner of the Wedding WOW! Factor Award at the Kent Wedding Awards, talks all things vintage styling for creating a unique and fun wedding day
Can you tell us a bit about Finickity Fayre and how you help couples with their wedding styling and aesthetic?
At Finickity Fayre we supply all things vintage for the perfect celebration. Whether you are looking for awardwinning carnival games for your special day or elegant china crockery for a vintage afternoon tea, we can help add that traditional touch. Our mission is simple: we want guests to enjoy themselves and spend quality time together, whether that is competitively conquering the coconut shy or enjoying a high tea with loved ones.
As a brand we are passionate about vintage. Our carnival games are all traditionally handmade as they would have been 100 years ago; hand carved from wood, rustic, handcrafted and handpainted making them the highest quality and totally one of a kind. Our vintage crockery is all original and dates from the art deco 1920s through to the swinging 60s, and we’ ve handpicked the best patterns ever produced to create the ultimate tea party.
How has vintage styling for weddings grown or changed since you started?
I believe weddings have changed a lot over the last 10 years. They have become a lot more relaxed, a lot more quirky and a lot more fun, which we think is something to be celebrated! What we see now versus the traditional and formal approach is an extension of the couple’ s personality. We have been part of some incredible weddings including festivals complete with bands, food trucks and carnival games, and many vintage afternoon tea parties with antique crockery, retro dresses and vintage singers!
What do couples love about the vintage outdoor games you offer? Which are the best crowd-pleasers?
We have received some wonderful reviews from couples who comment on both the quality of the games( all of our games are handmade, handcrafted and handpainted by us) and the number of choices( we currently have 15 games to choose from). Customers also comment on the fact that the adults love the games just as much as the children, and that they are a great ice-breaker, which creates some amazing photo opportunities. While our most popular crowd pleasers include the Coconut Shy, Hoopla and Crazy Golf, what’ s great about our packages is that we enable couples to select the games they want. This enables them to create their own funfair by selecting the games that suit their venue and their guests, meaning every wedding is unique.
How far in advance should a couple think about booking china hire or games hire?
If your wedding is on a Saturday, we’ d recommend booking one to two years in advance as these dates always get booked up first. If your heart is set on particular games we’ d advise confirming early as once they are gone they are gone! Couples can secure the date with us with a £ 100 deposit, with the balance due a month before the event.
Are wedding venues usually happy for a couple to supply their own china rather than using what’ s in the venue?
Yes! The venues we work with are always happy to accommodate a couple’ s requests where possible to make their day unforgettable. This can be anything from hiring vintage crockery, games, furniture or props to bringing their tattoo artist onsite in order to tattoo the wedding guests!( Yes, we’ ve seen it done!)
Do you have any favourite Kent venues that look especially great with a vintage theme?
We are very fortunate to be recommended at 15 amazing venues across Kent that all celebrate our love of vintage. The Gardens in Yalding is a firm favourite for the carnival games next to the tipi to create that festival, fun-filled vibe. We also love Odo’ s Barn and Crown Lodge for their rustic settings and The Lost Village of Dode for its unique history.
www. finickityfayre. co. uk
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