Here’s one I made earlier…

A little round-up of the craft ideas we worked on with Chloe from Adore Chloe and Becky from Butterworth Photography.

We spent a couple of afternoons with a glue gun, vintage china, glittery bits and bobs, with a lot of tea and laughs along the way.

The first idea was featured in Unique Bride Magazine. To see a step-by-step instruction on how to make your own vintage cake stand click here – Adore Chloe

Next, we have a guide to making your own teacup clock – bear with me on this as it was so much fun that Rock n Roll Bride featured it too – click here Adore Chloe or here Rock N Roll Bride to see the cocktail version…

Finally glittery cake toppers – don’t say I don’t look treat you! click right here Adore Chloe .

16:46 2 December 2012

Second blog post in two days…I am supposed to be doing very boring jobs this week to keep on top of everything, but I am easily distracted!

Last Saturday we were involved with a charity tea party (vintage styled of course!) which took place at a lovely little village hall round the corner from me in Derby.

The event was held to raise money & awareness for a project that two very dear friends are involved with. Along with eleven other volunteers from Derby, Stacey Meyer & Anna Haynes are flying out to Kenya in May for their Rams Kenyan Adventure.

The project they are supporting is to help to build two new classrooms at St Trizah School in Nakuru. They will be there for two weeks.

One in five children in Kenya die before their fifth birthday & 20% of school age children are orphans due to HIV. Over 40% of the children in Kenya don’t have access to a school & these children who are not in education are three times more likely to contract HIV in later life.

The tea party raised an amazing £960 & this money will go towards resources & manpower to build two much needed new classrooms, which in real terms means that an additional 100 children can access education.

We had a fantastic afternoon, lots of laughs, friends, gorgeous food, fizz & entertainment.

We are so very proud of you girls – there are many people who say they would love to do something like this, but very few people do it for real.

Thank you to everyone who came along & supported this event. Here are a few pics from the day..

If you wanted to make a contribution to this charity or learn more about the project, please click on this link to their Just Giving page..http://www.justgiving.com/stacey-anna

Darby & Joan - styling, props & vintage glamour.

Shu & Me, A Little Something & Ms Honey - sold their gorgeous wares.

Food Fairies - delicious yumminess on the tables.

Emma Cleveley Photography - photographing the event.

All you lovely ladies who helped out on the day – thank you! xx

11:44 1 May 2012

March 2012 is Ovarian Cancer awareness month and The Eve Appeal are asking their supporters to Make Time for Tea and to organise a traditional tea party.

Funding and awareness of ovarian cancer remains low and we were keen to get involved.

We wanted to support this charity and organised our own vintage tea party which took place on Friday. 35 gorgeous ladies arrived, laden with a donation, gossip and bags of enthusiasm.

We held the party at Darby & Joan HQ (my house!) and for a couple of hours the room sounded like a wine bar, without the wine. It was just brilliant. We had a small raffle, with prizes donated by Tineke, us, Boots & Timeless Couture.

Lemon drizzle, cupcakes, shortbread, chocolate sponge, victoria sponge, flap jacks, rocky road, brownies, cookies, banana and chocolate loaf…the table was groaning under the weight!

And speaking of weight – no one was watching theirs thankfully!

Becky from Butterworth Photography came along and took these gorgeous photos to capture the afternoon perfectly. Thanks so much Becky – you rock!

We raised around £130 with the addition of gift aid, so we are chuffed to pieces with that – not bad for a couple of hours of eating cake, drinking tea and nattering.

Thank you all ladies for coming along, for supporting us and the charity. A special thanks to Sally, Jay, Sarah & Stacey – what would I do without you.

22:29 4 March 2012

Darby & Joan vintage styled wedding shoot

I apologise for posting another blog, the second of the day. A bit like a bus, nothing for a while then…

I just wanted to add a few links onto here so any of you who would like to can read the lovely things other companies have posted about Darby & Joan.

I can’t tell you how over the moon I am about how business is progressing, how we are growing and nothing is better than hearing positive, kind & gorgeous things – especially from clients’ and other wedding industry people.

Emma Cleveley is a Midlands based wedding and lifestyle photographer – she is gorgeous and produces gorgeous work. She posted a nice blog about Darby & Joan in the Autumn of last year…

Tineke Floral Designs don’t really need much introduction, they are a multi-award winning florist, owned by Kerry Wilkinson, the creative brains and beauty behind the company. Kerry’s passion for what she does is plain to see and I have yet to meet one of her brides who hasn’t been bowled over by the service, attention to detail and her personality. Kerry was kind enough to write a blog post about Darby & Joan a few months ago…

Whimsical Weddings are one of the best loved, best known wedding blogs in the UK and one of the photoshoots we styled was featured on their blog a few weeks ago – very exciting it was too! Have a read here…

Adore by Chloe is a fabulous blog, showcasing lots of gorgeous little DIY projects, masses of style inspiration and all written by Chloe, who has such a talent for styling and writing that you can’t help but drop by her blog more often than you should. She has featured Darby & Joan on more than one occasion…our Winter Wonderland Wedding and The Ultimate Hen Tea Party…

Brides Up North is the premier wedding blog specifically for the North of the UK and they provide great features. One of them was a blog about one of our favourite photoshoots we have been involved with. The theme was Vintage Elopement, a 1940′s styled affair which was a lot of fun to do. Have a look here …

Thats all folks..

19:43 16 January 2012

Good morning all. It was a good old week for Darby & Joan last week, a pretty amazing start to the year with lots of exciting project to be involved with.

I had a meeting with the lovely Deb from Fabulous Places to discuss the next event she is organising – a date for your diary – Saturday 7th July at The Roundhouse in Derby. Just the most perfect venue for a shopping event, I am sure a lot of you reading this know exactly what I am talking about!

Since January 2009 Fabulous Places has been holding food & gift events around Derbyshire. The aim behind the events is to offer you a unique opportunity to visit an event that has been carefully put together. Deb organises events that she would choose to attend…there is always an attention detail, the venue is always stunning and there’s absolutely no compromise with the stall quality as each and every stall is handpicked by her.

Darby & Joan have been involved with Fabulous Places for some time now and have exhibited at several of their events. They are always the highlight of our year, and, whilst the preparation leading up to the event is pretty hectic, the excitement and anticipation far outweighs the inevitable string of evenings when we are working until 2am!! You can just see our stand in the midst of all the people in the photo which was taken at the Christmas Fair 2011.

Deb was looking for something a little different to add to her catering for this summer’s event, and that’s where Darby & Joan come in. We are going to have a Vintage Tea Rooms so that you can all sample a selection of our Afternoon Tea menu and enjoy tea and cakes served on our vintage china.

Our staff has been picked, our menu is being tweaked and added to and I am bursting with ideas – some probably far too OTT, but I can dream!

It is early days I know, but I am so so excited about it I wanted to share it and pop it on the blog.

12:17 16 January 2012

perfect for adding some chic vintage glamour

Hello – just a quickie – Vintage Chic Wedding Fair contacted me over the weekend with an exciting proposal, and that reminded me that a little while ago, when they first launched their blog, they kindly did a lovely post about Darby & Joan. Here is the link if you would like a read of what they had to say about us – read me!!

Susie and Cathy, the stylish brains and beauty behind the company, have recently announced the date of their next Vintage Chic Wedding Fair, it will be on 22nd April from 11.30 until 4pm at The Centennial Centre, Edgbaston, Birmingham. I would suggest that you book tickets as the last couple of events have been busy! www.vintagechicweddingfair.co.uk

They describe themselves as vintage wedding fairs with a modern twist, adding a pinch of glamour and a large dose of style to your wedding plans. ♥

Their aim is to provide Brides and their guests with an eclectic mix of top quality vintage inspired wedding suppliers to provide them with bags of inspiration for their up and coming big day.

We can promise you that you will be bowled over by the exhibitors; their flair, ideas, inspiration & experience will leave you with a vintage handbag bursting with contact details of companies you won’t want to arrange your wedding without!

Photos by Theresa Furey - www.theresafureyphotography.co.uk

Image from Vintage Chic Wedding Fair – www.vintagechicweddingfair.co.uk

22:27 15 January 2012

If I had to use a handful of adjectives to describe Anna & Lisa from the delectable Food Fairies I would say: beautiful, talented, creative & nothing is too much trouble. Ok, the last doesn’t fall into the adjective category, but you get the picture!!

Food Fairies is a Derbyshire catering company with a passion for delicious food. What I love about them is whilst they have an seemingly endless menu to choose from, they encourage their clients’ to share their own ideas & so offer a bespoke menu too.

They pride themselves on using locally sourced ingredients where possible, &, all their dishes, whether sweet or savoury, are homemade.

Food Fairies & Darby & Joan…

Whether your event is a buffet, a wedding breakfast, a formal dinner or you are hosting a drinks party & would like some deliecious canapes providing - I cannot recommend them enough. We have been fortunate to work with them at several events recently & want to shout from the rooftops about them! They cover Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire & beyond.

From cupcakes to layer cakes, platters of cheeses & cold cuts to trays of lasagne & huge bowls of salads, crostini smothered in tapanade & fresh tomatoes to mini beef wellingtons – I promise you will be spoilt for choice & will be thrilled with the personal service they offer. x

foodfairies@hotmail.co.uk

13:38 26 November 2011

Did you manage to pop down for some Christmas shopping this weekend at the Roundhouse?

This special Christmas Market, organised by Deb who runs the pretty fabulous Fabulous Places, returned for a second year at the stunning Roundhouse on Pride Park in Derby.

Not just anyone could exhibit and sell there you know – only handpicked food and gift exhibitors are invited to attend this special event ensuring shoppers were very spoilt for choice. The key thing for me is that there were so many local Derbyshire companies there, The Greenery who have beautiful flowers, wreaths and lots of festive decorations, Becky from Butterworth Photography was there showing her lovely relaxed portrait photography. I loved the gorgeous vintage style wooden signs from Delightful Living and if you fancied something sweet, Button Bakery had the most fantastic French macaroons.

It was lovely to see so many familiar faces there, both past customers and local businesses. Lavender Grey built the show stopping centerpiece for the weekend, Rosa Ribbons’ stall looked lovely and it was great to see Tattered Rose and their beautiful inspirational pieces again.

There were festive workshops and demonstrations ranging from winter flower arranging to inspirational gift wrapping, a santa’s grotto (who I believe nearly had a beard malfunction) and a craft corner for the children.

If you missed it, then you really did miss something special – watch out for news of the early summer event!

22:10 21 November 2011

Sore feet from wearing too high shoes, voice hoarse from talking all day, exhausted from an early start…but over the moon with how today went at the save the date wedding fair with a difference!

Darby & Joan english vintage wedding china hire, add some vintage glamour to your wedding

Darby & Joan caught up with wedding suppliers we regularly work alongside, met some inspirational new companies & people & spent the day talking to brides to be & their families about their impending weddings. Lydia & Abbi from Save the Date really know how to put an event together; catwalk shows, interactive displays, live music, outdoor entertainment, fabulous catering – all housed at The Roundhouse, one of the most impressive buildings in the county.

Add some vintage glamour to your wedding, vintage styling, vintage china hire

We were showcasing our vintage china & vintage accessories together with promoting our Afternoon Tea Party events (we had a cake trolley filled with cupcakes, scones, rocky road & chocolate dipped strawberries..not much left at the end of the day!)

Darby & Joan provide a bespoke vintage tea party menu, vintage hen parties, vintage garden parties, vintage weddings. Add some chic glamour to your event.

We were so so excited about the event, fingers & everything else crossed that we are able to work with some of the brides we met on their wedding or help with their hen parties. (We have already had one provisional booking from the day, which is amazing, that is my kind of bride!!)

23:38 16 October 2011

Morning all. Its 645 on Friday morning, an early blog! I have been up & about since 4am, my mind is whirring & working overtime with everything that is happening at the moment with Darby & Joan - exciting times.

Have you Derby folk heard of a lovely, relatively new restaurant on Sadler Gate, The Wonky Table? Its an intimate, friendly place to eat, having an ever changing menu with dishes made with largely locally sourced ingredients – & the cocktails are (in my opinion!) the best you’ll find in Derby. They have a function room upstairs which can be hired for private events, which I where I come in!

A couple of weeks ago D&J provided the vintage styling, vintage china & finishing touches to a vintage styled hen party. The girls had requested a champagne brunch & were treated to eggs benedict, fresh fruit salad, pastries & tarts with endless cups of coffee & tea. The ladies had a fabulous few hours & thought it was a gorgeous treat. They said it was especially nice because it gave family members from both sides of the bridal party to meet up & gave friends old & new the chance to get to know each other before the big day.

As it was such a success, The Wonky Table & Darby & Joan are hoping to make vintage styled get-togethers a regular event. I can’t think of a nicer way to celebrate your occasion if you want to plan your event during the day. Perfect for a hen party, birthday celebration or just an excuse to get the girls together for a champagne breakfast or vintage afternoon tea.

So, please contact either myself at D&J or Holly at the Wonky Table & we will be happy to discuss menu ideas & styling with you.

Vintage hen party styling. Vintage cake stands, china, glassware to hire.