Live Wedding Painting at Quorn Manor - Leicester
Updated: Jul 18, 2019
The Wedding
Frankie and Paul’s wedding in Quorn was an absolutely beautiful day. As a Live Wedding Painter I was so excited to get the opportunity to paint at this event! The setting was gorgeous, expertly designed by James and Ruby (www.roeni.co.uk) I was completely in awe of the design and layout of the venue.
Outfit (or uniform? )
Important things first...
SHINY GOLD SHOES! Stripey Jump-suit (in branded colours of course!) and my Lissieart Apron.
Whilst I was setting up someone walked past and said 'oh hey shiny shoes' and I did a little happy skip...and my gold shoes matched the decor!
The Set-Up
There were two main areas, the tent that housed the ceremony and later on transformed into the dance floor and bar.
There was Gold everywhere! James, the designer, obviously loved it! The chairs, the flowers, the cutlery and even some very intricate wall paper was put up which proved quite the challenge to paint! When I arrived the first thing James said to me before showing me around was 'Sorry for the wallpaper, I don't know how you are going to paint it!'
1. The Wallpaper
2. View into the set-up of the ceremony. It was raining when I arrived so could have been taking place inside, an hour before the ceremony the chairs were placed outside so the painting had to relocate! (another Live Painting complication) This space converted into the dance floor with a bar in the evening.
3. The Ceremony Outside with all the gold chairs!
4. A breakout area for the guests by the bar
5. The beautiful flowers
6. The dining room, where the wedding breakfast and speeches took place, with the intricate gold wallpaper as a backdrop.
The Biggest Challenges
I had to do two paintings in one day! Yes two!
Every wedding is different, and you must think quickly on the spot a lot of the time.
The ideal position for a live painter is in the way of everyone. If you are painting the ceremony, you want to be bang in the middle of the isle. If you are painting the wedding breakfast, you want to be right in-front of the bride and groom, blocking the view for those watching the speeches. It can get pretty hectic in the dining hall, with the waiters and waitresses moving past with plates piled high. With the drinks flowing the traffic gets heavy. Obviously this can’t happen, so there has to be a compromise. You have to be able to see what’s going on to paint, and be out of the way of everyone enjoying themselves, but also somewhere people can admire the work being completed. It can be tricky the juggle.
With two paintings to complete there was a lot of juggling and running around to do. Arriving at 10.30am I was able to have a good look around, set up two easels by 1pm and get the first painting started ready for the ceremony at 3pm. I start with the background, and any key features such as the garden archway that the bride and groom will be standing in.
Shortly after the ceremony I had to pack up and rush over to the dining hall where I displayed painting one for all to admire and got started on the background of painting 2. I had less than an hour to get the base of the painting on before everyone started to filter in for the meal – I was so focused I forgot all about food, and a very kind person from catering snuck me out some left over canapés. (thanks mystery man)
Thanks to the team of chefs that kept me well fed, sneaking me some canopies and making me a giant bowl of chips at the end of the night. 12 hours on my feet and I was absolutely knackered by the end of it all… turns out I could barely walk the next day from the cramp that had built up in my legs!
The Final Peice (s)
I completed 2 paintings, Acrylic on Canvas, sized 42 cm by 60 cm (so about the same size as an A2 piece of paper) They were both about 75% complete on the day and I finished off the finer details back at my studio.
Be prepared for some posing!
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