Function Design House

1 Year ago with D&E. What a beautifully sentimental day this was. Mazel Tov! 🥰

Venue:
Food:
Cocktails:
Ketubah: .th
Ceremony: & Danny Gottlieb
Photography:
Planning:
Flowers: &
Music: & Noémie Ladderungs
Babysitting: &
Makeup: .by.beggs

We celebrated NYE with a wedding this year, and a personal one at that! We have some sneak peeks to share, but more importantly we want to share our sincere thank you to this wonderful industry that not only brought us together but also helped bring this event to life.

We (Sara, owner here at Function, and Michael, co-owner at Mensch Catering) are continually so grateful for the community we find ourselves in. The kindness, passion, talent and heart in the Victoria event industry is truly unmatched.

Our simple, intimate, and intentional community hall wedding turned NYE celebration was perfectly non traditional in every way. We’ll share more from this day soon (well maybe, let’s be honest we’re bad at posting) as we’re excited to broach the topic of making community hall weddings cool again, but first, the thank you’s!!

A huge thank you to our friends in the industry for their generosity in making this day possible:
for giving this day its bones with mainstay rentals AND the beautiful black velvet lounge furniture
for the insane amount of draping that allowed us to transform this space
for the legendary digital photo booth
for the linens and bentwood chairs
for the cocktails that started it all (iykyk) and the glassware
for mixing our 3 part first dance song
for the lamps

And for our incredible vendors:
Planning, Design & Coordination:
Officiant: Danny with the most incredible custom ceremony
Photo: whose talent made shooting in this very difficult room look like a breeze (and shout out to for joining as 2nd shooter!)
Catering: for a custom menu full of meaning and delicacy
Hair: for absolutely stunning work with the most annoying hair type possible
Makeup: for drop dead perfect makeup that lasted all night
Florals: for the most perfectly romantic bouquet
Venue: for opening for us in the off season!
Other Rentals:

Where every detail says “welcome” 🖤

We love Pride - AND - quietly creating inclusive events beyond just Pride month is what we know makes this world a better place.

When it’s entrenched in the details, sometimes we forget to talk about it. It struck me during a recent staff training, when a new (and incredibly thoughtful) team member asked how we address couples in our communication. I hadn’t even thought to include that note… because of course, couples are couples. Clients are clients. The people standing up with them are wedding parties. We meet everyone exactly where they are, and we celebrate exactly who they are. But you know what? It deserves to be said.

Inclusion is in the way we address emails.
In the way we honour pronouns.
In the way we don’t assume attire.
In the way we call it styling instead of hair and makeup so it’s thought of for all.
It’s in our anti-harassment policies.
In our non-gendered bathroom baskets.
In our timelines that say wedding party.
In how we consider public safety.
In our trauma-informed guest communication.
It’s in our donations to q***r events.

Inclusion is in the details, not just the rainbow… AND you better believe we’ll be dancing down the street with our Pride flags not once but twice this season. 👯‍♀️🎉

We’re here for it all.

In 2022 (second slide), I had one of my favourite event moments to date, sitting down with the students at .vanier via to talk honestly about how non-inclusive this industry can be, how we can build safer, more joyful spaces on purpose, and how they can be part of that change.

I got to tell them the things I wish someone had told me:

– That you can actually make a living designing experiences that centre inclusion, art, identity, and joy – aka the things they were already doing as volunteers.
– That you don’t need to “fit in” to succeed, you can reshape the space.
– That this industry doesn’t just need you, it’s better with you in it.

Here’s to the reminder: this work isn’t JUST about performative allyship or rainbow decor in June & July. It’s about structure, policy, access, and joy.

To all our 2SLGBTQIA+ couples, clients, team members, vendor pals, friends and family:
Happy Pride y’all 🌈
- Sara

We’re a finalist for one of the most prestigious awards in Canadian events. Damn, that feels good to say!

Our planning work is being recognized in the Best Wedding $300,000+ category at the Canadian Event Awards and we couldn’t be more honoured. We’re filled with anticipation for tonight’s gala in Toronto and are thrilled to be here celebrating alongside fellow nominee , up for Best Creative Floral!

This recognition celebrates not just one extraordinary wedding weekend, but the care, creativity, and collaboration that brought it to life. From the orchard ceremony to lunch in the reimagined barn, dinner in the elegant tented reception, and the heartfelt welcome and farewell events: this one was a love letter to design, logistics, and storytelling.

It was intentional luxury at its best and a true testament to Vancouver Island’s place as a leading destination for elevated celebrations in Canada.

Grateful to our clients, our vendor team, and our community. Thank you for trusting us with your most meaningful moments.












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There’s something magical about the meeting point between organic and elegant. Where soft textures, thoughtful florals, and modern design settle into the natural landscape like they’ve always belonged.

It’s a balance that’s surprisingly rare. Too often elegant means rigid. Organic means casual.
But when the two come together just right?
It’s fresh. Intentional. Effortless.
Elevated, but grounded.

That’s what made this setup so memorable: refined coastal minimalism, rooted in place, and full of feeling.

Better yet is that the florals featured in this gorgeous post-wedding brunch were reused and restyled from the day before. 🖤

Full Service Planning & Design:

Directly Pictured:

Leadership by day. Leg warmers by night.
Planning this conference reminded us just how good a corporate event can feel when it’s built around the people at the heart of it.

By day, our team transformed a raw space into a leadership and development conference complete with keynotes, breakouts, and a seamless blend of strategy and celebration. All grounded in their bold, fun brand values, team culture, and of course, logistical excellence.

By night, the space flipped into the 80s throwback party of their dreams. Because to this team, connection and celebration are just as essential to leadership as the learning itself.

We’re here for the kind of moments that build trust, spark joy, and remind teams why they show up (hint: it’s for each other!)

The team that helped pull this all together:

They’ve seen countless couples walk this aisle, but this time, it was their turn. When the venue & vineyard you pour your heart into becomes the place you say your own vows, it just hits different 🖤

Some of the incredible vendors behind this day:

We have a love/hate/turned love again relationship with red, and what better day to highlight that than today, the reddest of all days. ♥️

Red doesn’t blend in. It doesn’t quiet itself to be more palatable or easy to work with… and maybe that’s exactly why it’s worth embracing. Let bold be bold: both in life and design.

What we love:

Red is bold. It’s deep, emotionally charged, and demands attention in a way no other color can. It transforms a space, sets a mood, and encourages warm connections. It also has the longest wavelength in the visible spectrum (620–750 nm), making it one of the first colors our eyes register. This makes red elements seem closer, more prominent, and impossible to ignore.

What we hate:

Have you ever tried to match a shade of red? Or balance it in a design without it taking over? Red is pigment-strong and dominant, meaning it doesn’t desaturate easily. Unlike blues and greens, which have a wide range of muted tones, red resists softening—when you tone it down, it often shifts toward brown or gray instead of becoming a subtle, neutral version of itself.

To complicate things, red behaves differently in print vs. digital formats:
• CMYK printing: Red is a secondary color, made by mixing magenta and yellow.
• RGB (screens/lighting): Red is a primary color, meaning it can’t be created from others.

This dual identity makes red unpredictable.

TLDR: Designing with red is a challenge. But luckily, we love those.

How we ended up LOVING it:

We met the challenges of red by intentionally

• Contrasting it with neutrals (black & deep brown) for structure.
• Keeping it as the only non-neutral in the palette to avoid visual overwhelm.
• Layering in rich textures (velvet, suede & matte) to create depth instead of flat intensity.
• Controlling lighting to avoid unwanted red casting on skin/surfaces.
• Breaking it up with negative space to let the eye rest.

Red is a force of nature… but when used with intention, it can be luxurious, moody, and undeniably dramatic rather than overwhelming. That’s why it works so well in this design! Happy Valentine’s Day y’all!

We’re Hiring!
Looking for a fun, flexible job in events? Join our team as a Casual On-site Event Assistant and help us bring weddings, corporate events, and other celebrations to life with set-up, coordination, and takedown.

We’re a team built on kindness and committed to ending burnout culture in events. Our typical shifts are 8 hours (with a 12-hour max for those who prefer extended days), and we pay overtime - and double overtime! ;)

Pay: $22–$25/hour for assistants (based on experience and on-site leadership requirements)
Shifts: Flexible schedules - you can say yes or no to shifts! Most are Friday/Saturday/Sunday in the summer, with some midweek opportunities.
Perks: A chance to get creative, on-site meals during dinner shifts, opportunities for advancement, and the chance to travel throughout BC.

Requirements: Must be legally allowed to work in Canada, have a drivers license with access to a reliable vehicle and a cell phone!

How to Apply:
Email your resume, summer weekend availability, and a quick note about why you’d love to work with us (plus your relevant event experience, if any) to “sara @ functiondesignhouse.ca “

As our officially unofficial slogan says - LFG! 🖤

Photos from the wonderfully talented