Our Story
Hello everyone, we wanted to reach out and thank you all for following us and to welcome new followers. Trish and I have taken a bit of a break from social media whilst we all cope with the current crisis. We are both essential key workers (in healthcare), working tirelessly throughout the covid-19 pandemic. However, we cannot wait to restart weddings and other celebratory ceremonies as soon as the Flint Room is open for business again.
In the meantime, we thought we would update those of you that know and love our quirky former church of what’s been happening with this very special building, and let those of you who haven’t heard of us know why this space and what we do is so special. So here’s our story; myself Lesley Durant and my dear friend (and business partner) Trish Price were overwhelmed by the stunning building - former church of St John de Sepulchre on the corner of Finklegate and Ber Street in Norwich (it has also been referred to as St John the Theologian). Having run a quirky and totally unique vintage caravan photobooth business together for three years prior (a hobby coupled with market research for our future weddings), we already knew we were the dream team and armed with all manor of weird and wonderful decorations and props. We have a shared style for eclectic decor, bespoke and shabby-chic vintage quirkiness and with a shared love of the already amazing space - we knew we could create something very unique in this very special building.
Life is to be celebrated, and its celebrations come in many forms. We felt that Norwich had a need for something individual, creative and fun for its functions. The City is famous for it’s cathedrals and churches, but if you aren’t religious the only other available option for celebrations would be hiring a function room. Norwich is a highly artistic city with a lot of character and we just felt it was screaming out for a place with elements of eccentricity. We set about creating a bespoke venue in which people from all walks of life can celebrate a wide range of celebrations. We envisaged the Flint Room as an LGBTQ+ friendly environment, for weddings, baby naming ceremonies, vow renewals and even funeral services in celebration of life. The deconsecrated Medieval church was last used by an Orthodox congregation in 2009, so we were absolutely thrilled that the Norwich Historic Churches Trust allowed us to hold ceremonies there, rather than leave this incredible building sit empty.
Though all religious artifacts are covered, we haven’t interfered with anything. Simply created a relaxed and friendly atmosphere for everyone to feel welcome and comfortable at their special celebration. We’ve catered for 100 guests on mismatching furniture from vintage leather Chesterfields to leopard print upholstered sofas. Alongside our trinkets and treasures, we have decorated the venue with beautiful faux floral arrangements, including an ivy arch. Flowers are such a huge expense, particularly for weddings so we really wanted to eradicate that cost for our couples. We have often been told that our vibe is the ‘Mad Hatter’s Tea Party’ meets ‘Eccentric Eclecticism’… with a quirky bar to fill with ‘whatever you choose’ for you and your guests to boot!
We started this year on an absolute high having been featured on ‘Rock N Roll Bride’ in January. This really meant a lot, as the blog’s celebration of unique, individual and very special ceremonies is exactly what we wanted to achieve with the Flint Room… so having a featured Rockstar Badge really cemented the knowledge that we have achieved exactly that. Our former Church was due to be closed up until April this year anyway for building works to enable the building to be enjoyed for another 100 years. Lockdown, of course means we will be shut for some time to come yet; and we are so grateful to all of our loyal 2020 couple’s for postponing their Big day with us until 2021!
Anyone planning a wedding of celebration for 2021 please do get in touch, as our dates are filling up fast. We can’t wait to celebrate with you very soon.
And our final reminder is don’t be afraid of being different, be afraid of being the same!
Take Care
Lesley and Trish x