The last decade has seen an increase in the popularity of Vintage Weddings -- perhaps it's a desire to go back to
simpler times when moral values seemed to make choices more straight forward.
Following are some tips that may be useful if you are considering a Vintage Wedding for that special day.
Vintage Wedding Attire
Traditionally, wedding dresses were often handed down from mother to daughter and when thinking of the past we typically conjure up an
image of the beautiful bride in an all white or ivory gown, but that was not always the case.
It was actually quite the common occurrence in the 1800's for brides to choose a dress of everyday colors such
as blue, dark brown, burgandy, green, pink and even black. This trait was especially common in brides that
were not privileged enough to be considered wealthy. Still a soft ivory color was probably the most popular color
through the mid 1800's, but white was becoming increasingly popular by the 1870's.
Historical Note:
Darker colors were often chosen for a couple of reasons:
(1) Fancy dresses in general were a luxury many could not afford so they wanted their
wedding dress to serve multiple purposes -- one as a dress to get married in but also, a dress for special
occasions in the future.
(2) More practical considerations also dictated that dresses of darker colors were often
a better choice than a white or ivory dress. Imagine if you can the hemline in a white dress in the times where
these dresses were often worn in the dirt and dust. Only the wealthy had servants to take care of the laundering
and even then getting rid of the stains completely was practically impossible.
When looking for a vintage gown, recognize that most experts acknowledge a slight difference between a vintage dress (25 years or older) and an
antique dress (1920's or earlier). In either case, however, if you were to choose a vintage dress today it would probably be best if it
were white or ivory. Generally your dress will also be simplistic in design and not heavily embellished.
One advantage of the Vintage Gown is that you can have a wide variety of styles to choose from -- fashions changed
regularly over time and while the Victorian gown is probably the most popular a lovely sheath dress can be equally
vintage.
While you can't expect a vintage dress to be in perfect condition, you should still choose your dress with care -- shy away from dresses with missing buttons (they are impossible to replace) or huge
stains and tears. Pay special attention to the stitching -- make sure it is not ready to unravel. Also, remember sizes were a little
different in the past -- either try the dress on or, if buying online, make sure the source is reputable and willing to accept returns
if the dress does not fit.
Accessories are also important to the look.
The veil was often the most elaborate piece the bride wore. It was almost always ivory
or white, even with the colored dresses. Pearls are always appropriate with white and ivory gowns and make sure your jewelry,
shoes and purse are matched to the color of your gown.
Vintage Theme
Your bridal gown is the most important decision in picking the era, but once chosen spend some time and research the era.
Find out what was popular at the time and try to duplicate some of the items in your decorations. If you have the budget,
it can be especially fun to chose a historical palace or location for your wedding. You can even check out some classic
movie titles for ideas, e.g., Roman Holiday, Casablanca, Meet Me In St. Louis or Gone With The Wind.
Find a photographer that is also willing to help by setting up some props for the era that you can use to photograph
the bride, groom and wedding party.
Vintage Decorations
Use your research into the era for ideas here also but it is common to use lots of lace, lanterns (especially around trees if
you are outside), candles and greenery in your
decorations.
Centerpiece and table decorations often set the theme. You can usually find relatively inexpensive antique items for table decorations
such as salt and pepper shakers, miniature or vintage tea sets with teapots and teacups placed on boxes and covered in lace
to show they are not for actual use, or even perfume bottles.
The centerpiece decorations can be as simple as an antique
vase with flowers or a vintage looking laced candelabra with candles. Another idea is a clear vase or bowl or an antique
jewelry box filled with strings of faux pearls. Another really neat idea for some areas is the use of antique birdcages spray
painted with a color of your choice.
There are also a lot of excellent do it yourself ideas online.
Vintage Colors
Vintage is not always black and white even though a lot of vintage photographs seem to lean this way. Victorian patterns
however can be any color you want but be sure and tie in the season in your color selections.
In general you want to keep it relatively simple with muted colors but make sure they match -- this is important no matter what
you theme. A free site that I have found extremely useful is . Choose Top Categories on their menu and scroll down to "Vintage" and you will be give several choices.
The picture below shows a couple Vintage examples:
Vintage Invitations
Use the invitation as a way to begin to set the theme with your guests. Throwback stationery styles like letterpress
printing and tea stained papers can give your invitations some nostalgic charm. Another idea is to design the invite to
look like a telegram or an old Hollywood marquee (check a website like Chisholm-Poster.com for some ideas). Complete the look
with a wax seal and an ink stamp with your monogram.
Here's another idea -- use postal stamps with personalized pictures to make your invitations unique. I guarantee this
will be a talking point among your guests for a long time. Have pictures taken of the bride and groom in appropriate era
costumes for the invitation stamps and then use wedding staged photos for the stamp on your thank you notes. You can get more
information on this and pricing information in the link below.
A vintage wedding can truly make your special day more memorable both for you and your guests. Some even invite their guests
to participate in the theme with appropriate costumes. It takes a little bit more effort but it can be fun and the end
result is almost always worth the effort.
