Original 1950s wedding dresses

Be warned, when you check out this Etsy shop, you are going to want to buy everything in it. Timeless Vixen  is based in Beverly Hills (but ships internationally), and 'offers the best in femme fetale fashion from the 1870s to 1970s'. I'll say.

I discovered these affordable, unique vintage wedding dresses through Katie Antoniou on Twitter, (of London Plinth). Thank you Twitter. Despite my grumblings about you of late, you do sometimes deliver a gem.

I know when I get married, I'm going to want to wear a unique dress. And vintage is a pretty good way to do that.

The 1950s style is grabbing me lately, maybe because it promises to give hips to those not naturally blessed with them so these dresses stood out in particular.

There's some pretty gorgeous 1930s dresses available too for those after something a little more slinky.

1950s vintage lace dress

1950s vintage bow dress

1950s vintage lace and yellow taffeta wedding dress

Timeless Vixen

And with prices starting at $325 they don't even have the hefty price tag you get with some vintage items.

What do you think? It's a good style this 1950s prom dress, flattering for lots of body shapes don't you think?

Etsy wedding dress

I've waxed lyrical about my love for Etsy many times on this blog. I just think it's such a good resource for anybody looking for unique and individual pieces. Sure, you often have to search to find the diamonds in the rough but it definitely rewards the patient browser.

Also a good option if you're looking for an original wedding dress. Look at these beauties I found recently...


from Lightwitch $395.00


from Ouma $480.00

This dress I've seen around before (and maybe even blogged) but seriously, look at it. It is insanely awesome. And only $840. Bargain eh.


also Ouma $840.00

What do you think? Would you buy your wedding dress from Etsy?

The 'vintage' backlash?

I'm going to use the phrase 'wedding trends' in this post warily, as I am well aware I'm making grand statements here! Plus, this is kind of a wordy post but bear with me, and let me know what you think!

So, we all like to think we're a little bit unique but when it comes to style, fashion, design, and wedding planning, amongst many other things, we are definitely influenced by trends. Where they come from and why they're popular is another matter but I think we'd all agree, that they exist is unquestionable.

And whilst there are very different style weddings taking place all over the world there are certain 'trends' that any subscriber to all the big wedding blogs will be familiar with.

The 'vintage' (and I use this term loosely) style wedding is still hugely influential. And chances are if you read a lot of wedding blogs and magazines, you'll know exactly what I mean by a vintage wedding without much explanation. Soft, dreamy photography, pale pastel colours, cupcakes, bunting, the whole 'shabby chic' thing - you get the gist.

Perhaps a key to it's success is that it's also easily obtainable for DIY weddings or budget weddings. It can look amazing for relatively little money which was maybe influenced and therefore so popular, by the world wide economic situation. Being flashy was somehow uncouth. It was all about quirky, personal weddings and the shabby chic, vintage wedding was a perfect fit.

I have to say personally I do love this style. I like the romance, the dreaminess. And for this matter I think it naturally suits weddings. And when it comes to wedding trends, whilst we might all be influenced that doesn't mean we should necessarily pay attention. Like in fashion, if something is popular and it suits you - great - but you shouldn't buy into something if it isn't you. So if vintage weddings start to become less prevalent that doesn't mean you shouldn't have one if it's what you like.

But I've been wondering lately what's next. The wedding industry is like any other it shifts and changes shape, reflecting moods and cultural happenings. Maybe in this new post recession world things are going to change and I've been wondering what this will mean in weddings.

Change is good. In any industry and in fact in your personal life change is important. It shakes you up a bit and makes you reassess what you like, what's important. That's not to say I think vintage inspired weddings will die a sudden death, I just think they're going to adapt and develop, like everything does and I'm kind of excited about what will come.

I'm interested in what you think. Is a 'vintage' wedding your thing or will you be glad to embrace a new style? What do you think the Next Big Thing will be? Or what do you want it to be?

I'm going to save my opinions about what's next for another post but I have to say, I hope it involves bright splashes of colour., a little bit of edge. I'd love to plan or style a wedding with a bride telling me she wants it BOLD!

♥ Romantic English Country Garden wedding ♥

Back in May I got a phone call from a groom-to-be in Germany wanting some help planning his wedding for August. This was new on several fronts, it was surprising in a good way to get an enquiry from a groom and I'd never worked with a couple getting married in the UK but living abroad. Factor in a scarily short amount of time and I knew planning this wedding was going to be a challenge! Which it was, but in a brilliant way. The couple, Nina and Patrick were pretty much a wedding planner's dream - they were up for being creative and were realistic about what their budget could afford.

My favourite part of planning their wedding was the styling. When I first met N&P (as they came to be known) they told me they wanted a classic English country garden wedding with some vintage touches. I had lots of perfect props for them to use, in fact all (except for the awesome vintage lampshades) the props you see in the photos came from me!

The venue was Bramble Park, Nina's aunt's huge old house that used to be a B&B. We put a marquee up in the garden that comfortably held the 50 guests and was pretty useful during the short sharp bursts of rain that occurred sporadically.

The photos were shot by the insanely fabulous Lisa Devlin Photography. I think she captured the essence of the wedding perfectly. I've already expressed my love for Lisa on my blog, I adore her style.

The gorgeous blooms came from Pollen Nation. Alison was amazing and got me loads of extra flowers. As the style was 'shabby chic' me and my awesome little helper flexed our creative muscles to become florists and put flowers in random mismatched bottles. The hydrangeas were favourites all round I think.

Style and design wise we had a little help from Grace and Tailor. Louisa sourced me some gorgeous cream lace as table runners and of course the lampshades which were a good feature for photos and looked really cute hung up in the marquee.

And the best part of the whole experience for me? Definitely being told afterwards by the couple that it was exactly the day they wanted and had totally exceeded their expectations. That made me feel good!









They stopped off for some shots in a glorious poppy field.



The classic 'ring' shot.









An old shed in the grounds of the venue...





Taken inside the house itself. Which incidentally was beyond incredible.



It was good to have a marquee which windows that opened up when the weather was good. And of course could be shut again just as easily.









This is a vintage clock I bought from across the pond on Etsy.





You got to love black tea cups. These were actually the cheapest I have, I got a whole set for £5 at a car boot sale. Bargain eh?



Love love love this shot...





For the main meal, a BBQ we set each place with mismatched vintage napkins. There was no formal seating plan, although there was a top table and guests just helped themselves to food and sat where they liked. I think this added to the intimate relaxed atmosphere.









The guy in the blue is the groom's dad, he was in a band called Fat Mattress back in the day. Check this out, it's pretty cool!



The cat, that got under my feet all day.



All in all a pretty perfect DIY, wedding at home. ♥

Wedding Tease

Here's a sneaky little shot of the wedding we worked on at the weekend...



It was a beautiful wedding, even if I do say so myself and I cannot wait to show you more!

Love for Lisa!

Lisa Devlin Photography

It's just 48 hours until one of my favourite couples get married and I am so excited about Lisa photographing it.

Not only does Lisa shoot for the coolest couples with the most fabulous looking weddings but she has such a light and joyful way with the camera that I simply cannot wait to see her photos of this wedding that I have so enjoyed working on this summer.

Here's a few pics from a recent wedding on Lisa's blog.













This images and many many more can be seen here and here.

Wedding style & design

Over the past year I've been collecting vintage and non vintage wedding props. It wasn't intended as a business plan initially, I just enjoyed their aesthetic value, but I was increasingly struggling to find affordable bits and bobs to recommend to clients so I thought why not offer my clients the option to hire what they like.

Here's some of my favourite pieces...

This Paragon tea cup makes me feel like such a lady when I drink Earl Grey from it.



I got this gorgeous old clock on Etsy and it cost a small fortune to have it shipped over here but it looks pretty awesome on my bookcase and my next couple have hired it for their wedding on Saturday.



please do ignore random reflection in this photo

This teapot is a favourite because of the worn gold handle. I like imagining the conversations people must have had over the years whilst pouring tea from this delightfully gaudy pot.



I really enjoy scouring car boot sales, vintage markets and looking online for various pieces. I'm not fanatical about them being vintage, they can be vintage inspired or contemporary in fact. My only realy rule is I don't buy anything I wouldn't want at my wedding/ in my home.

I'm really looking forward to launching this new service to my current and future clients and I'm also pretty excited about the fact this means I have a legitimate excuse to go shopping. Rejoice!

Vintage typewriter as guest book

One of the best ways to show off your creativity at your wedding; or ensure you'll have an original keepsake to look back on in 30 years time is the guestbook.

It's becoming increasingly popular to make the 'guest book experience' a feature of the wedding and one of my favourite ways has to be the vintage typewriter.





Totally gorgeous and pretty amusing when guests get tipsy.

What you think? Like it, or do you prefer more traditional guestbooks?

Lovely vintage love

Cameo necklace image from here
mint camera from here here
and love from here

Vintage loveliness by myvintageparty

I would like to draw your attention to the delicate, gorgeous vintage beauties from myvintageparty.





So if you're thinking of having a quintessentially English wedding with a vintage twist look no further! myvintageparty are specialists in vintage crockery and vintage accessories. Based in Warwickshire they can hire out pretty much anywhere in the UK.



They have a large collection of gorgeous trios, teapots, delectable cake stands and much much more.



Laura, who runs the company loves all things vintage and personally chooses each piece for it's beauty and charm.



They even have a vintage caravan which is available as a 'prop' for your special occasion. See more details on the website. Absolutely delightful.







We see a lot of vintage crockery suppliers but myvintageparty are definitely one of my favourites.