My Top 7 Vintage Brides of Last Year

Dear Reader,
While I'm thinking about my trends forecast for 2015, it often helps to look back over past seasons. It shows what worked best, which classics will always be in style, and what new ideas evolved…

It's always a pleasure looking back at my brides. It's almost impossible to choose favourites - I can honestly say they ALL looked fabulous. But here goes (drum roll, please)… in no particular order, my very favourite 7 Real Vintage Brides of last year!

1. MOLLY in ORIGINAL 1960s 'PRISCILLA' WEDDING DRESS

Molly was a real angel, so unassuming and beautiful. We found the perfect dress for her - a high neck, long sleeve, willowy Priscilla of Boston dress.

I love a high neck dress with long sleeves and a slim-fitting skirt. It's such an elegant combination, so modest and charming. And vintage dresses do it best - just like Molly's.

High necklines don’t flatter every figure - I find they work best with a small bust. But when it does work - as here - it looks amazing. 

These gorgeous pics also showcase a big trend from 2014 - the natural flower circlet. How refreshing to see all those beautiful flower crowns and circlets, after a few years in the wilderness (sorry, just couldn't resist the hopeless pun!)

2. FELICITY in 'BUTTERFLY' 1930s STYLE LACE WEDDING DRESS

Lovely Felicity chose Butterfly from my own collection. I never tire of seeing girls bring my vintage style wedding dresses to life. I feel immensely proud of each bride, they all wear the dresses so differently and bring their own personality and style.

Felicity's dress really shows off her fantastic figure. And to me, her own style makes it looks the epitome of a perfect English summer wedding.  

3. JANE in 1950s LACE WEDDING DRESS

Jane married her charming partner George last summer, in a stunning original 1950s blush lace dress.

I admit to being a bit greedy here. When I met these two lovely and very impressive women, I wanted them both to be Heavenly Vintage Brides! I tried to tempt George as well as Jane, but it was not to be! 

Instead, they cleverly coordinated their styles, both wearing 1950s silhouettes in tea length. And I'm delighted with the results. Jane looks devastating in her 1950s tulle and lace vintage wedding dress - so stylish, and the perfect complement to her dramatic red hair.

4. CHLOE in 1950s STYLE 'BLANCHE' LACE WEDDING DRESS

Chloe looks fabulous in the Blanche 1950s inspired wedding dress from my Heavenly Collection. 

She chose the ballerina length, with a three-quarter sleeve and we finished it off perfectly with a beautiful silk ribbon and handmade silk rose. It's such a classic beauty - and so is Chloe! 

Chloe and her family were really fun to work with, I loved being a part of their brilliant day.

5. SELINA in SLINKY 1940s STYLE 'BETTE' WEDDING DRESS

Beautiful Selina is a teacher. With her lovely athletic figure and even lovelier sweet nature, she suited the Bette dress from my Heavenly Collection so well.

It was a complete pleasure to be involved in Selina's special day. I loved watching her transform from a charming, kind teacher to a fabulously slinky and glamorous bride!

6. BECKY in 1930s LACE WEDDING DRESS

Dainty Becky was married last summer in a delicate lace peach coloured original 1930s dress.

I'm a big fan of pastel coloured lace and vintage has plenty to offer in the way of pretty shades of palest pink, peach and champagne. Inspired by this, I offer a similar choice with my own Heavenly Collection of vintage-inspired wedding dresses. Becky’s dress was so simple and just perfectly lovely for her, she accessorised it very well with the long veil and pretty silk flowers, made by my lovely seamstress Grace.

7. LUCIE in BEAUTIFUL 1940s LACE WEDDING DRESS

Lucie chose a stunning 1940s original vintage dress. I've rarely found such a fabulous dress - with its long net train, beautiful corded lace, and those little cap sleeves.

Lucie really shone in her dress at her wedding last summer - a truly beautiful bride and a wonderfully colourful, sunny wedding.

I often feel the 1940s gets a little forgotten, between the slinky 30s bias cutting and the flirty fun 50s dresses. But it's a decade I'm really fond of - sophisticated and glamorous without being fussy.

So there they are, in no particular order. Forgive me if I missed out your own personal favourites - I'm proud to say every one of my brides looked beautiful in their vintage wedding dresses. Take a look at more stunning real vintage brides here… and make your own impossible choice!

Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides

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Vintage Wedding Dress Trends for 2015 - Number 2.

Dear Reader,
The second trend I'd like to draw your attention to is…

Vintage wedding dress complemented by original Victorian lace cape

2. VINTAGE LACE CAPES AND COATS

In my London studio, brides are definitely moving away from shrugs and boleros this year, and asking for a softer style of lace cover-up - particularly vintage lace capes.

Original Victorian lace cape and vintage wedding dress

This elegant style may have originated in the Victorian era, but the height of its popularity was the 30s, when a fashion for short lace capes really took off - like the beautiful example I found for lovely bride Leah (below) to pair with an original 1930s wedding dress. 

1930s lace wedding dress and original lace cape, on gorgeous bride Leah.

Leah in beautiful 1930s lace wedding dress and lace cape

Like many 1930s fashions, it was reinvented in the 1960s and early 1970s when long lace capes - sometimes with hoods - came right back into style. I was recently asked to source a dress to complement a full-length hooded lace cape from 1972, which originally belonged to my client's mother. Fabulous!

Original 1940s lace wedding coat, over vintage 1940s wedding dress.

Long lace coats are also very in-demand right now. This is a more 1940s look - as you can see on the example above and below, with its sensational long lace train. 

1940s lace wedding coat, over vintage 1940s wedding dress.

Lace cover-up coat over 1940s vintage wedding dress.

I do love a challenge, sourcing something to match a client's own personal piece. Mixing and matching eras can work incredibly well, and these beautiful styles can look gorgeous over dresses from any era. I don't think you have to be strict about it!

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

If you like this post, check out

Vintage Wedding Dress Trends 2015 - Number 1

Thanks to Robert Lawler for the lovely photography.

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Lucie in her beautiful 1940s lace wedding dress.

Dear Reader,

Today, I'm delighted to hand over to real vintage bride Lucie. I'm only giving you a tantalising glimpse of her lovely wedding as it will soon feature on fabulous wedding blog LoveMyDress. (I promise to let you know, as soon as it's up there!) 

And instead, I'm very pleased that Lucie's agreed to talk us through her happy experience of choosing the perfect vintage wedding dress...

"As soon as I got engaged, I was dying to start trying on wedding dresses, but managed to restrain myself until a year before the wedding. A strapless meringue was never going to be ‘me’, and I didn’t like the feel of modern lace, so I always thought I’d end up with a vintage dress. I researched various vintage bridal shops and planned a jam-packed day zig-zag-ing across London with my sister (Maid of Honour) and mum (most excited mother of the bride in history) in tow. 

Heavenly Vintage Brides was our first appointment and, from the website, looked to be the smallest operation. However, as soon as we entered Helena’s AMAZING room-of-wonder, I knew I had stumbled upon a very, very special place. From the welcome we received from Helena, to the amazing breadth and quality of the dresses in her collection, it is definitely nirvana for any vintage bride-to-be. 

Having gone through the decade-ordered rails (all three of us ooh-ing and ahh-ing at every dress), I selected a very varied range to try on. Helena then discussed each dress with me, giving her valued, honest opinion about whether it would be likely to fit and suit my body shape. We almost discounted my dress as I was convinced it wouldn’t go over my hips, but Helena said we could give it a go.

 

I usually detest the whole fitting room experience, but trying on dresses with Helena was like being a kid again, playing dress-up. Before ‘the dress’, I tried on a 1950s full-skirted gown, some cute 1930s button-front lace dresses, and a tiered-skirt Victorian dress, all of which were beautiful. However, when it came to my dress, once I’d got over the amazement of it fitting like it had been tailor-made, I could see from my mum and sister’s faces that my search was over – it was perfect. 

My advice to any bride-to-be is to ignore any part of you that’s inclined to play the whole thing down and play it safe. Before I reserved my dress, I had a niggling doubt that it was too glamorous for me (I’m usually quite understated) and ‘too much’ due to the very long train – in most scenarios I cannot bear to be centre of attention, so thought a simpler, plainer dress might be better. I’m so happy now that my mum and sister managed to persuade me that, if I was going to feel glamorous and amazing on just one day, it should be my wedding day and that I would be an absolute idiot to even consider looking at other dresses. 

Another piece of advice for anyone buying a vintage dress is to see if you can find anything out about the history of your dress – knowing some of the story behind it will make it even more special. After I’d left Heavenly Vintage Brides, I Googled ‘1940s wedding dress’ (it wasn’t an era I knew much about) and was absolutely amazed when my actual dress appeared on the first row of the image results. Clicking through to the page, I found a listing from when the dress was sold a few years ago and found out that it had been made by a designer store in New York where Marilyn Monroe used to shop!

 

Our wedding day was EPIC and I surprised myself completely by how much I loved the attention – mostly from everyone complementing me on my dress. It felt amazing to be wearing such a unique dress with such an amazing history and I’ll treasure it forever."

Thanks so much, Lucie. From the little glimpses we've seen, we know you look stunning. But wait... I can't bear it...! You know I just can't keep a secret...! So here is Lucie looking absolutely beautiful and radiant in her 1940s dress with long train.

Big thanks to Lucie for her great words, and to photographer Mark Tattersall for these lovely images. For more pictures, you'll have to keep watching my blog each week!

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

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Real Vintage Bride Genevieve - Keeping it in the Family!

Dear Reader,

Today I'm specially pleased to show you gorgeous vintage bride Genevieve…

Vintage bride Genevieve in 1940s lace and satin wedding dress

Genevieve is one of four stunning sisters from a truly charming family. And Genny is the third sister who visited my London studio to find her perfect vintage wedding dress!

Champagne satin and beading on glamorous 1940s wedding dress

Genevieve chose a champagne-coloured satin 1940s wedding dress. It's a very glamorous dress with exquisite beading on the bodice and a long, long train with delicate lace inserts.

Real vintage bride Genevieve shines in her 1940s dress

Genevieve has such a lovely personality, and her 1940s dress was the perfect complement - allowing her graceful beauty to really shine. 

You may remember seeing more of Genevieve's family here on my blog and on my website. First, at sister Felicity's wedding (with bridesmaid Genevieve on the far right)...

Felicity in vintage cotton lace wedding dress, with bridesmaid sisters!

And then again at sister Molly's wedding...

And sister Molly wears gorgeous 1960s wedding dress with high neckline

Each sister has her own distinctive style. And as you can see each is a stunning bride! Charming mother Sue and Aunt Molly add to this remarkable family who were such a pleasure to work with. In Genevieve's kind words...

"I wanted to say a huge thank you for all your help in finding me my wonderful wedding dress! It was a perfect day and I felt beautiful in the dress and had so many compliments on it.  

The day really wouldn't have been the same without your help! I will of course be recommending you to everyone (not just for the family tradition!)"

What a family! I hope you've enjoyed seeing them. (And thanks to photographer Mairead McDaid.) Pop back next week for my Vintage Wedding Dress Trends for 2015.
Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides

For more Real Vintage Brides, check out my website page here...

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