A 1940s-style vintage wedding dress for a cool Spring day.

Dear Reader, 
Choosing a vintage wedding dress for an English spring wedding can be a challenge. Of course, it must be gorgeous and glamorous. But it also needs to cover enough skin for our goosebump-inducing climate!

1940s style wedding dress, Florence, from the Heavenly Collection

Actually, I love winter and spring weddings. They're a great opportunity to wear elegant long sleeves and high necks that may simply be too hot in summer. And with this in mind, I've recently made some updates to the Florence dress from my Heavenly Collection of vintage-inspired wedding dresses. 

The original Florence vintage-style wedding dress, with puff sleeves

1940s style Florence wedding dress – new keyhole back detail.

This lovely new Florence has long satin sleeves, set into beautifully detailed shoulders. And the glamour quota stays high with the addition of a subtly sexy keyhole back – just enough to reveal a glimpse of skin.

Long and elegant, 1940s style Florence wedding dress in silk satin

Puff sleeves and pretty lace detail at neck of 1940s style wedding dress

And with lace flutter sleeves – 1940s style wedding dress, Florence

I've also introduced a stunning new colour, Sea Pearl – that positively glows in the light of a cold day.

Flutter sleeves on 1940s style Florence wedding dress

Long and elegant, with simple puffed sleeves: 1940s style wedding dress

Marabou feather wrap, perfect for a winter or spring vintage-style wedding

Spring and winter weddings also offer a wonderful choice of vintage accessories. Feathers or fur? Winter blooms in icy hues, or freshest spring flowers? The options are so romantic.

Late winter blooms, eucalyptus, pale roses and frosted berries

Swan feather wedding cape – perfect with a vintage wedding dress for spring.

Try a feather wrap like my own above – made from ostrich and marabou. Or this beautiful swan feather wedding cape from Not on the High Street. Or fur is fabulous – whether a real vintage piece or faux if you prefer...

Fabulous original 1960s fox fur stole

Glamorous vintage bride in faux fur, from a charming 1947 photo!

A cosy faux fur jacket or shrug can also work perfectly with a short-sleeved dress, such as Florence (below) with a lace flutter sleeve. I love the real vintage bride in the photo above – teaming her dress with that super-fabulous faux fur! 

1940s style wedding dress, Florence, with lace flutter sleeves

White fur stole – perfect to keep you warm at a chilly spring wedding.

If you like real fur, you can find wonderful vintage fur wraps and shrugs at Central Park Vintage. Another great place to seek out a fur or faux fur shrug is The Hammersmith Vintage Fair – I am a regular visitor for their great selection of accessories. 

Glorious pale blooms for an early Spring wedding.

And each version of Florence works beautifully with the current vogue for natural accessories. From the beautiful blooms from Brides.com to these stunning nature-inspired headpieces by Abby at Cherished.

Nature-inspired hair accessories complement a vintage wedding dress

As pretty as real snowdrops! Delicate head-pieces for a vintage style wedding.

I am used to seeing beautiful hair accessories, but I've not seen anything quite like these by Abby at Cherished before - they are small works of art and could have been made to go with the Florence dress. (I can't wait to feature more of them very soon!)

Lovely 1940s-inspired Florence wedding dress, from my Heavenly Collection.

I hope my brides and my readers will love the elegant new member of the Florence family, as much as the original puff-sleeved and flutter-sleeved versions! If you'd like to make an appointment to see Florence in person, do contact me!

And I've hope you've enjoyed these ideas for vintage-inspired late winter and early spring weddings! 

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

If you like this post, please try

Winter Vintage Bride Stephanie

And for more Real Vintage Brides, check out my website page here

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Original 1940s wedding dress for vintage bride Emily.

Dear Reader,

With its delicate Peter Pan collar and pretty lace sleeves, this gorgeous 1940s satin wedding dress was the perfect match for Emily: unusual and elegant at once!

Emily married Pete in South London in April – keeping the day simple and pretty with Spring flowers, bright pompoms, and a posh pie supper. 


Their relaxed approach worked beautifully, and Emily wholeheartedly recommends it to anyone planning their wedding…

"My advice would be to not get too worked up about it all. Easier said than done, I know. There is a lot of pressure on couples, and especially women, to make the perfect day and for everything to somehow represent you both as a couple. Not everything has to mean something, you’ll probably make some random decisions because you don’t want to devote your whole life to organising a wedding. The most important thing is that you are marrying the person that you love, and that you’re committed to the marriage ahead."

I'll end on Emily's words…

"A big thank you for all your help in finding and creating such a beautiful wedding dress for me! We had a fantastic day in April, and I got lots of compliments on my stunning and unusual dress. 

I'd recommend Heavenly Vintage Brides to anyone looking for a vintage wedding dress."

Thanks to Emily and Pete for sharing their lovely pictures (and thanks too, to photographer Benjamin Mathers). If you'd like to see more, check out Boho–weddings.com

Love
Helena 
Heavenly Vintage Brides

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

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A Fun Day Out at the Bristol Vintage Wedding Fair

Dear Reader

On Sunday I had the most enjoyable day out at the Bristol Vintage Wedding Fair, which takes place every year at Bristol Zoo. It's one of my favourite events in the vintage wedding dresses' calendar.

The fair is organised by Ali, a most lovely and well organised lady, and is always a great success. I took about fifty of my original vintage dresses with me, here are a few shots of my stand.

Phew! All set up just in time for the lovely crowds to arrive...

And I was helped by my ace team: my sister Kathy who is invaluable on my stand, and my clever photographer husband Robert who took all the pictures. (You can see more of his wonderful wedding photography here.)

A snap of me with my dresses, taken by fellow exhibitor Delia from Flo-Jo

Let me tell you about some of the nice people I met, with their quirky ideas for making weddings special. First, Steph from Sweet & Pretty who sets up sweet tables to keep your guests amused - especially the children I imagine! I was stopped in my tracks by the smell of all the delicious offerings.

Steph had some beautiful floral arrangements on her stand done by Adele who has her own business called Tin Can Floral. I love flowers and I really thought Adele had a great touch with the delicate little grouping of arrangements.

Opposite my stand was a lovely lady called Delia from Flo-Jo, who had a fun idea for hen parties: lovely vintage-knicker-making parties! Here are some pretty shots of her stand and the lady herself! 

I then spotted a very pretty vintage-styled model and asked Robert to photograph her; it’s always good to have a bit of vintage style inspiration! I was impressed by her feather headpiece, made by Tricia Hamilton, it was a perfectly balanced little thing and suited the model so well.

The model is Lauren, and the dress is by Pearl Bespoke. The lovely vintage hairdo is by Fiona at Beehive Brides, and I did notice it stayed very nice all day!

I mentioned that the vintage wedding fair is organised by Ali, who also has a company hiring out vintage crockery. I'll leave you with some pictures of her gorgeous vintage china, and if you love them, you can find lots more on her website here.

So that’s a round up of my very enjoyable day in Bristol Zoo. Thanks for sharing it with me! 

Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides

Photography by Robert Lawler, www.robertlawler.co.uk
Bristol Vintage Wedding Fair, www.bristolvintageweddingfair.blogspot.co.uk
Sweet & Pretty, www.sweetandpretty.co.uk or 07725 656682
Tin Can Florals, www.tincanfloral.co.uk
www.facebook.com/tincanfloral.co.uk or 07722 383601
Flo-Jo, www.flo-joboutique.co.uk or 01179041498
Tricia Hamilton, www.triciadesigns.com or 07826333103
Pearl Bespoke, www.pearlbespokedressmakers.co.uk or find her on twitter
Beehive Brides, www.beehivebrides.co.uk
Bristol Vintage, www.bristolvintage.co.uk
And not forgetting Bristol Zoo! www.bristolzoo.org.uk

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