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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HAIRSTYLES for VINTAGE WEDDING DRESSES, Part 3: 1970s, and short hair.

Dear Reader

In the last of three posts about hairstyles to suit vintage wedding dresses, I'd like to finish with 1970s-inspired styles, and some gorgeous looks for short hair.

1970s 

For me, Farrah Fawcett typifies the 1970s look, with her tumbling sexy curls. But a literal interpretation is not what this is about, and I think the more relaxed dresses of the 1970s look great with softer styles in general. Plaits and braids are everywhere on the catwalk at the moment, and really work with this look. 

So to complement a 70s vintage wedding wedding dress, I'd recommend a combination of different sizes of plaits combined. And adding fresh flowers is very hard to beat for a boho 70s vibe!

Lots of lovely inspiration for these loose sexy styles below...

SHORT HAIR

In a complete contrast to the length of 1970s boho styles, short hair can be super-stylish too - and can work with vintage wedding dresses from any decade. 

Think of Anne Hathaway channelling Audrey Hepburn, for inspiration...!

Brazilian-American actress Morena Baccarin always knows how to wear her gorgeous short hair, dressing it up with waves. Here she wears it softer in the first images, then more retro and longer in the second. Both looks are very glamorous and would work beautifully with many different vintage wedding dresses. 

To end my post, one lady who really knows how to make an impact with short hair is Lupita Nyongo. These three red-carpet looks are all very different and each is quite vintage in feel. 

Thanks for stopping by to look at these lovely styles - I hope you've found some inspiration! I'll be back later this week with a post on gorgeous real vintage bride Molly.

Love

Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides

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Vintage Wedding Dress Trends for 2015 - Number 4...

Dear Reader,
My next tip for 2015 is a trend I really love. I'm so pleased to see it right back in style...

1940s style silk satin wedding dress, Florence - soft, womanly and flowing.

4. SOFT SATIN SLEEVES, 1940s STYLE

Long fitted lace sleeves have been very popular for the last few years (perhaps influenced by McQueen's fabulous dress for Kate Middleton). But now my clients are beginning to ask for a more flowing, 1940s style of sleeve in a soft satin.

1940s inspired Florence wedding dress, with soft silk sleeves

You may already know how much I love this look - with its sexy, womanly glamour and its roots in the golden age of Hollywood.

1940s style icon Lauren Bacall, in sophisticated white.

Plus this trend has another fabulous feature: it's SO flattering and easy to wear! 

1940s style icon Lauren Bacall in soft silk evening dress.

Here's Florence again (from my Heavenly Collection of vintage inspired wedding dresses), showing long soft sleeves in silk. Florence is inspired by an original 1940s dress and has that same soft-fitting glamour. 

Florence, 1940s style wedding dress in silk with long sleeves, beading and lace trim.

For 2015, I am making this sleeve style in a transparent silk chiffon - very in keeping with the 1940s origins of the dress. Watch this space!
Love 
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides

If you like this post, try…
Vintage Wedding Dress Trends for 2014 - Part 1…

Vintage Wedding Dress Trends for 2014 - Part 2…

Vintage Wedding Dress Trends for 2014 - Part 3…

Thanks to Robert Lawler for the beautiful photography
and to Abby at Cherished for the lovely headwear.

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1970s vintage wedding dresses on the Paris catwalks...

Dear Reader,
The Paris couture shows for Spring 2016 have just drawn to a close with SO many beautiful wedding dresses. (Quite a few bonkers ones too, but more of that later…) 

1970s style wedding dress by Giambattista Valli.

Many designers took vintage wedding fashion as their inspiration. So over the next few posts I'll be picking out some beauties fresh from the Paris couture shows. And I'll also show how you can achieve each catwalk look with the gorgeous original vintage wedding dresses from my London studio.

Beautiful softly pleated skirt on original 1970s boho wedding dress, £695

1970s off–the–shoulder styles are having a major fashion moment right now. The pretty 70s inspired dress from Giambattista Valli's Paris catwalk show (top) is a lovely example of this from the Paris Spring 2016 shows. 

Kate Brien in Valentino 1970s style

1970s boho style is always a favourite with fashion bloggers too. Vogue recently featured View From The Top blogger Kate Brien wearing – yes, you guessed – a Valentino 1970s vintage-style dress for her Mexico wedding…

Valentino 1970s style wedding dress

This style is very wearable and looks amazing on a real bride. Just take a look at the three  stunning real brides featured below, each wearing original 1970s boho wedding dresses from my studio... 

One of my gorgeous brides in original 1970s lace wedding dress

1970s cotton lace dress available from my studio, £795

And with their ruffles and floaty styling, 1970s vintage wedding dresses work brilliantly on the wedding dance floor too!

A fabulous bride in one of my original 1970s vintage wedding dresses

Floaty and so pretty: ballerina length 1970s wedding dress, £495 from my studio.

Another beautiful vintage bride in one of my original 1970s wedding dresses

Gorgeous cotton lace 1970s wedding dress, £795 from my London studio.

Gorgeous 1970s off the shoulder styling, from my studio.

A beautiful original 1970s lace wedding dress from my studio.

I'm always looking for these pretty 1970s boho wedding dresses for my collection, and I have some amazing ones available right now. Just look at these beauties below...

Original 1970s boho wedding dress, available now £695

Original 1970s vintage wedding dress in embroidered chiffon, £495

Gorgeous tiered skirt – perfect for twirling on the dance floor! £495

Pretty off the shoulder neckline on original 1970s lace wedding dress, £695

Sweet and pretty 1970s off the shoulder styling, £495

If you love the idea of twirling in one of these beautiful 1970s wedding dresses, come and see my West London studio, or check out my new Etsy store here…!

Pearl and crystal trim on a 1970s off the shoulder wedding dress

More posts from Paris coming soon – including the craziest dresses on the catwalks. Do pop back. And remember, you can always contact me here...

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

If you love vintage wedding dresses, there's lots more in my new Etsy shop. 

Just click here!

If you love seeing Real Vintage Brides visit my website, here…

And if you enjoyed this post, please try

Hairstyles for 1960s and 1970s wedding dresses…

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