How to Accessorise your Vintage Wedding Dress... and the super new-look 'Love My Dress'

Dear Reader

Do you already know Love My Dress? It's a wonderful wedding blog, full of ideas and inspiration by brilliant blogger Annabel. Well, today it's all looking rather new and different... Check out their pretty new design here.

And it reminded me about a post I wrote for Annabel a little while ago, all about accessorising vintage wedding dresses. Just scroll down to see it below. (Some of these beautiful dresses may no longer be available, but do call me to check!) Or visit LoveMyDress to see the original post and admire the lovely redesign at the same time!

HOW TO ACCESSORISE YOUR VINTAGE WEDDING DRESS…

BY ANNABEL

AFTERNOON LADIES :)  I'D LIKE TO FEATURE AN

ADVICE PIECE FROM ONE OF MY FAVOURITE
VINTAGE BRIDAL WEAR SPECIALISTS, HELENA
BUTLER OF HEAVENLY VINTAGE BRIDES.

Helena has kitted out many a Love My Dress bride in one of her gorgeous original vintage wedding dresses, so knows a thing or two about how to team vintage dresses with different bridal accessories…

♥   ♥   ♥

I often get asked by my lovely brides for my advice regarding accessorising 

their vintage wedding dress. With this in mind I have some images to share – 

all the dresses are vintage and are from my own stock at Heavenly Vintage 

Brides, but the accessories are a mix of old {original vintage} and new.

Shoes…

with a short wedding dress like the first few photographed  here, there is  

great scope for fabulous statement shoes, which don't have to be ivory or 

white.  Lots of my Brides wear coloured shoes, red or pink in various shades 

being the most popular.  Several of my lovely brides have chosen the Melissa 

shoe, by Vivienne Westwood {below right in various shades}, and in the 

photo below {left}, the model is wearing Lady Dragon by Vivienne 

Westwood in red.

The sweet little 50s tiered lace dress the model above is wearing is 

unfortunately sold, but I will be making some copies of it in the Spring in 

fabulous French lace – keep an eye on my site for news of my own little 

collection of vintage inspired wedding dresses.

The shoes that my model Patience is wearing below are very modern 

but go well with the dresses, they are in a great nude pink colour which 

make her legs look super-long.

The lovely knee length dress here is 1960s Tulip style and has a very 

elegant, couture look and feel. It is approx a size 10 to small 12 and 

priced at £900, and is currently available to try on at the Heavenly 

Vintage Brides studio.

When my clients ask me for shoe ideas,  I often suggest a Spanish 

designer called Chie Mihara, her designs manage to look both vintage 

and contemporary at the same time. Take a look at Chie's website – 

her price start from around £240.

Another shoe designer I often suggest to my clients is Rachel Simpson 

whose dainty little shoes have a very vintage feel. I particularly like the 

Ginger style, in gold or silver as seen here. This designer has also just 

collaborated on a new range of shoes for dance-wear specialist Freed of 

London. 

A more cost effective alternative is to have a look at Next wedding 

shoes. The prices start from £30 and the shoes are really very pretty, 

and fantastic value. 

Vintage Bling…

I do love a bit of bling, so I often add a vintage brooch to a dress, 

the 1940s brooch Patience is wearing goes well as it's the same age 

as the dress and adds a bit of subtle sparkle, and the diamante pattern 

is quite lacy.

A great place to buy affordable vintage jewellery is the Hammersmith 

Town Hall Vintage Fair, run by Paola of P & A Antique Fairs, I get lots 

of great accessories, and petticoats there.

The little white flower and heart hat is by Cherished Vintage and the 

cocktail ring is from Top Shop and is just added for fun…

In one shot we have the ultimate accessory -  the 'handbag-sized' dog….! 

In this case JJ, who behaved very well considering she is only a few 

months old!

This dress by the way, is in beautiful cotton lace original vintage number, 

that was worn by a bride in Richmond back in the 1940s. I love the fact 

that I know her name and the year it was worn.  The Bride stored it so 

carefully with a little mother of pearl Bible and a coin dated 1940. It is 

in fantastic condition so it was obviously a treasured possession.

The dress is approximately size 8/10 and priced at £900.

The next dress is a 1950s tulle prom style dress. I have used a dainty 

little vintage diamante necklace which belonged to my model Cordelia's 

grandmother. I think it's lovely to try and use a family piece of jewellery 

- it doesn't need to be a valuable piece, just go through 'Granny's' 

jewellery box!

The headdress the model is wearing is made from vintage gold leaves 

and delicate diamante jewellery – a design by Cherished Vintage. The 

dress is priced at £850 and is size 8.

Headpieces…

The headwear is of course very important an accessory, particularly for 

my photoshoots. I have used a range of styles made by Abby and Debbie 

at the wonderful Cherished Vintage.  They use original vintage jewellery 

to make lovely unique headpieces and bands, and to my delight - great 

little hats, which are a recent addition to their range.  All the headpieces 

I used on my shoot were made by Cherished Vintage.

The dress here is a 1960s very classic style with a beaded neckline, and 

tulip skirt. The headdress made from vintage pearl jewellery was perfect 

with it – I needed something very simple in shape, to reflect the simplicity 

of the dress and the beaded neckline, and  It had just the right kind of 

beading and just the right 'weight' to it – again, from Cherished Vintage.

I though the style demanded a simple Audrey Hepburn style hairdo, but  

I made it a bit loose, to keep it modern.  The dress size is approximately 

a size 8.

Hairstyles are of course very important and I feel that they should echo 

the period of the dress but with a modern feel. Hair styles of the past 

were very fixed and lacquered and these days, girls don't want anything 

quite as stiff. 

Here, I again used a cute little hat from Cherished Vintage, and false 

eyelashes, which are great for capturing that vintage feel.

The dress, again modelled by Cordelia is silk organza from the 1950s 

with French Lace appliques, priced at £1200, it has a long sweeping 

train and a beautiful sash and fits approx a size 8. The little hats are 

hand-made on new bases using vintage flowers and textiles, and will 

be a feature of Cherished's ready to wear collection, or can be made 

bespoke to order.

The dress shown below is again from the 1950s and is beautifully 

constructed with  many panels forming the skirt.  It almost has a corset-like 

effect to draw attention to a neat waist.  It is approximately a size 8 or 

small size 10, and priced at £1100.

The final dress is a cute sparkly tulle and lace 1950s prom dress with 

pearls and sequins following the pattern of the lace around the neckline.  

I have used a great headpiece which has a sparkly vintage brooch at its 

centre, as of course the sparkles on the dress demand a bit more sparkle 

in the hair!  The dress is a size 8 and priced at £1000.

All these dresses are available at Heavenly Vintage Brides, and I love 

to meet Love My Dress brides, so please feel free to contact me to book 

in for an appointment sometime to try some on!

My prices range from £350/400 to around £1250 for an original 

vintage wedding dress. Unfortunately I don't have space to stock many 

accessories,  but I do have some nice original vintage wedding veils, 

and some great cocktail veils – designed by Helena Talbot of HT 

Headwear, that compliment my dresses in the most wonderful way.  

Helena can also create headpiece designs to match your specific ideas.

I hope you've enjoyed this post. Do check out Annabel's blog,
LoveMyDress. And please do visit me later this week when I'll be 
featuring some fabulous 1930s wedding dresses!

Love

Helena 

Heavenly Vintage Brides

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Wedding Wednesday- Our Inspiration Pictures

 

Ok, now that things are boiling down, the pictures that ended up being our biggest inspirations have really come together. If you are planning your wedding, I highly recommend keeping a stock of the pictures that appeal the most to you as you go, because they will probably paint a pretty clear picture of the feeling of your wedding.

Ooooh, going through these makes me so ready to do this already! I think it is going to be fun. This is the part I miss now that we are going through the nitty gritty.

from www.stylemepretty.com/page/647/

from www.oncewed.com/diy-wedding

from www.chroniclebooks.com/handmade-weddings

from www.etsy.com/shop/stylemycorntoss

from lastingimpressionsweddings.blogspot.com/

from southernweddings.com/vendor/a-southern-soiree/‎

from ruffledblog.com/handcrafted-backyard-texas-wedding

from etsy.com

from fr.weddbook.com/hashtag/fuchsia-wedding/2

from www.pinterest.com/paulajvr/hay-bale-inspiration

from greenweddingshoes.com/diy-giant-paper-rose-flower/‎

from minted.com

from www.societybride.com/category/bridal-look/wedding-shoes/

from greenweddingshoes.com/

from vickiesvintage.blogspot.com/p/wedding-themes.html

from theknot.com

from www.jasminestarblog.com/index.cfm?StartRow=528

from www.stylemepretty.com/california-weddings/

from pinterest.com

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This is my day, by Vintage Bride Carlye

Dear Reader,
Welcome to Part Two of Carlye's takeover. Today, our gorgeous bride is going to whizz us through her fabulous vintage–inspired day.…

Well, readers, this is my day, my experience – and my advice for you! 
Jase and I met almost eleven years ago at Uni in Swansea, aged just 19. Eight years later, we were living together in London when he took me on a surprise holiday to Venice – and proposed. 


In the next three years, while we established our careers, we went to so many friends' weddings that by the time we tied the knot this summer we had a really good idea of what we wanted our own big day to look like. 

The most important thing for us was that the day had to reflect us as individuals and as a couple. Everything we chose was personal and meaningful to us. And although there were lots of themes going on, everyone understood those details were a reflection of us.

We also wanted to be respectful of the traditions of marriage but not necessarily follow everything if we didn't feel it was right for us. We wanted things to be a bit more friendly, easygoing and informal, just like us! 

As soon as we were engaged, we chose Devon for our wedding as that's where Jase is from. We spent many summers there as students, and decided on our favourite village, Cockington: the most charming place with its thatched cottages and the best tea room.

I really wanted the wedding to reflect my love of all things vintage! I love the 1950s for its elegance and glamour, and the 1960s for its colours and simple style. So I chose a 1960s look for me and 1950s for my bridesmaids. Then we asked everyone to come in their own interpretation of 50s or 60s style. And I must say – though I'm a bit biased – everyone looked stunning! 

To get everyone in the vintage mood, we played a range of vintage music – everything from a 20s charleston to swinging 60s pop. We had a vintage London bus, an old fashioned Post Box for all our cards... even a vintage taxi cab for a photo–booth! 

My bouquet was also made to be similar to my nan's who got married in the late 50s. She loved that I wanted the same! 

My bridesmaids love a bit of vintage too, but are more contemporary in style than me. So we chose a modern dress with a vintage feel: with a halter neck, laced bodice and flared skirt. Then we added a pinny and peep toe shoes for that cute 50s housewife look (we even used the pinny fabric to create extra–special shoe laces!)

My engagement ring is a gold Panther sitting proudly on a branch – inspired by the famous Wallis Simpson Panther Brooch. I definitely wanted something different, so Jase had 'Charlie' (as my panther is now known!) made specially for me. I wanted a branch style ring for my wedding band, and found the perfect one at Alex Monroe. Jase even found a branch style on etsy so we match! 

Jase is a typical big kid, and works in computer–generated special effects. He loves computer games, specially a Japanese series called Final Fantasy. He chose a character that represented us, (for those in the know this was Squall and Aeris!) so we had models of them by the cake. The game also has a classical musical score so I walked down the aisle to 'Aeris' Theme' played by the organist!

We wanted an informal, summery theme and chose Italian to represent our engagement. We kept it simple and rustic – with an Italian menu, prosecco, and a dining room decorated with olive trees and herbs for fragrance. We even put up some of my sister's photographs of Venice. 

We wanted our family involved as much as possible, so we had lots of help with our cake, flowers, stationery, favours and decorations. It made things that extra special. (We had lots of people to thank!)  And both of our families are big cat lovers so our tables were named after all our family cats, past and present.

Our final theme was The Owl & and The Pussycat as Jase had given me a canvas of one of my favourite children's book illustrations from the 60s by Dale Maxey. We used it as part of our invitations (Jase's brother is an illustrator andd designed all our stationery) and decorated the bar area with this theme.

We then tied it all together with the vintage theme in our beautiful tea room: lots of bunting, vintage fabrics and proper cups & saucers – and all beautifully decorated by my mum & sister. 

Our venue was so perfect: Colehayes Park, a stunning Georgian Manor House with dormitory style rooms and beautiful gardens. It's basically a giant holiday home so we rented this for a week and we were allowed to do what we wanted. We weren't restricted to use particular people and that really helped as we were able to add our personal taste to the place, within our budget! 

We wanted the house to speak for itself so we mainly used flowers as its so beautiful & Jase' mum lovely filled the house! We loved that we could invite most people to stay with us & we loved that we had the place to ourselves so it was more informal. We only had a handful of people to help with serving food and drinks. 

We had a great time all helping to set up the venue at the beginning of the week, so we had just close friends and family with us. Most guests arrived the night before, and we all went out for a meal to break the ice. 

On the big day, I was so excited as unfortunately I had been very very poorly in the week up to the wedding (I honestly thought I was going to have to go to hospital) but I woke up feeling great! I ran round the house shouting 'I'm getting married today.' It was great to have friends and family staying with us, all getting ready together! 

The hair and make up team were calm, friendly and fabulous. They got the look perfect and though I still looked quite poorly, they worked a miracle! I loved my Priscilla Presley inspired look! 

My bridesmaids looked so cute with their 50's curls & flower in their hair & I loved their pines! I chose the Liberty print as I love their fabrics & also worked there when I first lived in London after uni! 

The vintage bus was a great surprise for everyone. We all headed to Cockington at a thatched cottage pub a short walk from the church. It was a great opportunity for everyone to meet and greet, calm their nerves or toast the day! It was relaxed and friendly, exactly as we hoped and the best start to the day! I just wish I had been there but I was still getting ready...

It was great to travel together with my mum & sister! Mum had hired a VW campervan to take us to the church – a great surprise – I loved it so much! We did get stuck in traffic and arrive quite late. Poor Jase! 

My mum walked me down the aisle and it was great to have her by my side! 

Afterwards, guests made a beautiful arch outside the church for us to walk through & I had brought everyone a vintage wedding wand by Ginger Ray as an alternative to confetti & was another fun keepsake. 

I actually first brought them the year before, for a best friend's hen do (we were each other's bridesmaid). They were such a hit, she asked if I could bring them to her wedding too! 

Everyone then got back on the bus to the venue. The weather was perfect and so we all enjoyed drinks in the garden before our Italian summer feast by the excellent Dartmoor Kitchens.

We had the speeches before we ate so the very nervous speakers could get this out the way and then relax. They were the most unprepared speeches but also the most spontaneous, funny and heartfelt! Jase's brothers were great – each said a little bit about growing up together, looking up to each other and welcoming me into the family. My sister and grandfather made a speech on my family's side and talked about bring our families together. Everyone was laughing and crying! There wasn't a dry eye in the room! 

The food was perfect. My very clever Auntie and godmother made my cake. I just said I wanted a vintage feel so bless her, already a gifted cook, she went on a course and made lace icing! It looked stunning and tasted delicious! 

We then made things flexible for everyone. Those who wanted cake and a cup of tea could enjoy the vintage tearoom, others could enjoy the bar or the chillout in the Lounge, or take a stroll in the garden before the party got started. 

The tearoom was a great hit with lots of specialist teas including Wedding Breakfast tea from Fortnum & Mason (one of my favourite places) and lots of homemade cakes from a family friend as well as the wedding cake.

We wanted people to feel at home and come and go through the different rooms as they please. We were so lucky that our venue allowed us to do this. I really feel Colehayes is a very special place. The owners are great too – I would highly recommend!

We then opened the dance floor and photo booth. We also had the fabulous Pizza Buona to keep hunger at bay with their made to order stone bake pizzas! Our final salute to our love of Italy! 

Everyone enjoyed themselves until the wee small hours and it was great that most people stayed so no one had to worry about getting home or finishing at a particular time! At midnight, we had an open bar and kept the tearoom going. And we had the added bonus of a basement for our after–party, so the young at heart still had a place to keep dancing but those with tired party feet could also retire upstairs! 

We wanted something for everyone but also still true to us and I think we achieved this. I had the most amazing day and was so overwhelmed to have everyone we know and love in one place.

I also love how everyone's memories, stories and photos help you capture your big day in a way you couldn't imagine. You truly feel very lucky and happy. There are still new moments and stories coming out and I hope that continues for years to come! 

So here's to all Helena's vintage brides – past, present & future! Have a very Happy Wedding Day and may your Heavenly Vintage Wedding Dress bring you lots of love, luck & happiness now and always!

Thanks for letting me share my big day with you! 
Lots of Love 
Mrs. Carlye McCloy-Brown 

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

Photographs with thanks to Alice of The Vintage Wedding Photographer 

Bride's dress: Original 1960s lace wedding dress – Heavenly Vintage Brides of course!
Bride's Shoes: 1960s Vintage Lace from Candy Says
Bride's Underwear: M&S
Bridesmaids' dresses: Chi Chi London
Bridesmaids' shoes: Mojo Moxy 
Bride's Hair & Make Up: Claire & Rebecca of The Popup Salon
Photo Booth: Alfie the Black Taxi Cab Booth
Groom's Suit: Ben Sherman Tailoring
Shoes: Kurt Geiger 
Best Men Suits: Topshop
Bridesmaid's Pinnies, Ushers / Best Men / Groom Cravats & Pocket: Liberty Art Fabric
Stationery: Groom's brother Danny Deeptown 
Meet & Greet: The Drum Inn, Cockington 
Wedding Ceremony: St George & St David's Church, Cockington, Devon
Wedding Reception: Colehayes Park, Bovey Tracey
Caterers: Dartmoor Kitchens 

And best of all…
Cake by Bride's aunt
Flowers by Groom's mum
Decoration by the mums, close family & friends

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