Jen in original 1940s vintage wedding dress: our Vintage Bride of the Week...

Dear Reader,
Today I'd like to share these charming images from Jen, whose wedding to Dan took place in the romantic surroundings of  Augill Castle in Cumbria...

Jen chose an original 1940s vintage wedding dress in rayon crepe with an elegant 'French knot' pattern – sophisticated and glamorous. With its elegant long sleeves, puddle train and pretty keyhole back, it suited lovely Jen to a T!

Jen prettily teamed it with Rachel Simpson 'Blossom' bridal shoes, roses from Petals of Cumbria and a bespoke jewel necklace. My brilliant seamstress Grace created her pretty headpiece from original vintage brooches. 

The wedding's theme was peacock feathers, so luscious jewel blues and greens were everywhere – from the stunning silk bridesmaids dresses (handmade by wonderful step-mum Susan, with a teeny bit of help from Jen) to the gorgeous cakes by talented sister Vicki… and even personalised bunting created by a family friend!

Beautiful bridesmaids! Chloe, Lauren, Sian and Evie...

…and little Rosie too (bribed with marshmallows to sit still for a moment)!

Jen and her darling family loved the experience of choosing the dress…

"Step-mum Susan, my sisters and I loved poring over your blog and website when I was making the choice of where to find my dress. As soon as we read your pages we knew that was it –  I didn't need to look any further.
And the whole experience of picking the dress at your lovely house was so enjoyable for my step-mum Susan and I to do together... so much so I wish I could do it again!"

The day itself was perfect too: an intimate family wedding with just 46 guests (ranging in age from 6 months to a fabulous 103 years!)…

And with super-stylish Grandma Irene (103 years young!) in raspberry pink cocktail dress

"The castle was gorgeous – the most stunning setting, with lovely vintage interiors and wonderful service. It even snowed bang on three o'clock as our ceremony started! While we were doing the speeches a deer wandered across the front lawn in front of the windows. Just perfect!"

Congratulations from Heavenly and all our readers to lovely Jen – you look stunning. And of course to lucky husband Dan too!
Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides

If you like this post, please check out...
1940s Inspired Wedding Dresses… 

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

Venue  Augill Castle, Cumbria
Headpiece by Grace Lamming
Shoes by Rachel Simpson Wedding Shoes
Necklace by Etsy
Flowers by Petals of Cumbria
Photography by Janet Ridley Photography

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It's all about 1940s glamour! With two lovely new vintage brides.

Dear Reader
Thanks for all your gorgeous comments on the new Dorothy dress, the latest 1940s style from my Heavenly Collection. I'm so pleased you like her...

Today I have two beautiful new brides to share. Both wear original 1940s vintage lace wedding dresses. And both look so stunning - so elegant and glamorous. First Rhiannon...

And now Annie, in a lovely tea-length lace dress. Annie is a professional dancer and really knows how to twirl...!

I'm definitely seeing a renewed popularity for 1940s glamour, so I though I'd do a little recap today of the all fabulous 1940s things we've been thinking about... Just scroll down to see what takes your fancy, and click through the links to see the full posts...

First, some lovely real vintage brides. Here is Lucie, in stunning original 1940s lace...

And Lisa, in sophisticated 1940s-inspired Bette dress, from my Heavenly Collection...

Next some fabulous 1940s style icons. First the sultry and sophisticated Lauren Bacall. What a woman!

And the fabulous Bette Davis... She is of course my inspiration for the Bette dress...

And here's the actual Bette 1940s-style dress she inspired...

On the subject of dresses, don't miss this wonderful original 1940s vintage lace wedding dress and jacket...

And lastly, some ideas for starlet-style hair to complement your 1940s wedding dress...

Phew, I think that's quite enough for now! I hope you'll make time to bring a little 1940s movie star style to your day today... 

See you next week

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

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"Oh Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars." Vintage wedding dress inspiration from Bette!

Dear Reader

Since we have 'Bette' as our lovely vintage wedding dress of the week, I'd like to share the inspiration behind this glamorous design...

The fabulous Bette Davis, in 'Now Voyager'

Bette was recreated from a gorgeous black crepe 1940s evening gown which was one of my very favourites. I always loved the simple elegant shape of it. 

1940s inspired wedding dress 'Bette', priced £1295

The original dress was remodelled slightly to flatter a modern figure, and then a pattern was created from it. The silk crepe I used - in a heavy weight and almost matte - was very popular in the 1940s. This matte effect is easier to wear and can look more sophisticated than satin. And the dress's little asymmetric peplum is very forgiving on the tummy area.

A young Bette Davis, in a gorgeous low-back 1940s dress

The dress is named after my style icon: fabulous 1940s actress Bette Davis. (Yes, you've probably guessed by now, I am a big fan of the black and white so-called ‘women’s films‘ of the 40s!) The quote at the top of this post is Bette's last line from the wonderfully romantic 'Now, Voyager'. 

And so naturally I wanted to have a dress in my collection with that same laidback easy glamour. 

Bette, blonde again, in elegant pants suit.

As well as Bette, I have another gorgeous 1940s-inspired dress in my collection: Florence, which I'm currently remodelling a little to make it even more flattering. I'll be showing new pictures of Florence soon, so do keep watching! 

And please pop back later this week to see Susie, a real bride who looks absolutely beautiful wearing the Bette dress...

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

PS If you like this post, please try:

Another darling 1940s dress, here.

Or my guide to 1940s hairstyles, here.

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