A wedding is the perfect excuse to indulge your love of fashion and adornments from past eras. Whichever is your favorite period, you can really let your imagination and creative streak run wild in shaping a wedding with a difference. Bring the past to life in your save-the-date cards, invites, decorations, food, cake and favors, the men’s formal attire, and, perhaps most importantly of all, the bride’s dress.
If you want to emulate the British Edwardian style of the early 20th century, you will need tons of cream antique lace for your dress, and perhaps a long row of tiny pearl buttons down your back and an oversized ribbon around your waist for a belt. Your veil can be super-long and worn like a Juliet cap, covering most of your scalp, or perhaps you prefer an Edwardian crocheted or mesh cap, decorated with tiny beads and pearls.
Brides look equally stunning with a floral headband or fresh flowers woven into their hair, and you can carry the theme of fresh flowers over into your reception venue. Get advice from a florist on how to decorate the tables with some extravagant flower arrangements, and complement these with some antique candle table decorations. You could accessorize your outfit with brooches or a chunky locket, and a fur stole, lambskin shrug or a beautiful, intricate shawl to complement your dress. Or how about a parasol for a wonderfully feminine aura? The photographs will look stunning and you can choose to have some printed in black and white, or sepia, to really capture the effect.
If you want a more glamorous and flamboyant occasion, you could host a 1920s style wedding along the lines of The Great Gatsby. You will need a huge tower of champagne glasses and more than a little Hollywood glamour, and your stunning 1920s wedding dress could be long and sweeping with a dropped waist, or beaded like a cocktail dress. Hair is very important with a vintage wedding as a stylist can bring the era to life with a classic 1920s hairstyle xagentle waves, loose tendrils and hair fastened off-center.
A 1940s style wedding dress could replicate the knee-length skirt or tea-dress that was worn at this time. Or you could choose an A-line or fuller ball gown style with tulle and polka dots. Shoes could be peep-toe or a pump with a chunky heel, and accessories could include nylon stockings, gloves, and a pearl necklace. If you want to stick to traditional white for your dress, you could think up something more adventurous for your bridesmaids, such as knee-length halter neck dresses made from beautifully garish floral fabrics. For something different, send save-the-date cards and invites in the style of old postcards and recreate a World War II ambience at the reception by decorating the venue with wartime bunting and accessories.
You can accentuate the 1940s look with a tiny hourglass waist for a classic silhouette. The Genie Hour Glass Waist Trainer is worn around the waist like a belt. Available in nude, nobody will know that you are wearing it underneath your wedding dress as part of your underwear. It will cinch your waist and smooth any rolls and bulges to help you achieve that hourglass figure by giving you a much smaller, trimmer and more curvy waistline. As well as giving your waist a classic shape, the Waist Trainer improves your posture and supports your lower back, so it will help with being on your feet all day, not to mention maintaining an elegant pose for all those wedding photographs. A bride’s underwear is of course very important and you might want to choose some vintage underwear to go with your theme. You could choose stockings and a suspender belt, seamed nylons, a boned corset or girdle, or a bullet bra to give you a 1950s bust line!
Speaking of the 1950s, how about a 1950s Audrey Hepburn style wedding dress? Thinking of Audrey Hepburn conjures up an image of a slash-neck dress, tiny, capped sleeves, dark hair, thick eyebrows and bright red lips. Choose polka dots and tulle recreate that 1950s style, and if the 1960s are your thing, you could hire a VW camping van or a classic moped to transport the wedding party. The thing with a vintage wedding is that it allows you to indulge in memorabilia from your favorite era. Create a celebration that will stay in people’s memories forever – not least of all, yours.
