Thursday 11 June 2015

8 Things You Need for A Vintage Wedding...

I love an excuse to look back at my wedding photos, and as wedding season is now upon us I thought I'd have a think about what makes a great vintage wedding...

The vintage wedding is no longer a thing of the past. Since Liam and I got married back in 2012 the theme has been gaining in popularity, and more and more people are opting for this kind of "do" for their special day. Maybe it's a style thing? Maybe it's people harking back to the "make do and mend' culture of the past, or perhaps people are realising that vintage is better for the environment: old things always come back into fashion eventually, so that could just be the case here! Regardless of the reasons people have for loving this trend, there are a few things you need to get it right.

Here are 8 things you need for a great vintage wedding:

Vintage Decor

To set the scene at a vintage wedding, you’re going to need vintage decor. It doesn’t need to be real vintage of course, unless you can source some that you can use. You can make your own decor that simply looks vintage, using things like corks and old wine bottles. There are so many tutorials online that you’ll be spoiled for choice, just make sure you leave plenty of time!


These vintage signs were found a few weeks before the wedding in my uncles barn (where we held our wedding reception) they added perfect vintage charm to our venue.

My collection of vintage teapots were used by our waitresses to serve tea to all the guests at the afternoon tea inspired reception

I used old corks to make the name place settings for each guest at our reception (even myself!)

A Vintage Style Dress

It’s up to you whether you’d like to find a real vintage wedding dress or a style that fits in with the theme. Depending on the quality of the dress and the year, you may spend a lot of money on real vintage - there are some brilliant lower cost options as well, it's worth keeping your ear to the ground, and looking in relatives lofts as well as in charity shops too: you never know where a vintage beauty might turn up! It all depends on your budget and just remember you’ll need the rest of the outfits to fit in with the theme too!

For our wedding I chose an off-the-rack dress from a Surrey-based bridal boutique by Ellis Bridals. I chose a champagne coloured dress, with lots of vintage-inspired detailing such as beading, lace and floral corsage.

My wedding dress - by Ellis Bridals

So pretty - my vintage inspired wedding dress! 

Stunning detail and a beautiful champagne shade! 

A Vintage Inspired Hairstyle or Hair Accessories 


There are so many different hairstyles you can go for on your wedding day, but you need a hairstyle to match your beautiful vintage dress. Something wavy would look wonderful, either up or down; whatever you prefer. The victory roll is a classic vintage hairstyle that you could also try, but it’s best to get a pro to perfect it for you. I opted for my usual straight hair (as my hair is impossible to curl) but with a vintage inspired tiara and veil to accessorise.

Both looking slightly rounder here - but still...what a magical day it was! 

Vintage Invites


The invites set the scene for your wedding before anybody has even arrived. Vintage wedding invites will let everybody know what to expect in a subtle way. You don’t need to give too much away. We had ours designed by my best friend Carmi, who is an illustrator - we wanted everyone to know they'd be coming to an afternoon tea themed wedding and so chose cakes, teacups and cake stands with a classic and simple colour scheme. We had two types of invite made: one for all day guests, and one for evening guests.


Our stunning invites: the evening guest one. 

Freshly Picked Flowers

Freshly picked flowers look far more authentic than store bought flowers. You can do this yourself if you have somewhere you can legitimately take flowers from, or you can explain your needs to a florist. With hindsight, I wish I'd chosen country-style wild flowers and peonies rather than gerberas for our day, as the gerberas are quite modern looking: I simply picked them because they are one of my favourite flowers. There really are no rules though - pick what you love!


Our table flower arrangements matched our bridesmaids dresses - a gorgeous bright shade of pink. Using stunning Gerberas (one of my favourite flowers).

Our table decorations! 

our pretty bouquets 

Quirky Elements

Vintage weddings are so much fun because they usually incorporate quirky elements. Things like old suitcases and crates can be used as displays, for example. You can use just about anything in a creative way!

I had so much fun coming up with quirky extras to add to our wedding day, and I think perhaps the quirkiest of all the elements was our incredible wedding cake, made by a family friend, and inspired by Pinterest!


Our super-quirky wedding cake - inspired by Cath Kinston & a cake I saw on Pinterest!

Vintage inspired bird cages with fairy lights hung from the barn ceiling...

My great aunts wedding photo hung behind the top table inside the barn to add to the vintage charm, and to include my wonderful late grandfather (in the picture) in our special day. 

chalk board order of the day (this still hangs in my dining room to this day!)

Vintage style sweet shop bags with a selection of traditional sweets inside for wedding favours, sealed with a Cath Kidston sticker. 

To add to the quirky charm of our day the children all had pony rides in my auntie's sand school next to the barn - it helped to keep them occupied on what can be quite a long day for children! 

Appropriate Music

The music should suit the style of wedding you’ve chosen. Playing some old songs mixed in with some modern songs should please everybody. Modern artists like Adele really suit this style of wedding.

We chose 'Unforgettable' by Nat King Cole for when I walked down the aisle, followed by 'I Swear' by Kenny Rodgers for the end of the ceremony. We had an acoustic version of 'Rule the World' by Take That sung for us for our first dance by my best friend Carmi and my brother Reg (who accompanied her on his guitar) - something live and personal adds so much charm to your special day.

The Right Venue

The right venue is essential for a vintage wedding. You don’t want to hold your vintage wedding in an ultra modern room; it just wouldn’t work. Make sure you select the venue carefully!

We were very lucky that my Aunt and Uncle offered us the use of their old barn (on the farm that they live on in Surrey) free of charge, wow - what a perfect location it was!


The stunning venue for our wedding day: my Aunt and Uncles' farm in Surrey. 

The stunning barn where we held our wedding reception: owned by my Aunt and Uncle on their old farm in Surrey - some happy memories were made in that barn! 

If you have these 8 things, you’ll definitely have the most wonderful vintage wedding.

Trust me when I say that it is totally worth putting in lots of effort and planning behind the scenes in advance, all those special little personal touches will make the day super-magical, and will provide you with a lifetime of happy memories and photographs to look back on and remember.

Make sure you enjoy every single moment of the day and don’t worry about anything...if you've put in the hard work and planning then your day will be perfect!


If you're currently planning a wedding and looking for some more visual wedding inspiration then why not check out my 'Wedding Lushness' Pinterest board.