Fifties Wedding

Hey everyone, I’ve just received a set of beautiful images taken by Elizabeth Lois from Helena at HT Headwear and would like to share them with you. HT Headwear are based in London and create bespoke bridal and special occasion headwear, including the ever-popular birdcage style veil. HT Headwear will also be launching a range of vintage jewellery next month, which will include pieces from the 1920′s right through to the 1950′s. Some of the pieces are featured in these inspiration images too!

I am a bit of a magpie, I admit it – I can’t leave a bit of sparkle alone and have drawers full of vintage crystal necklaces, earrings and brooches. I feel ‘undressed’ without a necklace and, frankly, the gaudier and showier the better! I love a real statement piece. Does anyone remember that children’s book about the little girl who wished for a necklace for every day of the year? A fairy granted her wish with a trunk full of them. Sadly this gem of a book is now out of print, but is available second hand for a hefty price tag. It’s a lovely story and well worth a look, especially if you are a jewellery lover! I am keeping my old copy for my little girl when she is old enough to read and enjoy it.

It’s almost exactly a year ago now that Charlie did a post about 1950s shoes, so I thought it was about time to take a look at both vintage and vintage-style footwear – especially important for those who are going for a tea length dress! A few years ago, the choice for bridal shoes was pretty much limited to (ugly, in my opinion) satin court shoes – the sort of shoe you chose for the practical reason that it would match your dress and that you would never ever plan to wear again. I remember shopping for my wedding shoes and the lady in the shop shrugged and said, ‘Oh nobody will see them anyway’! I doubt that sort of conversation would happen these days, with bridal hemlines rising to ballerina, tea and cocktail lengths in many designers’ collections – wedding shoes are becoming a whole industry on their own – and about time too!

My goodness, where does the time go? I started writing this post weeks ago, but am only just now sitting down to finish it – I need more hours in the day! Hopefully it will be worth the wait…! When I was a bride-to-be, my dream was to wear an original vintage gown – something truly unique that I could be confident nobody would ever see anywhere else. I did a ton of digging, but sadly it seemed to me that I was too big (at a modern size 12) to get into any of the original 1950s wedding dresses that I managed to find. The average size seemed to be about a size 6.

Hey everyone, I’ve had a super-busy week this week so apologies for not being around. I took a trip down to the Miss Vintage Wedding Affair last Sunday and it was such a lovely day – great weather, a beautiful location and a whole ton of fab suppliers. Were you there? Share your thoughts…

I have had quite a few requests recently to mention various wedding fairs and events that are coming up. So here is a bit of a round-up of forthcoming vintage wedding fairs, alternative events and stuff that I thought you might like to know about.

Thank you to Carla Thomas, Sarah of Aranya Photography and Postscript Events for these bridal inspiration images that set out to show you a sophisticated and glamorous take on the 1950s style. This shoot takes its cues from the old school Hollywood movies, with fabulous up-dos created by Yulia at The Hepburn Collection and feline liner flicks and classic red lips courtesy of Miss Honey Bare at Heyday Honey.

At last I am sitting down to write this post – it has taken me such a long time to select from the hundreds of beautiful shots taken by Jonas Peterson of the marriage of Candice and Shannon at Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia last October. This is a bride with serious attention to detail (probably ingrained after so many years of working as a lawyer, where the detail is everything) – and you can see that she has created a day that manages to be retro yet modern, elegant without being self-conscious and with a colour pallette that just makes me drool. Want to see? OK here goes…

Welcome to the latest diary entry of our Fifties Wedding bride-to-be, Alex.  This month, she has been dress shopping and musing on the bridal boutique experience… Read on to find out if she has chosen THE DRESS!

Hello!  I would like to introduce myself as the new ‘voice’ of the Fifties Wedding Blog.  I’m Emma, and I was a 50s bride back in 2009.  Since then, my obsession with all things wedding just won’t seem to go away, so here I am to take over the reins from Charlie and Selma.  Wish me luck!!! By way of background, I am a mum to a little girl called Ruth, who will be 2 in May.  Until the end of last year, I was a solicitor (some spooky parallels there, as you all know Charlie has left the blog to pursue her legal career and become a mum!)  I am now embarking on a new life all wrapped up in the world of weddings and I couldn’t be more excited.  I hope you will stay with me on the journey begun by Charlie and Selma, as the blog continues to grow and bring you new ideas and inspiration. The picture shows me (in my bespoke Joanne Fleming dress!) with my husband, Nick, on the steps of Birkenhead Town Hall on our wedding day.  If only we could do it all again!  The next best thing has got to be helping other brides (and grooms!)-to-be to plan their perfect days, so here’s hoping I can do a good job of that! All comments, requests for future features and real wedding submissions welcome!  I look forward to getting to know you all in the coming weeks and months. Emma xxx