Tag Archives: 1930s

A Gothic Masked Ball: Debs & Sean

November 22, 2011 in British Brides, Wedding | Written by

Sean & Deb’s masked ball wedding took place at the beginning on November at Brownsover Hall Hotel, Brownsover, Rugby. “We stumbled on the venue by accident after previously reserving two other venues”, the bride told me. “We were on our way up to my parents for christmas and made a detour to see the hall – it was amazing! Gothic, yet romantic. We fell in love with it as soon as we saw the giant Elk’s skull in the entrance hall!”

The venue fitted their wedding theme perfectly – slightly gothic and masqueradey (I’m pretty sure I just made up that word) with a 1920′s/30′s vibe.

“We were never going to have a conventional wedding – it’s just not us,” Debs continued. “Our original idea was to have a viking themed wedding, but we knew that we would have to agree on something that guests would be happy to take part in (and I really couldn’t see my Dad wearing leather and horns to walk me down the aisle!) I am obsessed with the 20′s/30′s/40′s, I think I must have been a wartime wife in a past life so when Sean presented me with my 1920′s engagement ring everything just seem to slot perfectly into place.”

“The 20′s and 30′s were so glamourous, it would give guests the perfect opportunity to dress up without feeling uncomfortable. We decided it would be like a country house party with a touch of romantic gothic…and then we decided we wanted to make it mysterious so added the masked ball element to the day and night. We just had to have the ceremony in masks! One of the best men did phone up one night though and said he had been thinking and the wedding would be like the upper deck of the Titanic in the day, and the lower deck in the evening….he wasn’t far wrong!”

Asking the guests to dress to fit their theme was something the couple thought long and hard about as they knew it would make their wedding really special. “I know some guests found it difficult knowing what to wear, so after a conversation with Sean’s Mum stating his gran was coming dressed as a goth, I knew I had to try and help those who were struggling,” Debs laughed. “I did my own blog, updating it everyday for the three weeks running up to the wedding, suggesting outfits, accessories, make up and inspirations. It worked! The wedding wouldn’t have been half as good without all the effort our guests made with their outfits. When I walked down the aisle and everyone had their masks on I was awestruck, and after the ceremony, when we were greeted by all our guests I turned to Sean and said ‘It really does look like a 1920′s houseparty…the guests look incredible’.”

Debs wore a dress made for her by Liliia. Having a custom made gown really doesn’t have to be an expensive option is you do your research. After the ceremony the bride crowd-surfed over the guests (in her full wedding attire) which certainly made for some much more Rock n Roll photographs than the traditional confetti shot!

Despite the opulent outcome, the wedding cost the couple less than £6000. “So much of our wedding was DIY as we wanted to put our stamp on it as much as possible. We are quite quirky and artistic so we did have loads of fun dying tags with tea bags, making button holes with feathers, drying out rose petals for months on end…plus we got to spend lots of time in antique shops, vintage stores and car boots which is a favourite past time! I would warn DIY brides that handmaking everything is very time consuming, but worth every second! I think another important factor is the venue. Be aware of your budget and barter! Also, we wanted a venue that looked authentic throughout so we wouldn’t have to spend too much on decorating the place.”

“We knew we wanted 20/30′s events for the table names so I decided to do a little explaination as well so guests knew how they were relevant to the wedding. The keys and luggage name tags added a touch of gothic to the tables. We made the confetti cones out of stained music sheets and we dried all the rose petals ourselves (donated by friends and family throughout the summer!)”

I adore this couple and this wedding don’t you? I’m so excited to share it with you today so thank you to the amazing Sassy of Assassynation for sending over her photos this week. Of Sassy, the bride said, “I found Sassy by accident on a bridal chat room and from the moment I met her I knew she was the photographer for us. She was totally on our wave length and we booked her even before we had found a venue and named a date! I would truthfully have chosen a wedding date based on Sassy’s availability as we were so confident she was the photographer for us!”

They also had Frank of Sassy ‘n’ Frank on board to shoot their fabulous wedding video…

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A Vintage-Inspired Mountaintop Wedding: Roxanne & Braxton + WIN Her Twigs & Honey Veil

November 9, 2011 in Competitions, Wedding | Written by

Roxanne & Braxton’s beautiful mountain view wedding took place at Meditation Mount, Ojai, CA. Photographer Lydia Hudgens was there to capture the day.

“We wrote the ceremony ourselves and our friend John was our officiant,” Roxanne told me. “We had some friends perform readings from favorite writers of ours – Emily Dickinson, Virginia Woolf, Paul Eluard, etc. Another friend, Rob, provided the processional & recessional music on guitar, accompanied by Braxton’s cousins Kati and Madi. We walked down the aisle to Joanna Newsom’s ‘Bridges and Balloons’ and finished with Michael Jackson’s ‘The Way You Make Me Feel.’ It was so lovely and just what we wanted; Meditation Mount was an amazing place for a ceremony–the view of the surrounding valley is epic, sublime.”

The reception was held at Little House, a community centre in Ojai, CA, and the whole wedding has a real community feel. “For the duration of the wedding weekend we’d rented a ranch down at the end of a remote canyon to stay at with a large number of friends,” the bride continued. “It was so relaxing to escape there as the day approached and spend time hiking in the mountains, swimming in the river, and chatting and cooking together. We didn’t have a wedding party so this was a way we could spend time with our friends and help them have a bit of a vacation as well.”

The bride wore a dress made by her Mother from an original 1930′s pattern with Melissa shoes and a headpiece from Twigs & Honey. From her outfit, to their decor ideas, the wedding had a subtle vintage theme.

“We didn’t have a theme as far as colors, but I did develop a fascination with 1910s, 20s and 30s postcards featuring a fede or gimmel (hands shaking). I collected a number of these and scanned and printed them for guests to write on for our guestbook; we also used some of these images for our website and postcard invitation. This led to a number of other hand themed things – my earrings were tiny silver madras hands holding sparrows holding pearls, and my mother wore a vintage hand brooch on her dress, and we had some hand shaped vases. We also had a shortened version of a hand-fasting as part of our ceremony.”

“Anyhow, the rest of the decorations were haphazard and came from what was on hand or easily accesible… I collected vintage tablecloths from family as well as antique and thrift shops, we bought candles at the 99 cent store, we used compostable bamboo plates and flatware in lieu of renting, we purchased parasols and paper lanterns and used live plants for the centerpieces and other floral arrangements. The centerpieces were planted in my Mother’s teapot collection. We also asked guests to dress for a 1930s garden party, and many of them did!”

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A ‘Make Do & Mend’ Wedding Inspired by the 30′s & 40′s: Megan & Henry

October 28, 2011 in Wedding | Written by

Megan & Henry wanted their wedding to embrace the beauty of Australia and to be a mixture of glamour and the ‘make, mend and do’ styling of the 30′s & 40′s. The wedding was held in the Officer’s Mess at The Gap Bluff Centre, Sydney.

“The simple yet elegant characteristic of the art deco building in Watsons Bay National Park felt like the perfect place for us to celebrate our wedding with an intimate group of family and friends,” Megan wrote. “Surrounded by a bush setting and overlooking Sydney Harbour, our guests joined us on a glorious Winter’s day for a relaxed pre-ceremony gluhwein (mulled wine), and continued the celebrations into the night, dancing to the lively jazz tunes of the Red Hot Papas.”

“Not a lot of decorating was needed inside the art deco Officer’s Mess, so a few home-made or vintage items, and the large floral arrangements and cake, were enough to add colour to the white furniture – set up for an informal cocktail celebration. The flowers chosen for the bouquets and cake topper were all native, and the groom and groomsmen wore a succulent on their lapel.”

“We weren’t tied to the conventions of many marriages,” she continued. “We took the reigns early and really enjoyed coming up with our color, texture and typography pallets. We were also celebrating our wedding on our ten year anniversary, so were pretty well established in knowing what was going to best represent the both of our styles, as a couple.”

“Our first inspirations were of mashing Dead Wood with The Great Gatsby…dusty sepia flapper dancing with lawn boules and croquet … things became more realistic as we fine-tuned the details and ended up with mulled wine on the lawn and a banjo and double-bass player in the band to help us satisfy the fundamentals of our original vision.”

The bride wore a gown by Oanh Ma Couture with Camper shoes. The groom made their beautiful stationery.

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A Reclaimed, Relaxed & Fun London Wedding: Caroline & Lewis

September 14, 2011 in British Brides, Wedding | Written by

Caroline & Lewis wanted a relaxed and fun London wedding which would reflect their loves and inspirations – reclaimed items, Caroline’s love of fashion and vintage and quirky DIY elements all played a massive part in their wedding.

“The whole day felt so perfect, not in the sense that everything went to plan, but it felt good that all our hard work was finally coming to fruition,” Caroline told me. “Amazingly we didn’t feel nervous at all, we just felt excited. It gave me a huge sense of achievement knowing that I made my own wedding dress, made the bouquets, the cake, the invitations and all the decorations. I’m not saying that I did a better job than the professionals, but it was fun to have a go and it keeps costs down. You don’t need a massive budget to have a London wedding. There are lots of pubs, bars and restaurants that would jump at the chance to host a wedding and don’t charge a hire fee.”

“We wanted the day to be relaxed and fun with a few quirky surprises.” the bride continued. “The hardest thing was finding venues that didn’t feel too formal and were within our budget. The decorations and other details were the fun part. We didn’t have a particular theme, era or colour palette, we just collected things that caught our eye. We scoured wedding blogs for inspiration and then worked out how we could recreate them on a budget. We hired a lovely vintage ice cream van instead of having a sit-down dessert. We kept it a secret, so watching our guests faces as the little Honda ice cream van pulled up outside was priceless. Our main aim was to have an intimate ceremony that was personal to us, followed by an amazing party for our closest family and friends.”

As a fashion designer it was important to Caroline that she found her perfect dress…or two dresses actually. She wore a 1930′s dress which she customised herself for the main part of the wedding and a vintage floral dress which she found on Etsy in the evening. To her day dress she added a belt which she bought from New Look for just £1.50 and a floral crown which she made herself with guidance from her florist.

“My mum made her own wedding dress so I thought it would be nice to follow in her footsteps,” she explained. “The original 1930’s dress was bought for £95 from Annie’s Vintage in Angel, the dress then sat in a brown envelope for the next 6 months whilst I hunted for a suitable lace. As the dress was vintage, it was slightly off-white so finding a lace in the same colour proved very difficult. I tried to find another vintage lace dress that I could deconstruct, but it was difficult to find anything that had enough fabric. I finally found a French Chantilly lace in Macculloch & Wallis 10 weeks before the wedding. Many hours were spent sat behind a sewing machine, cramped in a tiny box room in our London flat. Listening to people gasp ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe your dress isn’t finished yet!’ just added to the pressure so I just pretended it was all finished if anyone asked. The final hand stitching on the dress was actually done on the morning of the wedding, I found it quite therapeutic.”

I simply love love love the Oreo cake! It was also made by the bride and her family the day before the wedding. They even added a cute bird cake topper from Etsy to complete the look. “We made the cake the day before the wedding from Oreo biscuits. The biscuits are kept in place with chocolate icing. The whole cake took about 25 packets of biscuits to make. The smell of the biscuits and chocolate icing was divine but I had to resist temptation until the wedding diet was over!”

“I believe that you can do anything if you set your mind to it,” concluded the newly-married Caroline. “The best thing about our wedding was all the DIY touches, they’re the things that give the day some personality. There are tutorials online for just about anything so I just gave it a go and hoped for the best. I really enjoyed being busy on the morning of the wedding, it was a welcome distraction and prevented any nerves from creeping in.”

Simply wonderful. I know you’re going to love this one guys! What a cool couple….

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A Vintage Pin-Up Sailor Wedding: Ben & Shelby

August 29, 2011 in Wedding | Written by

I was initially sent just Ben & Shelby’s engagement session by their photographer Shani Barel, however when I laid eyes on their incredible wedding I knew I had to feature it instead! The wedding had a vintage, pin-up and sailor theme and I couldn’t think of anything more perfect to grace the pages of Rock n Roll Bride.

I was also pleased to hear that the ideas behind the style of their wedding were actually 100% reflective on how they are in ‘real life’. Ben is actually in the Navy and Shelby is a pin up model!  ”I was stationed on the USS Los Angeles that was originally home ported in Pearl Harbor, HI,” groom Ben told me when I asked the couple how they met. “The ship was on its way up to Bremerton, WA to decommission but made a stop in LA for a decommissioning ceremony. On Sunday, January 24th, I was the cook on duty aboard the ship but I was all finished and cleaned up with dinner, so a friend of mine asked if I wanted to go out.  So we immediately went to the bar. Sailors….. Anyway Ian and I went to what seemed to be the only place open in town called The Whale and Ale in San Pedro, CA. A few other sailors from the ship showed up and we all had a couple of beers and played cricket. As the night went on, I proceeded to the restroom and I notice in a huge way this cute blonde girl all fancy in a vintage dress and her hair all done up walking down the stairs. I was in awe. I had never seen a girl dressed in such a fashion and so stunning!”

“Ben being a sailor was definitely a big inspiration for our wedding,” confirmed Shelby. “The Queen Mary, stationed at Long Beach California has always been one of my favorite places and was the perfect setting for a sailor and a pin-up girl, it was like we went back in time to WWII.”

The bride wore a vintage dress (of course)…well in fact two dresses. The first was by Emma Domb and was originally her Mother’s and the second, the feather dress, was made by her Mother who makes dresses for a living.

She even wore a genuine 1940′s tiara and vintage jewellery. She even carried a paper flower bouquet from the 1940′s. The groom wore his Navy uniform.

The cake was also a special touch as the bride’s grandfather made the based and the cake topper was, again, genuine vintage. “Our cake topper was an antique sugar cake topper from 1944 with a little sailor and his tiny blonde bride I got it for just $14 on eBay due to the fact that somebody had taken a bite out of the base of it and chomped off one of the bride’s arms! I repaired the topper and added extra flowers and leaves to the arch they stood under we also added our wedding date to the back of the topper to mirror the original wedding date that was painted on the front.”

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An Old-Fashioned Tea Party & Vintage Inspired Wedding: Dan & Rach

July 14, 2011 in British Brides, Wedding | Written by

Dan & Rach didn’t think too hard about the theme of their wedding, they simply went with what felt perfect for them. This evolved into a village fete/old-fashioned garden party with 1930′s touches.

“It’s so easy to fall into the big fluffy trap when you start planning a wedding,” Rach told me “but then I discovered Rock n Roll Bride – yay! – and it was inspirational to see all those couples doing it their way.  We moved from Brighton to Shropshire a month before the wedding, so a lot of it was done at the last minute. We managed it, thanks to our families and friends rallying round. We also found the truly splendid Bethan of Haywood Jones Photography through Rock n Roll Bride . We were nervous about being photographed but soon relaxed into it and it was like having an old friend there on the day.”

The ceremony took place at St Mary’s Dudleston, Shropshire. The bride’s Mother is a retired vicar so she performed the ceremony, making it extra special. After the touching service, the couple and their guests headed to Plas Warren, a B&B in Dudleston, Shropshire. “We had afternoon tea using vintage china and vases collected from charity shops,” continued the bride. “Dan made a load of cake stands using old plates and bits off eBay. We covered the tables with vintage tablecloths that had belonged to my Grandmother.”

The bride’s vintage-inspired dress was made by a friend and it turned out just as she wanted, “My bridesmaid Sally designed and made my 30′s-inspired frock. I’m very lucky to have such a talented friend. We bought the silk on Berwick Street in London. I knew I didn’t want white and when I saw the grey silk I fell in love with the colour, it had an old Hollywood look. She finished it off with a belt using an art deco dress clip for the buckle.”

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