Tag Archives: 1940s

Retro Bowling Club Wedding with an Ocean View: Nat & Sam

November 30, 2012 in Wedding | Written by

The retro wedding of Nat & Sam is perfect… literally perfect. I just know you’re going to go nuts for Nat’s nostalgic bridal style, their ocean view ceremony and the reception that looks like it stepped right out of the past.

“Our ceremony was at Burrows Park Headland, Sydney”, explained Nat. “The ceremony spot was a beautiful cliff edge looking over the Pacific Ocean and located right next to the Bowling Club where we had the reception. We loved that the only way to get to it was via a very long, natural aisle sheltered on one side by trees, which we decorated with Chinese lanterns. For our reception we chose Clovelly Bowling Club. It was cheap as chips to hire, the drinks prices stuck in the 1980s, and the tacky bright blue carpet and a strange old picture of the Queen flanked by two Aussie flags above a stage which houses an ancient piano (which we tuned up and used!) were AWESOME! As soon as we walked in we looked at each other and said ‘Yes!’. Oh, and it had 180 degree ocean views!”

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A 1940s & Vegan Wedding in Canada: Sarah & Carol

November 22, 2012 in British Brides, Wedding | Written by

Sarah & Carol had a destination wedding in Canada. With Sarah originally from Canada the pair, who now live in Brighton, wanted to fly back for the wedding. “We decided to be married in Sarnia because Carol is incredibly attached to her hometown and the beaches and water of Lake Huron (can you blame her?)”, wrote newlywed Carol. “At the time we booked the venue we thought we would both be living in Canada, so it seemed a natural choice. We chose Sarnia Riding Club as our venue so we could be right next to the water. We knew that whatever continent we decided to do the wedding on, a lot of people who wouldn’t be able to attend, we’re so pleased that so many people made it – and we’ve promised to dance with those who didn’t make it very soon.”

The couple didn’t want to spend a fortune on the wedding, and by doing a lot themselves and making clever choices they were able to keep their entire budget to under £4000. They were able to save money by buying dresses that weren’t ‘wedding dresses’ and by having their friend and professional photographer Alexa Clark Kent (yes really!) photograph the wedding as a gift. Alexa was also the ‘best woman’ so she really worked her butt off at this wedding!

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A Vintage Honeymoon Shoot: Ann & Anders

October 27, 2012 in Styled Photo Shoots | Written by

“Could there be anything more romantic than your soldier coming home from war?” wrote photographers Caroline & Jayden of Woodnote Photography. “And what if it was in the 40s, and you hadn’t been able to communicate with him online?” This was the starting point of inspiration for the honeymoon shoot of Ann & Anders which took place in Stockholm, Sweden.

“We teamed up with the fabulous stylists of Vintage Honeymoon to create this little inspiration from the past”, they continued. “Bicycles, a colorful picnic tea and a puppy as a wedding gift are the small details that turned this shoot into an afternoon of vintage magic.”

A honeymoon shoot might not be something you’ve considered before – well after all the hustle & bustle of organising your big day it’s probably the last thing on your mind! But after seeing Ann & Anders’ shoot I’m kinda in love with the idea. Gareth & I honeymooned in Tokyo. I would have loved a professional shoot to commemorate this trip – imagine what a weird and wonderful set of photographs we could have been left with!

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A DIY Wedding at a Safari Park: Jodi & Dave

October 5, 2012 in British Brides, Wedding | Written by

I’m not gonna lie, where was something in particular that swayed me when it came to featuring this wedding… Stan, the ever so slightly disgruntled looking cat. Of course when I saw the rest of the photos, I just happened to fall in love with Stan’s owners, Jodi & Dave as well, but if I’m going to be 100% truthful, Stan did help their cause.

This couple didn’t want to spend a fortune on the wedding and so by DIYing as much as they could the day came in at under £9000. The ceremony was held at Swiss Gardens, Shuttleworth with the reception taking place in the Safari Lodge at Woburn Safari Park. ”We looked at about 12 venues from a marquee where I keep my horses to a vintage factory ballroom but nothing quite ticked all the boxes”, wrote Jodi. “But when we found Swiss Gardens we knew instantly this was the one. We originally booked it for August 2013, but then were told the venue would be shutting down for 18 months for a lottery funded renovation so we could only postpone, cancel or move it forward! So we moved it forward giving us only 6 months to plan and make everything!”

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A Hackney Vintage Mash Up: Aimee & Lee

June 20, 2012 in British Brides, Wedding | Written by

Aimee & Lee were married in April at the Hackney Council Chambers. The wedding had an effortlessly cool, East London vibe with vintage elements throughout. “We both really love Hackney and wanted to get married in the borough as we brought our first home here and its where we first met”, the bride told me. “We picked the council chamber because of its art deco features and also it is a circular room so it felt really intimate and we loved the idea of being surrounded in a circle by all our family and friends.”

The Peasant Pub in Clerkenwell proved to be the perfect reception venue for this laid back couple. They were able to hire the entire pub for a fraction of the cost of a traditional wedding venue, as well as really go to town putting their own stamp on the decor. “Myself and Lee wanted a relaxed wedding venue and somewhere where we felt at home, this happened to be a pub in Clerkenwell”, the bride continued. “It has some lovely original Victorian features in the pub and being a lover of anything old it was the perfect spot. I also had specfic ideas of how I wanted to decorate it and Nick the owner was open and let us decorate it how we felt. He was fantastic at planning and helped us with any queries, his staff where also incredibly helpful on the day.”

“We tried to do a lot of decoration at the pub ourselves so customised our own bunting with our initials entwined. Lee is a massive lover of Scrabble so everyone had a Scrabble name as there name place. I also brought loads of vintage table cloths on eBay to give the pub a vintage feel. Our favours where a tape we recorded together of one of our favourite songs, Johnny Cash – Jackson. I can’t sing so I’m hoping no one has actually played it.”

The bride wore a 1940s vintage wedding dress which she found in Hope and Harlequin, Brighton. “As a massive lover of anything old I always knew my dress would be vintage”, she explained. “I went to Hope and Harlequin in Brighton as its a relaxed atmosphere and you can browse through the rails of dresses from all eras. Louise the owner is a jem and encouraged me to try on all styles. I ended up choosing a 1940s dress with pearl embellishment, which they took in for me and ended up fitting me like a glove, it was perfect and reduced me to tears.”

With her perfect dress she added customised Kurt Geiger shoes and and a homemade 1920s inspired cap veil. “I love Kurt Geiger shoes and wanted something classic but with a modern twist, so I brought the shoes and a talented friend of mine customised the soles so they where neon pink. I made my veil myself and was influenced by the 1920/30s caplets. I found a old pearl necklace and brought some silk mesh from Berwick St in London. The floral brooches on the ear pieces where from Hammersmith vintage market.”

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A Help Yourself, Village Fete Wedding in Cornwall: Rosalie & Fergus

February 8, 2012 in British Brides, Wedding | Written by

Rosalie & Fergus had a sweet homespun wedding in Cornwall. “The whole ethos was to get all our creative friends and family together for a two week holiday in Cornwall,” the bride explained. “The deal was, that they spent the first week, sewing, making, cooking, baking and generally doing anything and everything – then we had a massive great wedding/party which continued for the rest of the week. I don’t think they feel used, it was a great vibe and a really chilled way to organise a wedding.”

“The records that we used as table numbers was a very last minute decision, we found a box of singles in a charity shop in Wadebridge (nearest town) and then made them into lollipop type sticks using our favourite musicians and some red and white tape! I had always wanted a sort of help yourself village fete type affair, so we made little flags for all the food and people helped themselves. The vintage crockery was the star of the show, having just started by business, The Crockery Cupboard, it was hot topic and really brought the whole reception to life, and because of all the colour, no-one noticed the drab marquee we were sat in!”

“We lit the garden with hundreds of jam jars filled with a little sand and a tealight, so easy cheap and looks so pretty when it’s dark,” Rosalie continued. “Also, the cake table was a massive success, we had lots of different cakes to choose from, all on beautiful cake stands to cater for everyone and people could have a cuppa and a slice of cake at any point as it was there for the whole reception, which made people feel at home and looked really pretty too with all the vintage cups adorning the tables. We didn’t spend a fortune on flowers because we had a beautiful assortment of vintage vases that only needed a few stems but dotted around everywhere gave the illusion of lots of flowers.”

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