All weddings are special and uniquely beautiful. The style that hits me in my sweet spot is a vintage themed wedding. Ever since I can remember, I’ve been in love with vintage style dresses with a cinched waist, vintage hair-do’s and winged eyeliner. Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Za Za Gabor and Lucielle Ball were at the top of my style icons list. Watching their movies and shows were my favourite past-time. The Audrey Hepburn DVD collection is still in my possession!
So what makes vintage style so appealing decade after decade?
There was so much attention to detail. Every woman was so well groomed when they stepped out their door. Every strand of hair was in place, gloves were on and a hat or headpiece completed their outfit. It’s such a pity that we didn’t carry on with these traditions. Maybe that’s what makes vintage style special today – it’s an escape from the norm.
As a wedding photographer, I’ve seen vintage style weddings created in different ways. The bride may just choose a vintage style dress, look and car while leaving the rest of the details simple. Others will go all the way and choose vintage or rustic locations and add all the right finishing touches, down to how the cutlery is presented. This makes photo taking an exciting experience, as well as being able to produce an amazing story for the bride and groom to cherish forever.
How to style a vintage wedding in Melbourne?
Hiring a wedding planner or stylist would be a good idea if you don’t know how to achieve the look yourself. For those of you who want to do it all by yourselves, there are a lot of resources which you can go to to achieve your dream vintage wedding.
- find the vintage location – we give you some examples in the country or in the city
- style the wedding – how to give your wedding a vintage touch
- vintage dress for the bride – what to look for and how to find it
- the vintage look for you – the make-up is important
Find that perfect location in and around Melbourne
Country Wedding Location
A rustic wedding venue somewhere in the country side would be the most ideal. There are many stunning vineyards and farms that cater for wedding functions. These venues provide such a beautiful backdrop which makes your styling job a lot easier.
There’s no need to overdo with the decorations at a vineyard or farm as there are so many things there already which make for such fantastic props. There may be bales of hay, rusty tools hanging on a shed wall, a rustic shed, a farmhouse, animals or just the vineyard itself.
Barn weddings are extremely popular, but keep in mind that you will have to organise everything from tables and chairs to the catering. Again, there are a lot of services which will do it all for you. The end result is a memorable wedding with a homely, vintage feel.
Vintage in the City
Some gorgeous locations for a vintage style wedding in the Melbourne city would have to include:
- Gardens House in the Royal Botanic Gardens,
- Ripponlea Receptions,
- The Willows,
- Ascot House
- and some of the town halls around Melbourne.
For a vintage style wedding venue within the city, the styling should be kept simple and minimal with some hand made items. Table decor can be simply done by yourself. The more rustic, the better!
Just a touch of Vintage
Even though you may not be having your wedding in a vintage location, there are little things that you can do to give your wedding a vintage feel. As a couple, you can dress in vintage wear and keep the decor of your venue simple. It’s too hard to totally transform a modern city venue into a rustic one unless you have a huge budget!
One stylish bride wore a gorgeous vintage gown and brought in a lovely vintage table on which sat their wedding cake. Another bride wore a stunning vintage gown and hired a London taxi as their transport! Maybe you want to put in some hours and learn the rock-and-roll or some swing dancing to do for your wedding dance. A band playing retro music can be fun.
Just make sure you hire a photographer who can give the photos of your special day a vintage look. This doesn’t mean that they should turn every photo into black and white!
The Dress
This is probably the most important key item to giving your wedding the vintage feel. A stunning vintage dress which you love is not super hard to find these days. Most designers will have some vintage styles in their collection. The dress may have just touches of beading or lacework to give it some vintage charm. Lace is very popular with vintage brides. There are also the twenties style dresses which drape the body and flow to the ground. Maybe the cinched waist, shorter style is for you like one of our brides chose. She wore a gorgeous Oscar De La Renta silk dress. Check out the latest wedding dresses here.
Hair and Make-up
There’s a knack to getting this look right. Unless you regularly do yourself up in vintage make-up, it would be best to hire a hair and make-up artist. Not only does this give you a more relaxed day, you are more likely to achieve the results you are after.
Do have a trial session to see which looks suit you the best. Winged eyeliner will definitely make you look retro, and so would a splash of red lipstick! Most brides would normally opt for natural looking make-up for a vintage look.
[big_text]Most importantly of all – enjoy your special day![/big_text]