On the blog today, beautiful vintage brides of 2013

Dear Reader

Clients often remark to me that I have a lovely job... absolutely right! I do take great pleasure in helping all my clients find that special wedding dress. Today on my vintage wedding blog, I'd like to showcase a few of the beautiful girls I've helped to find their dream dress in 2013.

KATHRYN
Kathryn wore 1950s tea-length 'Blanche' from my Heavenly Collection of vintage inspired dresses, for her Liverpool wedding. 

Kathryn looked wonderful in the dress. In her own words, 

"The dress was stunning - I felt amazing in it! A massive thank you, Helena, for everything you did. "

If you'd like to see more of Kathryn's wedding, there's a great post on Rock My Wedding.

One of the best things about choosing a vintage wedding dress is the range of styles. I never get bored with my job, since each era is so unique. Today I'd like to show you three more lovely brides in three very different styles - the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

CLARE 
For her Summer wedding, Clare chose a 1950s strapless tulle dress with a matching lace coat. 

Clare has a wonderfully dainty, ladylike air about her - and the dress suited her so well! In Clare's own words...

"Everyone commented on how beautiful my dress was and I absolutely loved wearing it!  It worked so well with the venue that we decided on, Luton Hoo. Many of our friends said they felt they had stepped into Downton Abbey for the day!

Thanks again for looking after me during my appointments with you.  I would not hesitate to recommend you to other brides looking for that special dress."

SUSIE 

Susie was an absolute delight to work with. She chose a gorgeous full-length original 1960s lace wedding dress for her very stylish wedding. 

In Susie's own words, 

"On the day I felt like a princess - I felt lovely and extremely comfortable all day. The dress was perfect, it fit just like a glove! Everyone loved my dress and I am so happy with the silhouette it gave me, it was just a dream to wear!"

I was thrilled when Susie wrote a lovely note explaining why she enjoyed choosing her dress with Heavenly...

"I had discovered Heavenly Vintage Brides whilst doing some research for a friends wedding and I would regularly go on line to have a peek at the lovely dresses! I was thrilled when I got engaged and contacted HVB immediately! Helena was very helpful from day one, emailing me about dresses that maybe suitable. I was blown away when I went to visit for the first time, it is such a treasure trove of wonderful gowns and Helena made the experience thoroughly relaxing and delightful.

I was absolutely spoilt for choice, there were so many beautiful dresses and Helena was fantastic, allowing me plenty of space and time to go through and select the ones I liked the best. My mum and I had a lovely time chatting with Helena whilst enjoying the best cup of tea I have ever had! 

It was wonderful to see so many dresses and talk about their history as Helena's collection stretches across the whole of the last century, so there is something for everyone. I cannot recommend HVB highly enough, I had such a fun time choosing my dress and I was so happy with my choice, I thoroughly enjoyed wearing it and felt very special, I just wish I could wear it more! I had so many lovely compliments on the day and I was just so pleased that Helena is part of my happy wedding memories!"

LAUREN 
Lauren chose a floaty lace 70s dress. She looked gorgeous in this bohemian and relaxed style. And in her own words,

"The dress was so comfortable. I really did feel as if I floated around all day." 

And here is the same dress in pictures from my studio... though of course it looks more beautiful on Lauren herself!

...Just a few of the lovely girls I've been lucky enough to work with this year.

Thanks to all of you who have visited Heavenly - I'm looking forward to meeting many more of you next year! And thanks for dropping by my vintage wedding blog today.

Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides

Kathryn's photos, thanks to S6 Photography
Susie's photos, thanks to Stella Fakiyesi 
Clare's photos 1 and 2, thanks to Martin Castein 
Heavenly Vintage Brides studio photos, thanks to Robert Lawler

Kind Words from Make-Up Artist Omie!

Dear Reader,
I hope you'll forgive me for a brief moment of trumpet-blowing, but I recently found this lovely article online. I discovered it completely by chance and was so pleased!

I died and went to Vintage Heaven 

"Yesterday I had my first taste of vintage bridal heaven. I got on the train and made my way to London to meet with top vintage wedding dress expert, in my opinion, and all round super cool lady, Helena. Helena runs Heavenly Vintage Brides from her beautiful home situated just outside of central London.

 

Since being presented with my stunning 1930’s engagement ring and the loveliest proposal from Michael, my thoughts have been in over drive about wedding dresses. After all, it is the most important dress I am going to wear in my life. So since Christmas, yes that soon, I have been scouring the internet for small companies who deal in vintage bridal dresses. In truth I had been somewhat disappointed  by the lack of vintage dresses on offer. I found myself presented with many bigger companies who sell vintage inspired dresses and vintage looking dresses, but none the less these are new frocks. I love the idea of a slight imperfection on the hem, a button that needs re sewing and a hue in the fabric that can only be described as love. The thing with vintage is that the quality and mastery that goes into making a dress cant be matched. I have never thought of buying a new wedding dress and I think there is something very romantic about marrying in a dress that someone else married in, perhaps several people in some cases. It kind of feels like passing the love down and I like that notion. 

After a few hours of scouring you can imagine my excitement when I came across Helena’s website which just drew me in from the start. Just to add I do buy new clothes. I would love to say my wardrobe is all vintage pieces but that would be a lie. I love new clothes as well and every so often, when I can afford to, I treat myself to a designer piece. Often something from Vivienne Westwood or Marc Jacobs. I am quite clever when it comes to shopping so I will buy designer pieces in the sales when they are half the price. I look for the shape and the cut of the fabric. It needs to stand the test of time and suit my body shape in a flattering way. No one cuts fabric like Vivienne so I see it as an investment. 

So, back to my trip to London. I arrived at Helena’s an hour late. Fashionably? Id like to say so but it was actually due to the fact that I am terrible on London’s underground and waited at the wrong platform for my second train. Helena kindly met me from the train station and I was taken upstairs to her beautifully decorated and dressed room where the magic happens. I honesty felt so happy and excited when I saw her collection of vintage bridal dresses, and these were proper vintage. I like proper.

 

Helena explained everything to me about the process of picking out the dresses, trying them on and how she would help me find what suited my shape and the look I am after. It quickly became very clear that Helena’s knowledge was excellent. She really knows her dresses and designers. I listened tentatively when she told me the history of each dress; where it had come from, who designed it and the decade it was born. Helena has dresses from all decades and I was ecstatic when I saw the sizeable 1960’s section on the beautifully laid out rail. 

 

I don’t want to ramble on about trying on the dresses, unless anyone wants to know in which case please post me some questions. All I would like to say is that is was brilliant, from arrival to the end. In fact, I cant wait to go back. The Earl Grey in the vintage tea cup and the chit chat about Helena’s past career working at Vidal Sassoon was the icing on the cake. 

I have narrowed it down to 4 dresses, I think. Being a typical Libra I am sure I will change my mind several times and no doubt return to my first choice. I have a couple more appointments with vintage bridal dress specialists which I will post about in the near future. 

If anyone is thinking of having a vintage wedding dress I would strongly recommend Heavenly Vintage Brides and contacting Helena."

 

Shucks, too kind! The author was a client of mine earlier this year, and is a make-up artist who does lovely work for brides. You can see her own blog here. Thanks, Omie.

And thanks dear reader for putting up with my shameless showing-off. That's quite enough about me, I promise… back to gorgeous brides and heavenly dresses later this week!

Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides

If you like this post, try
MY GUIDE TO 1960s WEDDING DRESSES

A GUIDE TO VINTAGE LACE WEDDING DRESSES Part 1: Pastel and Coloured Lace

Dear Reader

Most of the brides I meet love vintage lace wedding dresses. And there are so many fabulous types to choose from. Today, I'd like to talk about the pastel-coloured lace often used in 1950s wedding dresses.

A glimpse of a beautiful vintage lace wedding dress, for more details see below

COLOUR
One of the most common reasons brides come to see me is that they don't feel modern wedding dresses offer enough choice of colour. 

Contemporary lace wedding dresses are mostly available in bright white or still-fairly-bright ivory. With modern dresses you are always limited by what is currently fashionable. With vintage, you have access to up to 100 years of style!

Hand-making lace, on the Italian island of Burano, 1950s

Vintage lace wedding dresses come in a much wider range of colour options, which are often softer and deeper. Most of my dresses are gorgeous shades of white, cream, pale gold, and deeper ivory. 

One colour palette I particularly love for lace is the pastel champagne / blush / apricot shades. Many brides don't initially think of these colours for vintage lace - but they are so soft and flattering to wear.

BEAUTIFUL LACE WEDDING DRESSES FROM MY COLLECTION
I'd like to show you some examples: the three dresses below are currently available at my studio, all priced at £595.

1950s lace wedding dress with vintage flower trim, £595 

1950s lace wedding dress, pretty 'boat neck', £595

1950s lace wedding dress, elegant 'V' neck at back

Lace wedding dress, classic 1950s silhouette

1950s lace wedding dress, with lovely vintage-style flower detail £595

1950s lace wedding dress, 3/4 sleeves, £595

Beautiful dress from late 1950s/early 1960s, £595

Late 1950s/early 1960s dress, ruffle neckline, £595

Flattering softly fitted bodice, £595

Pretty satin ribbon and vintage crystal belt

Classic 1950s wedding dress, £595

Lovely 1950s silhouette - so feminine, £595 

1950s wedding dress: 3/4 sleeves and blush satin ribbon tie, £595

FABRICS
The three dresses above are all shorter length and date from the same time, late 1950s or early 60s. Like most 1950s lace wedding dresses, they are made with high quality synthetic fibres blended with cotton. 

After the war, these new fabrics were highly admired for the strength and flexibility they offer, making them feel soft and lovely to wear. And because of the strength of the modern fabric fibres, these dresses - like many 1950s wedding dresses - are still in wonderful condition.

Queen Elizabeth looking rather fabulous in pastel lace, 1959

Before the war, lace would always have been made in cotton or silk. Sadly, most antique silk lace has become very fragile and can no longer be worn.

However vintage/antique cotton lace is often still in very good wearable condition, as it is such a strong fibre. And although it gave way to the fashion for synthetics in the 1950s, cotton lace swung back into fashion in the 1960s and 1970s. I have many lovely cotton lace dresses in my collection.

VINTAGE LACE, FOR TIMELESS STYLE
Lace wedding dresses have been popular for over 400 years. In the 1600s, weight-for-weight, handmade lace cost more than gold. Lace was desired not just for its beauty, but as a sophisticated way to show your family's wealth.

'The Lacemaker' by Johannes Vermeer, painted c 1670

Lace would be worn by wealthy families at every formal opportunity, and was often passed down through generations as a valuable inheritance. 

Princess Grace's exquisite vintage lace wedding dress, 1956

So it is no surprise that lace became the first choice for opulent and exquisite wedding dresses. It is right back at the height of wedding fashion today, and vintage offers such a beautiful selection.

I will feature other types of lace in later posts, so please check back in! And thanks for dropping by today.

Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides

Christian Dior 1960's Knee-length amazing, silk-crepe dress.

This dress is fully-lined, has a simple gathered neckline and a maribou trim on cuffs and hem. It was worn in a Hollywood film, sadly I am not sure which one! Size:10 or a small 12 Price: £1250


Modelled by Patience Harding

A busy week at Heavenly! And real vintage bride Olivia's perfect Autumn wedding...

Dear Reader

Friday... at last! Thanks for joining me at the end of an exciting week. Autumn is always busy here - as so many girls start their search now for the perfect vintage wedding dress for a wedding next Summer.

At the start of each appointment, I give every client time to look through my entire collection of around seventy original vintage and vintage-style wedding dresses (usually while I'm in the kitchen rustling up a nice pot of tea!). I'm always amazed and delighted to see which dresses a clients picks out at this stage - every girl is completely individual, and chooses a unique combination of dresses!

Even after many years of matching lovely brides with their perfect vintage wedding dresses, this is still one of my favourite moments: meeting each new bride and seeing the first dresses she has chosen.

Now - as promised - I'd like to share those pictures of beautiful vintage bride Olivia and husband Nick, fresh from their wedding just a few weeks ago.

When Olivia came to see me, the first thing I noticed was how soft and gentle she seems. The perfect vintage wedding dress would need to be really special, to complement Olivia's lovely relaxed and bohemian style. 

Well, reader, we found it... In this this beautiful 1960s full length white lace gown, with pretty pink satin ribbon tie, Olivia makes a fairytale bride. Don't you agree?

To complement her romantic lace wedding dress, Olivia cleverly chose a garland of simple Autumn flowers in soft dusky colours for her hair, created by Roz at R&R Saggers. In Olivia's words:

"I wasn't really keen on a veil, and I felt flowers matched my hair better than a jewel headpiece. I like the hippy element to flowers - they are so free and not at all formal."

The same beautiful dusky colour palette ran through the bridesmaids' outfits, with tea-length dresses from Monsoon, shoes from Debenhams, and delicate headbands from Accessorize.

The wedding took place in their pretty-as-a-picture local parish church, All Saints Little Shelford. 

After a wedding breakfast in her mother's elegant garden, Olivia and Nick partied the evening away at 17th Century country house, Anstey Hall in Cambridge. Here, they were surrounded by friends and family, and sustained by an unending supply of delicious treats including a chocolate fountain, cupcakes and a hog roast!

Warmest congratulations Olivia and Nick, and thanks so much for sharing your wonderful day with us all. I'm delighted to have played a small part in it!

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

Olivia wore a beautiful 1960s full-length lace dress, with a pink ribbon and vintage flower belt. 

In her hair, a garland of Autumn blooms by R&R Saggers. 
Olivia's best friends cheered her on in pretty bridesmaids dresses by Monsoon and shoes by Debenhams. Their hair sparkled with delicate hairbands by Accessorize.
They ate, and drank, and ate some more at Anstey Hall. Then they all danced the night away to the funky sounds of Swagger!