The Vintage Flower Girl

Okay folks, only a few weeks left to go until the big day! Eek! I can't get over how quickly time has passed. We have a fairly large wedding party and are blessed to have in it, our two beautiful nieces who will be playing the rolls of junior bridesmaids (a.k.a flower girls). We chose not to call them flower girls because they are both above the age of 10 and just thought they deserved the mightier title (and also, there would be no flowers strewn about).

With a vintage themed wedding, dressing these little girls seemed like a bit of a challenge. But with some luck and a lot of inspiration, I think they are going to look amazing! Here are some of my most favorite inspiration pics!

1. Flower Headbands

I can remember being a little girl and standing in my aunt's wedding. I wore a beautiful flower wreath in my hair and I looked so pretty. I simply adore this look. When I was choosing my flowers for the wedding,  my florist asked what types of bouquets I wanted for the little girls. I really didn't know. I honestly did not see them wanting to carry them and envisioned them being destroyed or left accidentally on a chair somewhere as they ran off to the party. I opted against a bouquet for them and instead, they will be wearing their flowers in their hair. Nothing says vintage elegance and youthful innocence like these amazing floral wreaths.

  

2. Bohemian Style Dress

As I shopped for my wedding gown, I always peeked at the little girls dresses and although I always oohed and awed at the big, puffy Cinderella type dresses, I knew that I wanted something different. I wanted the girls to carry the vintage vibe as well as find them a dress that they could wear again. I was out shopping and came across a Bohemian style girls dress that I just fell in love with. The dresses are simple and romantic.

  

3.  A Little Girl in Pearls

Well now comes the hard part... well at least for me anyways. I'm horrible when it comes to accessorizing. I just wasn't born with that gene. I tried to think about what type of jewelry would match the girls dresses and would also match the theme of the wedding..... pearls! Pearls are classic and beautiful and will almost make it look as though the girls are playing dress up with their mothers jewelry!

How to Create a Vintage Inspired Reception

We are now just over 6 months away from our wedding date! In a previous post, I featured some of my favorite vintage style ideas for our wedding ceremony. I've pulled most of those details together, so I'm now starting to focus on how to carry that vintage style into our wedding reception. I've once again used my Pinterest addiction to help me find some amazing ideas.

Our wedding reception venue in no way offers any kind of vintage or rustic feel. Instead, it boasts beautiful high ceilings, wall to wall glass which overlooks beautiful landscaping and an overall modern decor. My job is to carefully weave in some vintage details! Here are some of my favorite ideas for creating a vintage style at my upcoming summer wedding reception.

Must have #1: A vintage inspired welcome table

When my guests enter my reception hall, one of the first things they will see is our welcome tables. A place where they can put gifts, view family pictures and sign our guest book. I love this simple, rustic white wood table complete with vintage frames and pictures of our parents and grandparents on their wedding day. Ideally, I'd like to find a couple of these and have them placed side by side. I would probably also add a lovely lace or burlap runner to give the tables just a little extra 'pretty'.


Must have #2: A unique guest book

I have struggled to find a unique and quite frankly, useful, way to have a guest book at our wedding. I really didn't want to simply have a guest book out that our friends and family would sign - I knew that we would probably end up putting it away after the wedding and never look at it again. Instead, I have fallen in love with this vintage inspired guest book using vintage postcards. Our guests will take a postcard and write a personal note to us on the back. When they are done, we'll ask them to put it in a vintage mailbox or suitcase and then give them to my Maid of Honor at the end of the night. Over the course of our first year of marriage, she will randomly pop them in the mail for us. It's going to be great to get these in the mail - constant reminders of our fabulous wedding and all of our friends and family who shared it with us. I will be spending the next 6 months scouring vintage shops for beautiful postcards!


Must have #3: Vintage inspired signage

Vintage styled frames and artwork are a must for my upcoming wedding. I really love the idea of putting a chalkboard in a vintage frame and using it to welcome your guests, list your signature drinks, or introduce your wedding party. I plan to incorporate a few of these into our reception decor. I also love these mini frames to be used as place cards for your guests. Now, if I could only find these mini frames... 


Must have #4: Amazing head table

I really think this look is what could make my reception stand out and really help to give our modern space a very warm, romantic and timeless feel. I wish I could offer this seating to all of my guests, but unfortunately that's just not in the budget! I think this seating is going to be really great as our head table. I'm currently working on finding just the right combination of vintage chairs and rustic tables.


Must have #5: Unique table settings

Love the idea of having vintage plates! Each guest would have a unique plate that would add some colour and let's face it, a wow factor! There are so many companies that rent these out so it makes them very easy to find. Ugh, I just love this...


These are just some of my favorite ideas! If you want to see more, be sure to check out my Pinterest board. Would love to have any experiences that you might have with creating a vintage style for your wedding reception!

How to Create a Vintage Style Ceremony

So, we are officially just under 8 months away from the wedding (Yikes!) Since the very beginning of this process, I knew that I wanted to bring in as much vintage style as I could to this wedding without making my modern and sleek fiancee cringe. I've been searching far and wide for ideas and pictures that will help me figure out how to perfectly blend in a vintage feel to a modern, yet romantic wedding style.

Right now, I'm really focused on my ceremony. I think there are a lot of very simple and beautiful vintage details that can be added to a ceremony. Lucky for us, we're getting married outdoors at a beautiful castle so some of these vintage touches are going to be perfect! Here are some of the ideas that I've narrowed down as my top 'must haves' for my upcoming summer wedding. 

Must have #1: A romantic signing table 

I don't know about you, but I've seen my share of not so pretty signing tables & chairs. I often feel like this is something we just don't think about or simply leave up to the hall or ceremony location to put together... I mean, after all, it is just a table that you sit at for a few minutes to sign your official wedding document.. so no big deal right? Wrong!

Take this opportunity to add some vintage flair to your ceremony by adding a beautiful rustic table along with some high back vintage chairs. You will feel like royalty and your guests will be impressed! Remember, this is a great photo opportunity! Wouldn't you rather see yourselves sitting in something like this rather than some old plastic table with plastic chairs (scary.. but yes, I've seen it). This set up looks like it just belongs in the outdoors.. like Mother Nature herself created it! I want it!

Must have #2: A stunning backdrop

This ceremony decor makes the setting feel so romantic and warm. It is very similar to what my location looks like. At the end of the aisle, there is a bit of green space and then there is a huge cliff (seriously!). I really feel as though I need to decorate that space so it feels more closed in and inviting. 

I love the use of a vintage style dresser or table as a backdrop for the ceremony. I realize that it will probably be blocked for most of the ceremony seeing as though we will be standing in front of it, but it really helps to close off the space and gives your guests a beautiful view while they wait for the ceremony to begin. It probably isn't within my budget to use that many flowers, so I would probably go with some flowers and fill the rest of the space with other vintage decor pieces.

Must have #3 - Vintage signage

The thought of spending any part of our wedding budget on printing programs, which in my opinion, are skimmed over and rarely ever kept (mine usually end up at the bottom of my car or scrunched up in my purse) makes me very unhappy. I do think it is nice to have something that people can read which tells them a little about what they can expect from the ceremony, but let's be honest.. a ceremony is a ceremony.. what do you really need to know? 

I love this simple yet beautiful idea! Write all you need on a chalkboard and put it in a lovely vintage frame. Even if you don't use a chalkboard, there are many amazing companies which will print something similar out for you and you can just put that in a frame. Place it at the front where everyone will enter.. and that's it! No paper, no big printing costs and let's face it, less waste! We're saving the planet here folks!

So this may not be a true 'vintage' inspiration, but there is something about this sign that feels very old fashioned to me. This little boys outfit also makes it feel timeless and sweet. We are blessed to have our two little nieces acting as jr. bridesmaids in our wedding and we were struggling with finding something that they could do for the ceremony and I think I may have found it. 

I love the idea of having a little one walk this sign down the aisle just before you come out. The burlap is very simple and gives it a very rustic feel - perfect for the outdoors. I'm lucky there are two ends to this stick so the girls won't have to fight over who gets to carry it down the aisle! They can just hold either end and hopefully walk (without fighting) down the aisle! 

For more vintage style wedding ideas, be sure to check out my Pinterest board!

Should the Bride Wear Vintage?

Well it has been almost two months since I last posted (eek!) I got engaged and well, it has been a whirlwind of activities and of course, my blog fell to the side. I'm sorry!

I'm knee deep in wedding planning! We've got the venues booked, photographer chosen, wedding party selected and we even found our reverend. Next... finding me a wedding dress! Oh dear. 

I think the question I have received the most since being engaged is "Are you going to wear vintage?" Because I run my own vintage shop, most would assume that my wedding would have a lot of vintage inspired pieces... and it will... just not sure that I want it to be my dress. 

There are a lot of pros to wearing vintage! 

1 - Make a statement: Wearing vintage can really let you get creative and will definitely help you to make a statement on your wedding day. The fabrics are unique and the styles are iconic. 

2 - Show your personal style: Because vintage dresses cover so many decades of amazing styles and trends, you can easily find a dress that matches your personal style and the theme of your wedding. Maybe you're a fan of the 1920's flapper style cap veil or love the retro feel of the 70s. I personally love the post-war inspired lace!

3- Save on your budget: Vintage dresses can also be very affordable so it might be just the thing you need to help with that tight wedding budget. You might just find your perfect dress in your mothers closet! If not, shop at a thrift store; check your local paper for estate sales or garage sales; or shop online! There are many Etsy shops that offer beautiful vintage dresses at a great price!


In the end, your wedding dress needs to not only be a representation of who you are, but you need to feel beautiful and comfortable in it. If you're thinking of going vintage, get out there and find some local shops where you can try some on. You really cannot find a better made dress and the styles... well, they speak for themselves. As for me, well, I can't tell you what I'm going to do and even when I do pick my dress, I still can't tell you what I decided. For now, I'll leave you with some of my favorite vintage dresses that I will most definitely be looking for during my shopping trips!

I love everything about this outfit - the birdcage, the tea length dress and those shoes!

I would feel like Grace Kelly in this dress. Timeless and so beautiful!

There is something so sexy, yet classic about this look. Simply jaw dropping...

Love this tea length classic. Adore the lace and the bow.

UPDATE: Want to see what the bride ended up wearing? Check out this updated post!