Vintage darlings: Fifties Wedding

As part of my exploration into vintage, I am extremely pleased to present this week’s featured guest, Charlie, who co-writes the blog at http://fiftieswedding.com/.

Charlie‘s blog is very much a mother-daughter collaboration, with her mum Selma writing a regular post every week. Their website features lots of beautiful vintage ideas and inspiration, most noteably paying homeage to Charlie’s icon, Audrey Hepburn.

Their Fifties Wedding blog is a lot more than articles about vintage. Selma and Charlie offer brides (and anyone involved in weddings) lots of useful tips, how-tos, practical ideas and inspiring images, including dedicated inspiration galleries of wedding dresses and wedding shoes. Personally I think it’s a great resource that ought to be bookmarked by any vintage inspired bride in the process of planning her wedding.

Charlie and Selma began writing Fifties Wedding in October 2010, and in the short space of time it’s become very popular, no doubt as a result of Charlie and Selma’s evident passion for vintage and breadth of ideas. I asked Charlie how she finds having such a popular blog since October. Charlie explains “I have met so many lovely people through doing it. I am completely shocked at how popular the blog has become in such a short space of time – I really never thought there were so many 50s inspired brides out there! It’s obviously a great feeling to know that people are interested and reading the blog though! I couldn’t be happier – hopefully it will just keep growing!”

Charlie was initially inspired to start the blog after finding difficulty in sourcing what she wanted for your own wedding. She particularly had problems finding a dress, bird cage veil and shoes, all within her budget. Like many people, although she could have spent hours on Google, what she really wanted was a single website with tips on everything. Charlie explains, “In the end I made my own birdcage veil for example, because I just didn’t know where else to get it! Since doing the blog of course I have found that there are hundreds and hundreds of fabulous small suppliers & designers out there. Indeed many of them I wish I had known about when planning my wedding!”

I asked Charlie about what vintage she incorporated into her own wedding. Charlie replies, “It was a mixture of 50s, vintage, summer & country all wrapped up in one. My dress was 50s inspired – tea length with a petticoat to give it that 50s shape. I wore my mum’s vintage pearls too, and had 50s inspired peep toe shoes with bows on. We hired an old-fashioned style ice cream trike, made lots of bunting to hang round the garden, and put flowers in vintage vases and jugs”.

I wanted to know a little more about what attracted Charlie specifically towards 50s vintage. She says “I love the fashion and style of the era and the glamorous movie star icons (Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn). Those full dresses, the red lipstick, the bows, the polka dots…just some of the things I love!”

So why does Charlie think there’s been such an increased interest in vintage inspired weddings? Charlie responds “I think there has been a general acceptance over the years that your wedding doesn’t have to be traditional if you don’t want it to be. The eras of the 20s, 30s, 40s & 50s particularly evoke nostalgia and romance that I think people are drawn to – the black & white movies, the art deco posters, the wartime fashions, the Hollywood actors of the 30s etc. All of these times reflect our history. I also think that there has been a growing interest towards vintage-inspired weddings just as much as there has been a growing interest towards DIY weddings, hippy weddings, weddings in unusual locations and all sorts of other sorts of weddings. With more and more wedding websites and blogs, and more articles in magazines about ‘alternative’ weddings, brides-to-be are encouraged to make their big day personal to them – whatever that may be.”

Of course, not everyone wants their wedding to be completely vintage inspired, and some brides might want to incorporate a few elements that can achieve a vintage feel. I asked Charlie what tips she had for anyone looking for some subtle vintage details. Charlie suggests “Well it’s all about the wedding you want that reflects you. For a touch of 50s glamour it could be anything such as little pearl earrings & gloves, or perhaps an Audrey Hepburn updo. I think flowers in vintage vases and tea cups are a great idea too. I think a 50s style dress of course is very important!”

Since I started this exploration of vintage weddings, one thing that has been apparent is how flattering vintage clothing is on different figures. I asked Charlie if she thought this was part of the appeal of vintage wedding glamour. Charlie answers “I definitely think that plays a part – with 50s styles anyway! That’s why I love the 50s style dresses. Wearing vintage clothing is like wearing a little bit of fashion history too, and if you’re wearing you mum’s cardigan from the 1960s you can be pretty sure no one else will be wearing the same thing! It’s fun to be different!”

And does Charlie have any tips to achieving the right look? She says, “There is no right or wrong – that’s the beauty of it! You can incorporate as little or as much vintage as you like.”

Finally, I asked Charlie if she had anything she’d like to add?

Charlie replies “Only that if you’re getting married, have the wedding your way!”.

With thanks to Charlie for her fantastic answers – her blog is definitely a must-read for any bride to be, or anyone interested in vintage. I'm personally eyeing up the brooches featured in their article 1950s Inspired Thank You Gifts for Bridesmaids & Mums - I reckon they could make a nice mothers day gift!


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