An Elegant Bride and her 1960’s Vintage Wedding Dress

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Good afternoon – what a day? Are you looking outdoors to a bleak, grey, rain filled afternoon like we are? I’m hoping this feature will lift your spirits if so. This wedding takes us all the way over to Minnesota for an elegant and mid-century inspired affair.

Jen, a water resources engineer, married Matt, a Multimedia Project Manager for NASDAQ on 12 September 2014 at the Germanic-American Institute at St. Paul’s. The couple did away with usual tradition and enjoyed a first look before their ceremony.

“I think what made our wedding ‘our’ wedding was that it was all very much about who we are, and most everything had some very personal meaning behind it.  We share a love of all things vintage, so besides the house being ‘vintage’ my dress and his tie was very vintage as were elements of our decor. We’re also very much love local food and drink, and lastly, we wanted everyone to chill out, so we ended the reception early and had an after party where everyone could be less formal.”

Photography by Carla Boecklin

Carla Boecklin photography, Minnesota weddings, 1960's vintage

“The table centrepieces were books that my grandparents own (majority were 60+ years old) and teacups that Matt’s mom has been collecting over the years.  Our neighbors here in Roslindale and friends helped us to drink about 50 beers worth of German beer over the course of a few weeks to help us get the amount of bottles that we needed for the centerpieces at lunch. I think that was Matt’s favorite part of wedding planning!”

Carla Boecklin photography, Minnesota weddings, 1960's vintage

“I don’t know the designer of my dress, but it’s original vintage, est. 1963, and from a shop in Orleans, Massachusetts, called Vintage in Vogue.  I really wanted a vintage dress – we both love vintage and I also wanted something that was very classic looking. Simple and romantic.

I went to two places and tried on about 20 different dresses which were obvious losers – and it turns out that the last dress I tried on would be ‘the one’.  I even shed a few tears – i felt almost like Cinderella fitting on her glass slipper! It just fit me almost perfectly and was exactly what I had wished for – I felt very Jackie O.  The dress really worked for the occasion too – a laid-back outdoor ceremony in the fall.  It was long and had long sleeves, but didn’t overwhelm me or seem overly ornate for the situation. Also, as a practical person,  it was also very reasonably priced at just under $500.”

Carla Boecklin photography, Minnesota weddings, 1960's vintage

The couple hired Carla and Victor of  ‘Carla Boecklin’ to document their wedding in photography. Matt said “Our photographers were Carla Boecklin – I think they did a really awesome job making us feel comfortable in front of the camera and it showed in the photos. Spending most of my time behind a camera makes me feel weird being on the other side, but they were good about telling us when we did things that looked good in the camera.”

Jen says ‘despite the very tight shooting schedule and given that they took photos in several different locations which had different types of lighting and poses, etc, they made us both really feel at ease.  That was probably the most important thing to me, and Carla and Victor really nailed that for us. The other is that I felt like they knew us and that the photos were a very natural reflection of us as a couple and who we were in those moments (in love and happy to be getting married).”

Carla Boecklin photography, Minnesota weddings, 1960's vintage“Our venue was the Germanic-American Institute in Minnesota, which has an interesting and historic past, with beautiful details and gorgeous decor, but still feels like a home. We also wanted something classic, but not formal. It’s also tied to German culture, and Matt and I are both German, and have a strong love for German music, beer, food, arts and history (our first major trip together was to Munich and Berlin).

And of course Erin (my matron of honor) lives in Munich and is married to a German… and she is family to me. Additionally, the food, beer and wine were also German – oh how I love warm pretzels and Obatzda.”

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“The bouquet and table flowers were purchased in bulk from Flower’s Market Annex of Minneapolis, then designed and put together bour our DIY-loving family. The boutonnieres and corsages were from Bohemian Bouquets on Etsy.  The dried flowers for wreath from Nettleton Hollow and dried hops were from Black Creek Hops on Etsy.”

Carla Boecklin photography, Minnesota weddings, 1960's vintage

We were engaged for a little over a year before marrying (which I recommend – it’s great to have a few months of enjoying being engaged before planning the wedding, which too be honest can feel like a second job).”

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“My matron of honor and I picked out the flowers and made my bouquet as well as the centerpieces for the lunch and reception. The best part is that the bouquet was held together with duct tape and hot glue (as happens when you know nothing about putting together a bouquet and you’re doing it the afternoon before the wedding! But you couldn’t tell and can’t see this in the photographs either.  It was beautiful and I wouldn’t have changed a thing.”

Carla Boecklin photography, Minnesota weddings, 1960's vintageCarla Boecklin photography, Minnesota weddings, 1960's vintage

“Having my dad walk me down the aisle and dance with me was very special. He had a heart attack a few years ago, which has always made me fearful that he may not be around to see me get married, but he did – and I think he really cherished the moment as well.”

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“I had originally wanted a smaller wedding at my Grandpa and Grandma’s house, because we wanted to have something intimate and meaningful. With the large size of the party, it soon became evident that we needed to have a larger venue, and luckily for us the Germanic-American Institute was perfect – it was a house that was large enough for everyone, but still small enough to be cozy.”

Carla Boecklin photography, Minnesota weddings, 1960's vintage

“The night before the wedding, after my matron of honor went to bed and I was still up at 2am, I started writing out my vows, because I wanted to get down in words my thoughts and incorporate my feelings at that moment. And all I felt right at that time was pure love – love from my friends because they had all come so far to be a part of our day, especially from my 7-month pregnant matron of honor. Love from both families, who were excited to have each of us join new our new families and become a family ourselves. And finally love from my husband.

I really thought hard of all the little things in our relationship that had meant so much to me over the years that made me really love and appreciate him and made me feel so grateful to have found someone so amazing. Well, all those things made it into my vows, including a few poop jokes, which, well, really represents who we are (honest and without a filter, even at a classy event).”

 

Carla Boecklin photography, Minnesota weddings, 1960's vintage

Matt says “The one and only thing that I was nervous about the entire time planning was writing my vows. I started typing out a version about three weeks before and would change things here and there leading up to the day. When I started speaking during the ceremony (during which, I was still a little nervous), it all came out much better than I had imagined. Talking about our relationship, all the reasons why I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Jen, seemed easy looking at her in her dress. While I definitely won’t be winning orator awards even the 1 thing I was so nervous about turned out great.”

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“My mom and I went scouring at thrift stores and such for jewelry and frames (for the wedding photos) prior to the event. I wore some of the earrings I bought for the rehearsal dinner and of course used the frames for the photos at the wedding.”

Carla Boecklin photography, Minnesota weddings, 1960's vintage

“We asked friends and family to contribute wedding pictures for our wedding. We thought that having their photos present during our special day would remind us of the happiness and love that our families and friends had during their days (and continue to have today). I think it was also a special treat because several of our friends and family had to dig out their wedding photos, which sort of reminded them of their special day. And of course, many of the photos came with stories and memories – which were fun to hear while we were still in the midst of planning. We put the wedding photos at the entrance and throughout the venue, as you would see in a home.”

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Words of Wedded Wisdom…

“I recommend that brides and grooms make the day their own.  It is likely that someone will complain about something (why is it during the week? why are you having German food?), but you can’t please everyone, so we say please yourself. And especially if you’re paying for it! Also, be willing to let things go – as my matron of honor and mom said, only you and a few others will really notice if something goes awry.

Everyone talks about how awesome your wedding day is and while I knew it was going to be fun but it surpassed any expectation that I had. It was perfect. With all the stress and work Jen and I were incredibly happy about how everything turned out. Our day was 100% us and for everyone to celebrate and have fun. Friends and family were a huge part in that, there’s no way we would of been able to pull it off without them.

It all goes by so fast (really, so fast) and then you’re taking off that expensive wedding dress and accoutrements, so shake your tail feather and just dance like no one’s watching!”

Carla Boecklin photography, Minnesota weddings, 1960's vintage

Love and thanks to this gorgeous couple for allowing us to share their beautiful wedding day, and immense love and thanks to photographer Carla Boecklin too for choosing to share her work on Love My Dress.

Have a super lovely Sunday all,

Love Annabel x

 

Photographer – Carla Boecklin
Venue, Catering + Cake  – Germanic-American Institute, St. Paul, Minnesota
Wedding Dress – 1960s original vintage via Vintage in Vogue.
Shoes – Vintage Ferragamo from Ebay
Accessories – Antique rings & earrings (via Grandmother)
Grooms Suit – Custom suit from 9Tailors
Florist – Flower’s Market Annex of Minneapolis + Bohemian Bouquets Nettleton Hollow + Black Creek Hops
Cars/Transport – Lorenz Bus Service Inc.
Entertainment – AV for You + Oktoberfest at Gasthaus Bavarian Hunter
Rings – Roman Banaitis on Etsy (Matt) + antique (Jen’s Grandmother)
Hair and make-up Artist – Root Salon in St. Paul, MN
Stationery – Moo.com + Ikea

Annabel

Annabel View all Annabel's articles

Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.

4 thoughts on “An Elegant Bride and her 1960’s Vintage Wedding Dress

  1. Oh my! I’m absolutely head over heels with that stunning dress. Total perfection xx

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