A Beautiful 1940’s Vintage Family Heirloom Wedding Dress

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Whilst Love My Dress now celebrates beautiful and inspiring weddings of all kind, the foundations of this wedding blog were laid in the vintage wedding scene. I fell in love with the glamour of the 1930’s (hello marcel waves and floor sweeping gowns) and my own wedding reflected this. In the past few years, ‘vintage’ has become a somewhat dirty word in wedding world however – a not particularly very cool way of referring to weddings that draw on references from a bygone era. It seems so silly really, when you think about it, especially in an age where ‘anything goes’. But then, as with most things, as soon as they become popular, everyone wants a piece of it and before you know it, it’s everywhere, and a much less attractive thing to aspire to. That’s exactly what happened with ‘vintage weddings’ after the huge boom in their popularity c.2009-2013.

Love for the vintage scene has wained somewhat since then. But for others, the concept of ‘vintage’ is less so about trends, and much more about honouring something more meaningful – a precious family heirloom, for example. Take the case of Tess Newall whose Facebook plea for help when the family heirloom wedding dress that had been worn by several generations before her, went missing at the dry cleaners. If you loved that story (Tess found her dress – that was after her desperate Facebook plea had been shared over a quarter of a million times), then I think today’s wedding will make you smile.

Skye and Kevin married last Summer and their day was made all the more special for the beautiful 1940’s vintage wedding dress worn by the bride.

“I had two dresses. It was always my dream to wear my Grandmother’s dress made in 1948 by her sister. With a bit of altering by my cousin who is an excellent seamstress (a panel of material down the back) the dress fit. It was still in great condition and had only two or three age spots. My second dress was for the Reception and our second wedding in the US. it was designed and made by Yvonne Han of Cinderella Bridal.”

Photography by McFarlane Photography

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“As I little girl, I would see the picture of Grandma in her dress and loved that it was long sleeved and that it has such a beautiful long train as well as the detailing on the material and the feel of the silk. Five other brides had worn the dress before me; my Grandma, her sister, my mum, my auntie and my cousin. I had decided that as we were having a second ceremony and reception in the United States that I should get a dress that could travel.”“Yvonne at Cinderella Bridal was amazing at helping me pick a dress that suited my style. I loved that the second dress was simple yet elegant and really suited my figure. As it was winter I wanted a jacket and found a creamy coloured wool jacket from Big W when I was shopping for something else.”

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“I had a simple fingertip circular two-tiered veil for Grandma’s dress and a fingertip two tiered veil with a pearl comb with the modern dress, both made by Cinderella Bridal. I always wanted to wear a veil as it’s not something you wear every day and it definitely made me feel like a bride.”

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“As one of my bridesmaids was from overseas and we were having the second wedding in the US I decided on fake flowers. I have Cerebral palsy which affects the use of my right hand so I knew I needed flowers that were also very light. I worked with Lee at Just Fake It Bouquets to create a wristlet teardrop bouquet. It was so light and as they were silk could have some of my favourite flowers- lilies, frangipanis and orchids. Lee was amazing and talented to create the bouquet so it could be put on my wrist, but cover my hand so it still looked like I was holding it but allowed me to always have my left hand free. All of this done over emails and photographs. 

Lee also created matching round bouquets for the maid of honour and bridesmaid, flower wands for the flowergirls, corsages for the mothers, a smaller throwing bouquet and buttonholes for the groom, groomsman and both fathers.

I also wanted greenery and real flowers so ordered a flower arrangement from Allira Florist. I wanted to include Irises in honour of my Nan who passed away three years ago. My Mum also provided Colocasia (Elephant Ears) and ferns from her own garden in big pots.”

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“I wore my grandmother’s pearls which my grandfather bought her before their wedding. My mum bought me pearl earrings to match. My great auntie who made the wedding dress made me a blue garter to finish of my something borrowed, something new and something blue.”

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Flower girl dresses were picked up when I was shopping for other things at a bargain price of 5 dollars each from K-Mart! My sister and I happened to see them as we were walking out we both did a full 180 degree turn, they were exactly what I wanted. Creamy coloured, pretty and not a miniature version of an adult dress. They also matched my reception dress with a flower on the skirt. I then paired them with a dusky pink acrylic jacket that I picked up at Big W and pink tights from Myer. I also gifted them a gold butterfly necklace from Goldmark Jewellers.”

A friend of mine has family in Hong Kong and sent me a Facebook message from a market while she was visiting asking if I needed pageboy suits. She sent me photos and brought them back in her suitcase. I gifted the boys silver chains from Goldmark Jewellers as a keep sake of the day. The boys wore their own suit pants and shirts. Kevin’s Mom sourced the purple and pink ties.”

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Cinderella Bridal made both bridesmaid dresses one in pink and one in purple. As one of my Bridesmaids lives overseas, Yvonne had amazing skill at creating the dress from measurements and a mock dress made out of muslin. Yvonne also was able to adjust the dress when my bridesmaid found out she was expecting a baby. My sister, the maid of honour, managed to pick up some silver jackets which matched the dresses at a thrift shop.”

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“We borrowed cars from my uncle and cousin and they were our drivers for the day. They both relished the opportunity to get the cars out for a spin. Ever since I can remember my uncle has had a red 1975 Ford Falcon XC that I have always wanted to be my wedding car. My cousin transported the bridesmaids in a 1975 white and black Holden Monaro.”

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“My favourite part of the day was walking down the aisle with my dad. Ever since watching ‘Father of the Bride’ as a 5 year old I wanted this special moment. I don’t like walking in front of people (I limp) so it was so nice to have Dad there to calm me down and to help me focus on looking at Kevin. This was followed very closely by sitting and looking out into the crowd at the reception with my new husband’s arms around my shoulders, soaking up the atmosphere.”

It was a lovely moment having my dad by my side, as I’m not the most glamorous of walkers and was tripping a bit on the underskirt of my dress, he help steady me.”

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“For the bridal procession we used the ‘The Planets- Jupiter’ by Gustav Holst and my dad and I walked in to Canon in D by Pachelbel arrangement. Our friend Dan Roeder from the US is a composer and he specially composed a song for when we signed the register it was called ‘When Two Hearts’.We walked back down the aisle to ‘Gravity Falls Theme’ written by Brad Breeck and arrangement by Walt Ribeiro.”

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“We are Christians and were married by our local Pastor who is also a close friend and was willing and eager to travel to South Australia to marry us. Because she knew us so well, the ceremony was very personal. We knew we wanted a relaxed day and our colours were pinks and purples. Pink is my favourite colour and Kevin’s is purple. Many of our guests have commented how much they enjoyed the day as they could ‘be themselves as the day was not stiff or overly formal.”

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“We felt it was important to include our own vows within the ceremony. We worked closely with our Pastor to get the right mix of ‘must have’ legal wording and what Kevin and I wanted to declare to each other.”

“We had three readings. The first were two bible readings (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 and Song of Solomon 8, both from the Common English Bible) and read by our very close friend. We chose these as they spoke of the strength of love, but were not the common ones we had heard at many weddings. Our second reading was The One. Read by my oldest brother. I wanted to include him in the ceremony and we felt this poem summed up the way Kevin and I felt about each other and our future.”

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“We both have heirloom rings from Kevin’s side of the family. Mine was Kevin’s maternal grandmother’s low-to-the-finger white gold with a blue sapphire stone. The sapphire itself replaced the original diamond and was selected by Kevin at a mine in Montana when he was five years old. Kevin’s is his paternal grandfather’s, a ridged white gold band with a yellow gold base. The rings were kept in personalised ring bags sourced from Etsy.”

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Courtney and her assistant Kat from McFarlane Photography were amazing. So bubbly and friendly when we met for coffee. On the day she was such a calming influence. We would highly recommend Courtney. She really tried to get to know us as a couple and what was important to us. We were able to get all the photos we wanted and incorporate our favourite locations around Port Elliot.”

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“Our wedding reception was held at the Port Elliot RSL Hall which fitted within our budget and had room for our numbers. My mum and dad and cousin also had their wedding reception there. As both venues are working buildings, we worked with the existing décor.”

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“At the surf club we had a welcome sign sourced from Etsy and added the 5 big pots of ferns and elephant ears along with the flower arrangement provided by the florist. We also used signs of poems in frames from Alba Marie Paperie and PSP Printables.”

“We used chairs from the Surf Club, but hired an aisle runner to create a definite space for the bridal party to walk down. At the end of each row we put alternate Australian or United States flags. On the signing table we used my mum’s wedding bouquet and candles with an ‘I Do” banner hanging in front made by a friend . We used a bird cage for cards and as a guest book we cut up cards for people to write on. We also had photos from our parents and Grandparents respective wedding days in frames and a table dedicated to our Grandparents who are no longer with us.”

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My dad and brother bought all the drinks for the reception. We wanted local South Aussie wines and beers and also had a range of soft drinks for the non -drinkers. They did an wonderful job at making sure we had enough variety of beverages.”

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“My cousins catered an afternoon tea immediately following the ceremony as their wedding gift to us. We had many guests only invited to the ceremony and we wanted them to enjoy and could relax and socialise. Much to our delight most guests stayed for a cup of tea and it created such a nice atmosphere.

My Auntie recommended a local catering company for the reception – The Fudge Fairy from our first discussion with Karen we knew it was the right decision. For our reception, she created a three course meal and dealt with various dietary requirements with ease. It was alternate drop of pumpkin soup or savoury tart, chicken mignon or slow cooked beef both with veggies and for desert we had either carrot cake or mud cake. It was divine. For the vegetarians, she did a cannelloni which by all reports was scrummy.”

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“At the RSL hall we added a large US flag and candles along the walls. We hired trestle tables, cutlery and tablecloths from A1 hire. On each table we decorated with Australian/US Flags in clear pepper and salt jars and white buckets with ribbons that were used as ice buckets . We then used alternate pink and purple candles with ivy trailing down the table. We used pink and purple glittered netting as table runners and completed the look with pink and purple serviettes. In pride of place on the top table we used Kevin’s parents cake topper.

Kevin’s Mom repainted and added the flowers so it matched our decorations. My mum created a table skirt for the top table and we added a ‘Mr and Mrs’ banner in the same style as the ‘I Do’ banner made by the same friend. Around the dance floor we placed the pots of ferns and elephant ears and to maximise space the cake table was placed in the centre of the dance floor.”

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“We decided on wedding favours that were practical; a small jar sourced from Wedding Star of personalised pink and purple M&M’s

The cake was a two-tiered carrot cake I made the week before the wedding and then decorated by my friend who does cake decorating as a hobby. We carpooled together and had lots of discussions about the cake we wanted and threw ideas back and forth. We wanted a traditional white iced cake that wasn’t too fussy.

The simple sugar flowers and pearl details were just perfect. Carrot cake is mine and Kevin’s favourite cake and we cut the second tier on the night and gave it to the bridal party and family to take home. The top tier was frozen for us to have on our first anniversary. It was yummy and has kept extremely well.”

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Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Though it was touch and go at times as to whether I would fit into Grandma’s dress, I am so glad I was able to. If something is really important to you stick to it. Get others to photograph getting ready photos if the timings of the day don’t allow the photographer to get there at the same time as the hairdresser etc and after the photographer has left.

Without these candid shots I would have missed capturing some very precious memories. Spreadsheets are your friends. As we spent most of our engagement apart communication and using a shared Google Drive with spreadsheets allowed both of us access and an ability to keep on top of things.

Try and include your groom in planning and organising. It is about both of you. *Things will go wrong and though it can be emotional if something you had your heart set on doesn’t quite go to plan, remember not to focus or dwell on it. Overall, yes, you may have to compromise on some things, but don’t feel you need to do things because it is a ‘wedding.’ Kevin and I did a speech together and my siblings did a speech. Do what feels right for you. *Last thing you will need to chase RSVP’s. Annoying as it is, don’t be afraid to be ‘pushy’ as the caterer’s etc. also have deadlines.

Our families were invaluable in helping the weddings go to plan. As we lived 5 hours from each of the venues both in Australia and the US, having someone ‘on the ground’ was extremely helpful.”

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“Our budget didn’t stretch to having live music and as we had such a small reception space we opted for hiring a speaker and doing a playlist on our phone for each part of the day. Our MC was the Husband of our Pastor. He is such a humorous storyteller and we knew he would do an awesome job at keeping things on track.

Technology can fail you. On the morning of the wedding all our music disappeared. It was very stressful for Kevin. We also tried to live stream our wedding which was also going to act as our wedding video. In hindsight I would have had a family member doing a separate recording. Luckily as we repeated the ceremony in the US, we do have a record of our vows on film.”

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“I found the Love My Dress wedding blog early in my engagement as I was looking at ways to incorporate a 1940’s style dress into a modern wedding. I had not yet seen any weddings that did not have a modern dress. I found this wedding and was hooked. I also found this wedding and realised how similar our wedding dresses were half a world away.

Realising that I wasn’t the only bride that wanted something unique. I trawled the archives and eagerly awaited new posts. I love that the blog showcases all manner of weddings and it gave me the confidence and some great ideas on how to style the day the way my Fiancé and I wanted. When I was getting stressed about the minute details the blog was extremely helpful and keeping me focussed on the big picture and I found it very community minded.

I loved the Lovettes posts, following their highs and lows, knowing that I wasn’t the only one on this rollercoster of emotions and the private Facebook group was also invaluable for advice and just to talk ‘wedmin’ so that you didn’t chew everyone else’s ears off with wedding talk.”

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What an absolutely charming wedding. Skye – thank you so much for so kindly sharing so much helpful information, you look beautiful.

Readers, you can explore more weddings where the bride wore an heirloom wedding dress here. And if you do have a genuine interest in vintage weddings, I wrote a book about them!

Love Annabel x

Credits & Thanks

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.

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