Every now and then, I come across a wedding that just blows me away. This is very definitely one of those weddings. And, considering I adore the deco and 1920's era just a teeny tiny bit, this particular wedding has excited me more than any other I've seen so far.
Meet the lovely Vicky, a fine Flapper of a Bride, I think you'll agree. Her vintage wedding is so elegantly styled…
All Images Copyright (C) 2009, Rosie Parsons
Isn't she a pretty lady?
Vicky, who has been obsessed with the vintage era since she was a little girl and started collecting Antiques from fairs on family days out, tells me that in the past few years, she has been totally seduced by the 1920's and has spent much time reading into the roaring times that were. Like me, Vicky has learned through her research, that the 1920's were incredible times for women; Vicky references Coco Chanel, Anais Nin and Tamara de Lempicka as examples, but you only need think about how liberating the times were to get an idea of how exciting it must have been to be a part of the culture; women got the right to vote, stopped wearing corsets and the age of the Flapper Girl was born.
Vicky's own Grandmother grew up in the 1920's era, and it shaped her Grandma into being a firm believer that we can all achieve our dreams, if we work hard enough. Combine everything so far, with all the talk in the news about the recession paralleling the Great Depression, and it was all there; Vicky just had to have a 1920's themed wedding.
And so, Vicky and Adam tied the vintage knot at 2.30pm, at Treowen House in Monmouthshire in August this year. The ceremony was followed by Pimms on the Lawn, a little Croquet and a lavish afternoon tea.
Vicky runs her own Vintage china hire businsess (more of which I'll be blogging about soon) and used her Art Deco tea sets to theme the tables. The top table, was graced with Vicky's Grandma's own precious teaset (what a wonderful touch). Vintage teacups and jam jars were cleverly used as vases for pretty flower displays. The afternoon tea apparenly went down a storm, with Vicky claiming that thankfully, even big burly Rugby fellas got very excited at the prospect of a large pile of scones, jam and clotted cream!
Vicky's favourite muse is Clara Bow. A couple of years ago, Vicky watched the 1920's American movie actress in the film 'It', and became instantly besotted. "Her life story is incredible…" says Vicky, "…she's one of the most interesting iconic Flappers that lived, grew up in a tenement in Brooklyn witnessed all sorts of hell and sadness and then she ended up in Hollywood films after winning a competition. She was a fighter and life threw her some cruel blows".
Vicky also has a bit of a thing for Louise Brooks who grew up watching Clara Bow and went on to be one of the most beautiful Flapper Girls around. Some of Vicky's favourite photographs are of Louise Brooks, that feather outfit and her wearing all black with just a string on pearls. And so it was with these inspirational images in mind, Vicky set out to find the perfect Flapper and pearl combo of her own. Vicky's exquisite wedding dress was purchased from LeLuxe Clothing in America for an incredibly reasonable rate – what a find! She styled her gorgeous look with pearls-a-plenty, from Accessorize (with additional pearls purchased from Sainsburys, yes, Sainsburys, to max the feel of oppulence) and purchased the most beautiful art-deco hair clip from EBay.
Vicky got her lovely 1920's style shoes from a small independent shop in Monmouth. Her stunning ostrich feather shrug was from Sasso Bridal Accessories.
Check out these Flapper Girl Bridesmaids with the very fabulous Bride herself! What fun! All dresses sourced from LeLuxe Clothing.
Vicky's stunning bouquet was created by a close friend; "He suggested the roses, we tried out a few bouquets with different flowers around his house whilst sinking some wine and I loved the roses but wanted to give it a twist. They were big on trailing bouquets in the 20's so together we designed that bouquet and he suggested adding beads and pearls as well. I really appreciated all the effort he went to for me on it and it brought a tear to my eye when he gave it to me on the morning".
And I can totally understand why! Take a look for yourself…
Vicky and Adam's beautiful wedding venue was decorated with vintage style birdcages, sourced from a Florist friend of Vickys, and Vicky pulled off a rather innovative and vintage style table plan – which hung from the ceiling!
Vicky catered for all her guests by purchasing some flapper headbands and dangling them from her 'Flapper Headband Tree'!
Vicky's creativity was evident in droves on her beautiful wedding day. Just look at these little fairies caught in jars, that she presented her very lucky guests with as wedding favours! Vicky found her fairies at the bottom of her garden, of course, but sourced the little glass bottles from a house clearance shop in Bristol.
Vicky says she was inspired by the famous Cottingley Fairies story in creating her guest's gifts; "I first saw those photographs as a little girl and was amazed by those two little girls that managed to hoodwink a nation into thinking they'd been playing with fairies at the bottom of the garden. I mean, even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle believed it. I wanted to display them and then ended up with the idea that I was holding them captive, my mind just wanders sometimes. A few weeks before the wedding people were asking me what I was doing and my reply 'trapping fairies' had a few thinking I was going into melt down, I was having great fun! Brought the little girl out in me!". Vicky also hung her trapped fairies in cages, with an assortment of tea cup candles underneath. Fairy lights were then used to add further prettiness to the venue.
Clearly, Vicky and Adam's wedding guests enjoyed the spirit of the day! Croquet, anyone?
This fabulously fun-filled wedding celebration was finished with a roaring 1920's style knees up. Vicky hired The Charleston Charlies, a 1920's jazz band to provide the very cheerful entertainment….
As Vicky says, "…so many people have a theme or colour for their wedding, having the 1920's as a theme or reference point can give you boundless possibilities".
Thank you so very much Vicky for sharing your very fabulous 1920's wedding ideas with me and congratulaions to both you and Adam on your wonderful wedding. Thank you too, to the very talented Rosie Parsons, for allowing me permission to recreate her gorgeous photographs.
LMD ♥
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.
