Happy Monday All 🙂 I recently got chatting with Love My Dress Sponsor Kate Bowl, of Queens & Bowl about the 1920's, and how the looks and fashions of this era can be translated to weddings/bridal fashion. Kate and I share a passion for this era and so we thought it would be a nice idea to collaborate on a feature and share some of our ideas with you.
Kate leads on much of this feature, so I'll hand right over to her – but do be sure to check out the 1920's links on Love My Dress at the end – they're fabulous! 🙂 ….
"OK, first things first. I will come clean and admit it: God strike me down, but I did NOT have a ‘vintage wedding’. My interest in all things antiquated was sparked quite late in the wedding planning process whilst hunting for a birdcage veil. All I really wanted was something a bit glamorous and different, not necessarily vintage, but the site on which I eventually found my beloved veil sat buried beneath about 50 pages of Google search results. So although wading through the sheer volume of ‘stuff’ did seem like an uphill battle at times, by refining my search terms around the ‘vintage’ theme, I did stumble across a wealth of information and inspiration relating to the beautiful fashions and signature styles of the first half of the twentieth century.
Setting up Queens & Bowl has involved lots more research into vintage styles and trends and at the moment I am captivated by all things 1920s. Here are a few thoughts on what I think I’d choose for a 1920s theme if I had my time again, starting with, the outfit…"
Left Image ~ 'Rosalin' Wedding Dress by Rosa Clara, Right Image ~ Credit www.weddingmagazine.co.uk
The Outfit…
"Now, I’m not sure my figure was made to wear 1920s fashion, but I love the drop-waist gowns in the 2010 Rosa Clara collection (see above, and below left). All 3 styles are beautiful; the 'flapper girl' style fringing and bead details add just the right amount of interest and the floor-scraping length gives a fantastic column silhouette. To add an extra 1920s feel I’d definitely add our Paris ostrich and marabou vest by Sasso and some chic pearls – probably a bracelet such as the gorgeous Karinska bracelet by Stephanie Browne, which features a perfect little Swarovski Art Deco emblem."
The Karinska bracelet by Stephanie Browne – £230 – click here to purchase from Queens & Bowl…
"I’d definitely go for a perfectly coifed, vintage-style waved bob as I find them drop-dead glamorous and I’d accessorise with either the Charleston Bandeau or the St Tropez comb (pictured below), both by Stephanie Browne.
Image on the left, Credit Wedding Magazine – Image on the right, Credit Bridalwave.TV
"To polish off the look I’d pick Rachel Simpson’s beautiful Mimi T-bar sandals in ivory (below top right). I have palpitations at the very thought of all this gorgeousness!"
Top Left Lola Bridal Shoes £145, Top Right Mimi Bridal Shoes £140
Bottom Left Grace Bridal Shoes £135, Bottom Right Hettie Bridal Shoes £150
Bridesmaids…
"Bridesmaids would be suitably draped in feather boas and the gents would be in snazzy zoot suits!"
These fringed dresses photographed by Emily Quinton for this real wedding that featured on Love My Dress, add just the right amount of flapper style fun! 🙂
Image (c) 2010, Emily Quinton
And how about these incredibly chic 1920's inspired drop waist outfits from All Saints, that were worn by the Bridesmaids of one of the Brides whose real wedding we featured on Love My Dress back in February…
Image Copyright (c) 2009-2010, Steve Gerrard
To fall in love with more 1920's inspired bridal wear, also visit…
♥ Clara Bows – 1920s Style Hats & Fascinators…
♥ LeLuxe Clothing Company – 1920's Glamour Revisited…
♥ Lindsay Fleming Couture – Specialists in Vintage Bridal Wear & All That Jazz!
♥ Lindsay Fleming Couture ~ New Designs Added to the 1920's Inspired 'All That Jazz' Collection…
The Venue and Decor…
"I do like the idea of having a fabulously decadent wedding at an iconic venue like the Dorchester and to hell with the budget. However, coming back to reality, I think I’d go for a small venue; it’s not exactly Art Deco but I love the Didsbury House boutique hotel, which is an old Victorian Villa bursting with chic period features, including a blue reception room at the front of the hotel, very reminiscent of the Blue Bar at the Berkley Hotel in London. I’ve mentioned this on the Queens & Bowl blog before, but I think it would be fantastic to host an Agatha Christie murder-mystery night the evening before the wedding to get everyone suitably in the mood."
You could make your decor look extra pretty by hiring out some vintage china from Vintage Teasets (what owner Vicky Rowe doesn't know about the 1920's isn't worth knowing!) and having a vintage style afternoon tea-party…
Images Credit – Vintage Teasets
For fun and original style 1920's decor, visit Event Prop hire…
Image below, Copyright (c) 2010 Event Prop Hire
For fabulous art-deco and 1920s style venues, also visit
♥ Burgh Island Hotel, Just off the coast, South East of Plymouth
♥ Claridges, London
♥ The Daffodil, Cheltenham
♥ Pembroke Lodge, Richmond Park, Surrey
The Entertainment…
"The 1920s are a perfect theme for a wedding, as the decade became famous for its raucous, gin-soaked partying. So, loosened up by a few sloe gin cocktails, I think we’d dim the lights and kick-off a night of dancing with a Charleston contest to the sound of some ragtime jazz – in fact, one of our Twitter followers, Vintage78DJ, specialise in playing 1920s tunes on original gramophones, for that authentic 20s crackle!"
If you are wanting to book some authentic 1920s style entertainment for your wedding, also visit….
♥ Simon Partridge ~ a professional singer who specialises in vintage songs from the 1920s to the 1950s
♥ The Charleston Charlies ~ Playing popular hits from the roaring 1920s, The Charleston Charlies deliver wonderful nonsense, quirky original music and cheerful entertainment
1920's Style Weddings and Related Links to Inspire You…
Be sure to visit our 1920's page – it links to all our brilliant 1920's related features, which covers bridal wear, accessory designers, photographers and more.
You might also wish to take a look at the following 'real wedding' and related links on Love My Dress…
♥ A Vintage Wedding for a 1920s Flapper Girl Enthusiast…
Images Copyright (C) 2009, Rosie Parsons
♥ Art Deco Decadence Part 1, and Part 2…
Imagery Copyright Joanna Wilkinson Wedding Photography, & with special thanks to Clare Stockill
♥ Bugsy Malone Style Matrimony, A Roaring 20's of a Wedding Day…
Images Copyright (c) 2010, Yvette Craig
♥ A Very Elegant 1920's Themed Wedding Shoot…
Images Copyright (C) 2009, Rosie Parsons
♥ An Interview with a Vintage Wedding Planner…
Images Copyright (c) 2010, Eye Imagine Photography
♥ Julia Boggio Captures Art Deco Elegance at Claridges…
Photography Copyright (c) 2010, Julia Boggio
Thanks so much to Kate Bowl of Queens & Bowl for contributing towards this feature, and sharing her enthusiasm and passion for one of the most stylish decades of the past century 🙂 For further information about Queens & Bowl, please visit www.queensandbowl.com.
We hope that you've been inspired by this feature 🙂
Are you planning a 1920s style wedding or are there touches from this era that you'd like to incorporate into your special day?
Annabel xXx
♥
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.
