Milly's 1940s vintage wedding dress with stunning silk velvet train

Dear Reader

Today I'd just like to share a few pictures sent in by Heavenly bride, Milly.

For her wedding to Colin, Milly chose a gorgeous 1940s gown from my collection of original vintage wedding dresses. This was a really special dress - SO glamorous!

The dress was constructed from ivory lace and silk velvet, and embellished with beading. The velvet skirt that drapes so wonderfully also had this magical, long train...

As you can see, Milly made the perfect choice: I know you'll agree she looks totally beautiful in it!

See you again soon.
Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides

Vintage eyewear, 1950s-style. Funny AND fabulous!

Dear Reader

Welcome back from the Easter break. I hope you enjoyed a little time off, a little sunshine, and a lot of chocolate.

To brighten our first day back at work, I'd like to share this short and sweet film with you. It's a fabulous vintage 1950s feature on wearing glasses. Seems those 1950s ladies liked to choose a pair for every outfit!

I'm loving the "unorthodox Kiss style"... spectacular in every way! Thanks for checking in... and see you soon.

Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides

Meet my new 1950s-style wedding dress: 'Dorothy'

Dear Reader

Drum roll please... 
Meet 'Dorothy', the latest in my Heavenly Collection of vintage-inspired wedding dresses... 

'Dorothy' 1950s style wedding dress, new to the Heavenly Collection

Dorothy is a new version of my 1950s-style Blanche dress. Dorothy features a full length, more A-line skirt to give a softer look. 

A really versatile dress, Dorothy can work in so many different ways: I've shown it here in ivory silk and corded lace, using the beautiful border for the sleeve and hem.

I named the dress after my lovely model, Dorothy, pictured here!

The Dorothy dress is available now from £1495

As well as the pretty short sleeve shown here, Dorothy also looks fabulous with a three-quarter or full length sleeve. The photos here show a softly scooped neckline, but a sharper V neckline also works beautifully. And right now, I'm working on a new Dorothy made in a finer lace, with a palest apricot silk lining. It's gorgeous! And I'll show it to you very soon. 

Dorothy dress, available now from £1495

Just to remind you about the dress from which it's adapted, the pictures below are beautiful 'Blanche' - always popular with my brides - in ballerina length and with 3/4 sleeve. 

Blanche, 1950s style wedding dress from £1495

Blanche, 1950s style wedding dress from £1495

Blanche, 1950s style wedding dress from £1495

Both dresses shown here are available now, priced £1495. I hope my brides will love Dorothy as much as they do the original Blanche. 

Thanks to Robert Lawler for photography, and to models Dorothy and Cordelia. And thanks to you, dear reader, for dropping in to help me launch my new dress!

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

Molly, stunning in a 1960s wedding dress by Priscilla of Boston

Dear Reader

Today I'd like to share some pictures from beautiful vintage bride Molly.

Molly was married last Summer in a stunning 1960s wedding dress. With its gorgeous lace, elegant high neck and long sleeves, the dress has all the hallmarks and details to suggest it is by renowned American designer Priscilla of Boston.

Priscilla of Boston created the wedding dresses for the daughters of two serving American Presidents - including Tricia Nixon's famously iconic wedding dress. 

Her real name was Priscilla Kidder and she is among the foremost American Wedding dress designers of the past fifty years. She also designed Princess Grace’s primrose yellow organdy bridesmaid dresses, above. 

This particular dress was a wonderful example of her work and the perfect gown to showcase Molly’s willowy beauty. Molly was a truly stunning bride. You can see her husband clearly agrees!

I've also been fortunate to help Molly’s delightful sister Felicity with her dress. Felicity features on the Real Brides page of my website, here. (And here's a snap from Felicity's own wedding, showing all her lovely family - Molly is at the front left, of course.)

I can honestly say it has been a huge pleasure to be involved with the whole family, and I am looking forward to more of the beautiful Taylor sisters getting married in the future! 

Thanks to Molly’s friend Mairead, who took all the photographs (do email me if you'd like Mairead's contact details). I'll sign off with some more images of beautiful Molly and her wonderfully happy day. 

Thanks for dropping by. If you'd like to see more 1960s wedding dresses, visit my Original Vintage Dresses page or please do contact me. And do check in again next week - I have a very exciting announcement to make...!

Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides

Charlie's original 1950s lace wedding dress, and a vintage-inspired wedding that's a real family affair!

Dear Reader,

Today I'd like to share some pictures from Charlie, one of my lovely real vintage brides.

For her Summer wedding to Liam, Charlie wore a gorgeous 1950s lace vintage wedding dress, with fitted bodice, elegant full-length lace sleeves and scooped neckline. As you can see, she looked fabulous - the dress could have been made for her!

The whole day was a real family affair, with all the family members contributing in unique ways. From the Charlie's grandfather giving Liam his own suit to wear, Liam's grandmother making the ring cushion and Charlie's mum making the cake. Every detail was filled with family love - even the cake topper was from Charlie's parents' own wedding.

To complement the knee-length dress, Charlie wore a shoulder-length veil and a beautiful pearl necklace borrowed from her Mum - a 21st birthday present worn on her Mum's own wedding day. Vivienne Westwood 'Lady Dragon' shoes completed the outfit. Oh, and she also coordinated the dress with wellies for the after-dinner photographs in the nearby field!

When Charlie first came to see me, she had quite clear ideas of what she was looking for. In Charlie's own words:

I’ve always known I wanted a lace 1950s style wedding dress, and I really wanted long lace sleeves. So I first contacted a costume designer from work to see if they could recommend a maker for me. However, a friend and colleague was planning her wedding around the same time as me and had been to see Helena at Heavenly Vintage Brides for her own wedding dress. I decided to visit Helena to sample some 1950s dresses for some ideas. I tried on lots of long and ballerina-length dresses, as this is what I thought I wanted. And then Helena suggested I try on a shorter dress. I was quite reluctant but as soon as I put it on I knew I had to get it!

As you can see, the dress was perfect! And - though Charlie had bought a white umbrella just in case - so was the whole day! There's lots of lovely pictures below, and more on vintage wedding blog,  Whimsical Wonderful Weddings.

If you love this dress, do take a look at more of my original 1950s vintage wedding dresses here, or at my 1950s-inspired Heavenly Collection dresses here. And don't hesitate to contact me to arrange an appointment.

Thanks Charlie for sharing your wonderful day! 

Love 

Helena 

Heavenly Vintage Brides

Shoes, Vivienne Westwood

Hair Accessories, John Lewis

Venue, The Royal Chace Hotel

Photographs, Tracey Christina
Charlie's post on Whimsical Wonderful Weddings