Vintage Bride of the Week Susie - beautiful in 1940s wedding dress 'Bette'

Dear Reader,

I promised a special Bride of the Week, and here she is: Susie, wearing 1940s 'Bette' dress from my Heavenly Collection. 

Susie wears the dress beautifully, teaming it with a charming mini veil and woodland flowers...

And thanks, Susie for your kind words...!

"Thank you so much for your fantastic dress designing skills! I knew as soon as I found your website that the Bette dress was for me!

 You made the dress trying on process so relaxed and fun and gave such good advice, it made everything so easy. I didn't go to any other dress shops or designers as I knew I didn't need to! Lots of people complimented me on my dress on the day - your designs are so brilliant. Thank you so much."

After featuring the dress on a model at the start of this week, and then indulging in a little Bette Davis inspirational moment, it's lovely to return to what it's really all about: a radiant bride on a perfectly happy day.

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

If you like this post, please try

Bette Davis, glamorous inspiration for the Bette dress.

Photography with thanks to Seth Baines

"Oh Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars." Vintage wedding dress inspiration from Bette!

Dear Reader

Since we have 'Bette' as our lovely vintage wedding dress of the week, I'd like to share the inspiration behind this glamorous design...

The fabulous Bette Davis, in 'Now Voyager'

Bette was recreated from a gorgeous black crepe 1940s evening gown which was one of my very favourites. I always loved the simple elegant shape of it. 

1940s inspired wedding dress 'Bette', priced £1295

The original dress was remodelled slightly to flatter a modern figure, and then a pattern was created from it. The silk crepe I used - in a heavy weight and almost matte - was very popular in the 1940s. This matte effect is easier to wear and can look more sophisticated than satin. And the dress's little asymmetric peplum is very forgiving on the tummy area.

A young Bette Davis, in a gorgeous low-back 1940s dress

The dress is named after my style icon: fabulous 1940s actress Bette Davis. (Yes, you've probably guessed by now, I am a big fan of the black and white so-called ‘women’s films‘ of the 40s!) The quote at the top of this post is Bette's last line from the wonderfully romantic 'Now, Voyager'. 

And so naturally I wanted to have a dress in my collection with that same laidback easy glamour. 

Bette, blonde again, in elegant pants suit.

As well as Bette, I have another gorgeous 1940s-inspired dress in my collection: Florence, which I'm currently remodelling a little to make it even more flattering. I'll be showing new pictures of Florence soon, so do keep watching! 

And please pop back later this week to see Susie, a real bride who looks absolutely beautiful wearing the Bette dress...

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

PS If you like this post, please try:

Another darling 1940s dress, here.

Or my guide to 1940s hairstyles, here.

Vintage Wedding Dress of the Week: 'Bette' 1940s starlet style!

Dear Reader,

What a glorious start to the Summer! I hope you too enjoyed some lovely sunshine this weekend.

And now a glorious start to the week... Bette, our fabulous 1940s-style Vintage Wedding Dress of the Week.

Bette 1940s-style wedding dress, pure glamour, £1295

Bette is made from a wonderful silk crepe, and has all the glamour of a Hollywood evening gown. 

Bette 1940s-inspired wedding dress, Hollywood styling, from £1295

The heavy silk drapes beautifully, and is so figure-flattering. And so too is Bette's clever asymmetric cut, with soft pleats and a gentle cowl neck to perfectly frame your curves.

Bette's 1940s style low-back and beaded trim

Bette's low-cut back, and ivory and silver bead trim add even more movie-star sparkle to this gorgeous dress. 

Bette's subtly sexy cowl neck in wonderful silk crepe

Oh, I do love the 1940s! If you like this post, why not check out my other recent posts on 1940s style, below. And check back later this week, when I have a really special Real Bride to feature.

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

PS If you like this post, please do check out

Another darling 1940s dress, here.

Or my guide to 1940s hairstyles, here.

All photographs with thanks to Robert Lawler Photography
www.robertlawler.co.uk

Lovely bride Anna in 1950s style wedding dress

Dear Reader,

Meet Anna, Heavenly bride of the week! For her Spring wedding to Noel, Anna wore Blanche, a pretty 1950s inspired wedding dress from the Heavenly Collection.

Anna matched the dress with beautiful mint green shoes from Rachel Simpson, so we added a soft green silk ribbon - perfect with the exquisite French lace of the dress. The green also echoed the gorgeous Spring flowers Anna chose for the day, and for her pretty bouquet.

I'll let Anna describe her happy day...

"We married in the Registration office in Chelmsford, Essex. We had wanted a fairly small wedding and had just 35 guests - including quite a few people who travelled over from Germany.

For dinner and drinks we went to a country pub called The Lion Inn in Boreham. We had a lovely day - everything was quite small and intimate.. and we even had some sunshine!"

Thanks for sharing your charming pictures with us, Anna! 

And if you'd like to see more images of Anna's lovely Blanche dress or more 1950s style wedding dresses, do visit my Heavenly Collection or contact me here.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone! 

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

What vintage are you...?

Dear Reader,

So I may have nailed my colours to the mast by saying how much I love 1930s dresses. But that's just me... Now how about you? Are you a Downton Abbey darling, a lover of 1950s prom-pretty fashions, or a stylish swinging 1960s girl?

Each style of vintage wedding dresses has so much to offer! Here's a little reminder of some recent posts explaining each era, with lots of beautiful dresses to enjoy. Take a look by clicking on the titles, and see if you have your own favourite decade...

A Guide to Edwardian (1910s and 1920s) wedding dresses

A Guide to 1930s wedding dresses - the golden age of glamour

A Guide to 1940s wedding dresses - Hollywood sophistication

A Guide to 1950s wedding dresses - Flirty fifties!

A Guide to 1960s wedding dresses - Swinging Style

Ahhhh, so many delicious styles to choose from. Think I shall have changed my mind again by tomorrow...!

See you again soon (and don't forget to contact me if you'd like to see my collection in person)

Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides

My Vintage Wedding Dress of the Week, Violette - a 1930s beauty.

Dear Reader,

Have I mentioned that the 1930s is one of my very favourite eras for vintage wedding dresses? ...Oh, only about a hundred times, probably! 

Well, this week I've chosen another gorgeous 1930s-inspired gown to be my Dress of the Week: Violette, from my Heavenly Collection.

Handmade in sensuous silk satin, with french lace or satin sleeves, Violette is a glamorous new take on a classic 1930s design - remodelled to flatter a modern figure.

You can see more of Violette here, together with more 1930s-style wedding dresses in my Heavenly Collection.

And if - like me - you love these slinky 30s numbers too, then don't forget to check out my Guide to 1930s Vintage Wedding Dresses, with lots of lovely photos of original dresses to enjoy.

Have a lovely weekend and enjoy the sun!

Love

Helena 

Heavenly Vintage Brides

Real Bride Sophie shines in a 1950s-style wedding dress, 'CHANTILLY'

Dear Reader,

Remember I promised to share more pictures of Heavenly bride Sophie, and her wedding to Jeremy...?

For her city wedding in Ealing, Sophie looked fabulous in 'Chantilly' - a 1950s inspired lace wedding dress from my Heavenly Collection. She teamed the dress so prettily with silver Jimmy Choo 'Luna' peep toe pumps, a sweet veil and gorgeous bright Spring flowers.

Husband-to-be Jeremy looked dashing too, in a blue Reiss suit, Thomas Pink dress shirt and Alexander McQueen tie and cufflinks...

And their whole happy day was filled with wonderful personal details, from the 'Molly Bakes' cake-pops to the London Bus tour!

"Many of our guests travelled to London for our wedding from all over the world, so we hired a routemaster to take them on a tour of London before arriving at our reception at The Amadeus in Maida Vale."

 

Thanks so much to Sophie for sharing for her super-stylish day with us (and for her kind words!) If you've enjoyed this post, check out the nice feature in Brides Magazine, here.

"I just wanted to share some pics from Saturday - I felt wonderful in my dress and received so many compliments, so thank you for all your help and support in making my dream dress!"

See you all later this week, for another inspiring Real Vintage Bride!

Love

Helena 

Heavenly Vintage Brides