The Vintage Wedding Fair Season Begins…!

Dear Reader, 
In the last few weeks I've moved seventy, very delicate and precious original vintage wedding dresses to my new base: a gorgeous new studio in West London, neatly situated close to the tube station and the picturesque River Thames. And now the satin and lace is all unpacked, my new studio is pretty as a picture. 

Armfuls of silk tulle to be carefully folded, packed, unpacked, steamed...

And SO much tissue paper for all those delicate little things!

And West London itself is pretty as a picture at the moment. Spring really IS sprung now, isn't it. Outside my window the froth of cherry blossom is sprinkled with snow. (Yes, snow… in April!) And it can only mean one thing: the start of the vintage wedding fair season! 

Come and see my vintage wedding dresses for sale in Charlton House on 15 May!

And here's the first on my calendar for the year – Charlton House in South East London, on 15 May. It promises to be a treat. If you love to browse among beautiful vintage wedding dresses, pretty accessories, gorgeous shoes and all manner of girly treasures, then please put 15 May in your diary and make a beeline for me first!

Come and see us at the Fair. We'll be waiting…!

I'll show you a few of the lovely vintage wedding dresses for sale there in another post soon – as well as a teaser of the other pretty stalls you can find. In the meantime, you can find more of my dresses here on Etsy, or arrange a visit to my new studio! 

Our first Vintage Wedding Fair of the season!

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

If you like this post, why not click here to visit my new Etsy store?

Emily's Spring boho wedding in the prettiest 1940s vintage dress

Dear Reader,

Who doesn't love a Spring wedding? The first glimpses of sunnier days, longer evenings and early Spring flowers are such simple pleasures.

Simply boho, Emily in the prettiest 1940s wedding dress

And perhaps the very best Spring weddings are the ones that keep it simple (and it surely helps that Spring weddings don't need to be expensive!) Here, showing us how to do it SO beautifully, is one of my favourite real vintage brides, Emily... 

Emily's 1930s / 1940s wedding dress with its pretty Peter Pan collar.

In her pretty late 1930s / early 1940s vintage wedding dress, complete with adorable Peter Pan collar, gorgeous pixie crop and bright flower headpiece, Emily is a picture of charm and happiness. 

Vintage wedding dresses are perfect for a simple Spring wedding.

In Emily's words…

"A big thank you for all your help in finding and creating such a beautiful wedding dress for me! We had a fantastic day in April, and I got lots of compliments on my stunning and unusual dress."

Spring flowers for a chic and boho look. 

"I'd recommend Heavenly Vintage Brides to anyone looking for a vintage wedding dress."

She and Peter let their simple, fuss–free style speak for itself. With just a few brighter–than–bright paper pompoms for decor, echoing the colours of the flowers. 

Here's Emily's words of wisdom, on how they made their day so special…

"My advice would be to not get too worked up about it all. Easier said than done, I know! There's a lot of pressure on couples, and especially women, to make the perfect day and for everything to somehow represent you both as a couple. Not everything has to mean something, you’ll probably make some random decisions because you don’t want to devote your whole life to organising a wedding. The most important thing is that you are marrying the person that you love, and that you’re committed to the marriage ahead."

I was delighted to come across Emily and Peter's wedding featured on Boho Weddings recently, a great blog with lots of advice about planning a boho or vintage wedding. If you'd like to see more, you can check it out here.

Thanks too, to Benjamin Mathers for his wonderful photography.
Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides

If you'd like to see more, beautiful original 1930s and 1940s 
wedding dresses for sale please check out my Etsy store here.

And to see more gorgeous real vintage brides, why not Like 
my Facebook page here.

Friday Inspiration: a Vogue Vintage Wedding from 1929

Dear Reader,

A charming story for our inspiration today: this beautiful bride is Francesca Braggiotti, serene and graceful in her 1929 satin and lace wedding dress... 

Francesca Baggiotti in 1929 wedding dress, photo by Edward Steichen for Vogue.

This demure and elegant 1920s wedding dress was made for Francesca's wedding to John Davis Lodge, and was something of a departure from Francesca's usual style. As you can see, Francesca didn't always look so butter–wouldn't–melt...! 

Mrs Lodge wows on stage. 1930s but so glamorous and so modern.

A famed beauty, Francesca and her sister Berthe were a renowned Italian dance duo, who ran a dance studio above the barracks of the Brookline Fire Department in Massachussetts. Francesca's costumes required special authorisation by the Mayor himself – as they were deemed too small to be worn on a public beach! All in the name of art, of course…

A fan photo of renowned 1920s beauty, Francesca

Francesca met her husband–to–be on the set of a movie; John Davis Lodge was the grandson of a famous Senator and would himself go into politics in later life. But in 1929, at the time of their wedding, he and Francesca made a fabulous glamour couple – the IT couple of 1929! 

Francesca and husband John Davis Lodge

Once his career in politics began to take off, Francesca successfully transformed herself into a very respectable Mrs John Davis Lodge. The papers called her 'the First Lady of Connecticut' and 'a popular member of New York society's younger set'.

A popular member of New York's younger set!

Francesca and John had a long and happy marriage. Here they are in 1971, while John was US Ambassador in Buenos Aires… Still looking rather fabulous.

In the grounds of the US Embassy, Buenos Aires

Francesca lived to the grand age of 96. What a fantastic character, and what a life she must have enjoyed!
Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides

If you'd like to see more original 1930s wedding dresses and vintage–style dresses,
try my new Etsy store...

And for more vintage–style wedding dresses, 
please check out my Heavenly Collection here…