Vintage Treats – A Glimpse Inside Luella's Boudoir...

Dear Reader, 
There's something I haven't told you. It's not that I've been keeping secrets, just waiting for the right moment…

And here it is. I'm delighted to announce that my Heavenly Collection of vintage inspired wedding dresses is now available at Luella's Boudoir.

Luella's Boudoir is a wonderfully chi-chi bridal boutique in London's Wimbledon Village. There you can view (and try on) my range of dresses in gorgeous girly surroundings – with luxurious decor, chandeliers and pretty antiques to get you in the vintage wedding mood!

1930s style wedding dress Violette, in silk satin and French lace

The boutique is filled with a sumptuous collection of vintage and vintage-style bridal accessories from shoes to veils too… 

1930s style lace wedding dress – Butterfly

So you can plan the perfect wedding outfit – from the top of your head to the tip of your white satin-clad toes...

1930s style lace wedding dress – Butterfly

1930s inspired lace wedding dress, Angel

1940s inspired satin and lace wedding dress, Florence

1930s style lace wedding dress, Butterfly

1930s style wedding dress Violette

(And they have red kid suede too, if that's more your style…!)

1940s style wedding dress – Bette

1940s inspired wedding dress, Florence

All Luella's range are carefully picked by their team of stylists, and are chosen for their originality and beauty. Many designs are exclusive to Luella's, and they also source a range of original vintage pieces. They work with UK and international designers, and I'm thrilled that you can now see my Heavenly Collection in this gorgeous vintage wedding treasure trove!

1940s style wedding dress, Bette

All the pretty accessories featured here are available at Luella's. You can see more of them and read about our exciting collaboration on Luella's vintage wedding blog here. And if you're feeling inspired to go and try on some fabulous vintage wedding dresses, then just click here to book an appointment. 

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

All dresses above from my Heavenly Collection, available now at Luella's Boudoir. 

With thanks to Robert Lawler Photography

Antique and vintage wedding dresses, coming soon to the V&A

Dear Reader

Today I wanted to feature the V&A's upcoming exhibition, Wedding Dresses 1775-2014. It promises two floors of fabulous dresses and amazing wedding fashions, spanning over 200 years! 

1. Silk and leather 'tango' shoes, 1914

From Victorian to Vivienne Westwood, the exhibition includes over 80 romantic, glamorous and extravagant wedding fashions. I'm particularly excited to see their slinky 1930s dresses, like these gorgeous ones below...

2. Silk satin wedding dress by Charles James, 1934

3. Embroidered silk satin wedding dress by Norman Hartnell, 1933

As well as antique and vintage wedding dresses, the exhibition will feature many accessories including shoes, veils, jewellery, hats, corsetry and even garters! 

4. Honiton lace wedding veil, c1850

5. Silk brocade gown and petticoat with silk-covered straw hat, 1780

It promises to be a real treasure trove for anyone who loves vintage wedding style. Wedding Dresses 1775-2014 opens on 3 May and runs until March 2015. Tickets go on sale very soon - I'll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, thanks for stopping by today. Do pop back later this week... I shall have something new to unveil on Friday!
Love
Helena 

Heavenly Vintage Brides

Images:
1, 2 & 4, C. Victoria & Albert Museum, London
3, C Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans
5, Photograph by John Chase

Vintage wedding of the week: Chelsea and Chris tie the knot in pastel pirate style!

Dear Reader

Thanks for blowing in to join me at the end of a stormy week here in England. Today I have a fabulous vintage-inspired wedding to share with you: the lovely Chelsea and Chris. 

Chelsea and Chris wed earlier this year: the crowning moment in a romance that started when they met aged sweet sixteen. In stunning 1950s pastel lace, Chelsea was the perfect vintage bride. Here's the gorgeous moment when she reveals the dress to Chris...

And here's the beautiful bride, so no wonder he looks like the cat that got the cream!

When she visited my studio, Chelsea had already seen many dresses. In her own words,

"We had spent a whole day trying on dresses and while enjoyable it was unsuccessful…until our last visit to Heavenly Vintage Brides. Helena had so many gorgeous dress and I picked out sooo many to try on, but it happened…THE dress. I never really believed in that moment, but it happened. 

I didn’t cry but my face hurt from how much I smiled and my IQ seemed to drop several points as I kept repeating ‘Its just so…lovely. It’s so….lovely’ over and over again. Just two days later my Mum was dragged to London and we brought the dress. My Dad’s face when he saw me in it totally confirmed that it was ‘the one’."

To complement the 1950s pastel lace dress, Chelsea picked out some amazing blue pompom shoes by Vivienne Westwood, and the prettiest felt bouquet by Jennifer Rae.

And for a dusting of edgy glamour, she teamed these with an Alexander McQueen-inspired 'knuckle-duster' clutch bag.

Just like the dress, every detail at this gorgeous wedding was a perfect expression of Chelsea's unique and quirky style. From Chris' Lego pirate cufflinks from Crimson King, to the cute cake pops by Scrumptious Pops... 

If you'd like to see more of this wonderful day, there's a lovely post on vintage wedding blog LoveMyDress, and so much more on Chelsea's own wedding blog. 

And now, I'll let some more of Chelsea's dreamy pictures do the talking... Enjoy!

Thanks so much for visiting my vintage wedding blog today. If you'd like to know more about original vintage dresses or my own Heavenly Collection of vintage-inspired dresses, do contact me.

I hope to see you again soon!

Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides

Chris said 'I do' in a suit by Formality Formalwear
And in Lego pirate cufflinks by Crimson King on Etsy. 
They celebrated with all their friends and family at Villiers Hotel
Chelsea danced all night in heels by Vivienne Westwood
Chelsea's hair had lovely sparkles by Ivory and Co
She carried the prettiest felt bouquet by Jennifer Rae
And their beautiful bridesmaids wore blue dresses by For Her And For Him
They all ate Cake Pops by Scrumptious Pops
They rocked out to the Indie Killers
Lucy Turnbull took the pictures
And Chelsea wrote all about it on her lovely wedding blog