Incorporating vintage elements into your wedding is one of the best ways to create a timeless aesthetic and add sentimental value to your day.
Whether you’re reusing grandma’s old china, getting out the old family photos, or wearing that special fashion piece you’ve always loved, adding vintage elements into your wedding day is always extra special. Here are a few ideas!
Choose a Historic Wedding Wedding Venue
Choosing your wedding venue is perhaps the most important decision you’ll make about your wedding (aside from the dress, of course).
If you want to create a more vintage aesthetic, consider more traditional venues such as manor houses, country cottages, and castles to provide the right background and feel for your special day. There are so many options to choose from.
Historic venues are a great way to ensure your wedding looks and feels like a day from the past. Taking the time to visit the venue beforehand is a great opportunity to consider the space and get inspired!
The Perfect Choice of Jewellery
Your choice of jewelry can add the finishing touch to your special day. Vintage jewelry items such as earrings, broaches, pendants, and rings are a beautiful way to add a little history into your wedding.
Vintage jewelry pieces are a great conversation starter and add a touch of class to your wedding. Be it a secondhand jewelry purchase or cherished family heirloom from the Victorian, Edwardian, or Georgian periods, vintage jewelry is the perfect way to incorporate ‘something old’ into your wedding.
Wedding Decorations
The lovely thing about choosing decor for a vintage wedding is you can opt for pieces with sentimental value and special meaning. This makes for some great talking points and is a special way to add to the significance of your special day.
Here are a few vintage wedding decor ideas.
Bunting
Bunting is a cute and colorful way to incorporate a vintage theme into your wedding day without overwhelming your guests. It’s also a very affordable option, which is always popular!
If you really want to up your vintage efforts, you could even make your own bunting using coloured fabric swatches. You can either choose colors in your wedding theme or you could opt for many different colors, fabrics, and textures to make your venue really pop.
Bunting is a traditional form of decoration that completes the look and feel of any venue with ease. So, if you haven’t considered this for your wedding day it could be a great option!
Vintage Trunks
Do you have a big space that needs filling or a tricky corner to decorate? Vintage trunks and suitcases are a good option – particularly for couples who are passionate about travel!
Vintage trunks can be left open for guests to put wedding cards in or propped up in stacks to showcase the guestbook or old family photos. They are a fun way to add a bit of history into your day.
Vintage trunks can be found in most charity shops. You might even find some in your grandparents’ attic.
Vintage Furniture
Depending on your choice of venue, it may or may not have vintage furniture included. But if not, it’s worth sourcing a few traditional pieces to help add color and history to your special day.
Creating seating areas for your guests using old school chairs, chaise lounges, and traditional armchairs is a lovely way to add a little bit of history to your day. Creating seating areas is also ideal for older relatives who want a quiet space to sit down and chat.
Secondhand Books
Are you a bookworm? Including secondhand or vintage books into your wedding is a lovely way to create literature-themed table centerpieces. We always say that well-loved hardbacks create the best aesthetic. They certainly make for good talking points!
Classic romances such as Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Sense and Sensibility are popular choices amongst brides. And many people add a stack of books to each table, with a vase of flowers on top for decoration, to create that vintage feel.
Black and White Photo Displays
Sadly, there may be loved ones missing from your special day. Creating a personalized black and white photo display of loved ones is a great way to honor those who can’t be with you.
What’s more, if you can get your hands on a vintage polaroid camera you could set up a photo area for your guests to take their own photos to add to your display.
Lace Doilies
Doilies are a vintage feature many of us have seen at older relatives’ houses. These beautiful crocheted pieces were typically made in circular shapes and showcase gorgeous patterns.
Doilies were traditionally used to protect furniture. So, you would often see them laid over tables or used as coasters. Some people utilized them as furniture protectors by laying them over armchairs and headrests.
However, doilies are now widely used in vintage weddings to add decoration and charm to tables. Many brides use doilies as centerpieces or table-runners and the macrame-style certainly adds a sense of history to any wedding day.
Music
The music you choose for your special day really sets the tone. From classics such as Frank Sinatra to Elvis Presley, there is a plethora of music to choose from. Here are a few ways to incorporate that vintage feel into your music choices.
Use a Gramophone
Many vintage weddings opt for a classic gramophone. These timeless pieces don’t just look beautiful – making for some great photo opportunities! – they also have a lovely sound quality that you can’t get anywhere else.
Live Music
If you really want to perfect that vintage feel, you should opt for a live band on your wedding day. Live music creates a great atmosphere and you can have the band set-up on stage playing your favorite tunes well into the night.
A live band is a sure-fire way to enjoy your day and will get all your guests on their feet and dancing.
Classic Transport
Once your wedding is over, it’s important to choose the perfect getaway car. And if you’re opting for a vintage theme, there are great classic car options available.
We recommend you hire a chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce or perhaps a more sporty Aston Martin. VW vans are also a popular choice and make for some great photo opportunities. You could even park your choice of car outside the venue for guests to take photos next to throughout the night.
After your special day, you really want to go out with a bang and leaving in a classic car is the best way to wave off your guests.
Champagne Tower
Is there anything more decadent than a champagne tower? You see them in all the old movies and they are a must for vintage-themed weddings. They are sparkly and pretty, timeless and impressive.
Champagne towers have a lovely extravagant feel and make for a gorgeous backdrop to your speeches.
In Summary
We hope this article has given you some inspiration for your special day. Vintage themes are such a beautiful way to capture the love of two people and create a sentimentality that won’t soon be forgotten. To read more, check out our weddings section!
