vintage wedding dress Archives - The Natural Wedding Company

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Charlie

Favourite Natural Wedding Styles: wedding dresses, hair styles, grooms style, bridesmaids and accessories

Charlie

It’s the first in our new Real Wedding Favourites mini series, which will be featuring some of our favourite picks from the Real Weddings we’ve featured over the years. It’s been such a challenge to choose our ‘favourites’, but as we mentioned in our introductory post, these are really just some of our favourites.

Our picks are chosen from the very first Real Wedding we featured up until spring of this year.

Natural Wedding Styles

Today it’s all about Natural Wedding Styles. This includes our favourite wedding dresses, our favourite bride’s wedding hair style, our favourite groom style, our favourite bridesmaids style, and our favourite wedding accessories.

Our Favourite Wedding Dresses

An Asymmetric Layered Wedding Dress

I got a bit stuck on this category because every bride chooses a wedding dress that suits them, and is right for their wedding. The dilemma was, how should I choose? Should I pick the one I’d most like to wear? In the end I was tied between two (this was the other), but Nik’s wedding dress won out for me.

For her Welsh coastal farm wedding, Nik unexpectedly fell in love with this wedding dress from Coast on a shopping trip for bridesmaids dresses. She even told us: “I actually tried it on for a laugh – it looked hideous on the rail and I was going to leave it behind.” I love the asymmetric hem line and layered skirt of this wedding dress, which Nik wore with a thin leather belt.

Looking through their wedding day I just felt that the dress not only looked great on Nik, but it fitted in with their day. Worn with silver flip flops it blended perfectly into their down-to-earth (and very hot!) outdoor ceremony. Later on for their champagne picnic and walk on the beach it worked wonderfully with bare feet. And for the evening party on the farm with a pair of vintage cowboy boots.

My favourite wedding dress comes from Nik and Chris’ chilled out rustic coastal farm wedding. Wedding dress by Coast. Photography by Pete Cranston Photography.

Charlie

Natural organic wedding inspiration with a romantic spring bouquet, touches of copper and vintage wedding dresses

Charlie

This spring photoshoot is full of natural organic wedding inspiration with hints of peach, pale blue and copper. The team were inspired by vintage reclamation and the organic and natural colours and textures of oxidised copper. From the exquisite handpainted botanical cakes to the vintage wedding dresses (the rose pink one!) and touches of foraged blossom, this photoshoot is brimming with inspiration.

Over to photographer Jenny Owens to tell us more…

Natural organic wedding inspiration

Samantha

Matt and Jo’s relaxed outdoor Cornish wedding with a barefoot bride in a vintage wedding dress and festival inspired decor

Samantha

Relaxed outdoor Cornish wedding with a barefoot bride

We are absolutely loving Matt and Jo’s laid-back homespun wedding that we are sharing with you today. We know warm summer days currently feel like a distant memory whilst it is so dull and grey outside and Christmas is but days away, but this beautiful outdoor celebration is most definitely going to bring a little sunshine to your day.

Married this summer in the forever charming Cornwall this wedding is the ultimate in rustic, relaxed style. For starters the bride went barefoot wearing a vintage dress, the groom sported shorts and the bridemaid’s showed us how to perfectly pull off white. And that is without even touching on all the incredible festival inspired decor and the amazing locally-sourced feast that was served to the guests.

The day was beautifully captured and shared with us by TNWC directory business, Sarah Brittain Edwards Photography.

Retorrick Mill outdoor wedding venue

Matt and Jo chose the beautiful Retorrick Mill in Cornwall as their wedding venue, a place close to their hearts.

”We used to live in Cornwall but moved back to Leicestershire when we had our children so we felt we had to get married in Cornwall as it was where it all began! We had stayed at Retorrick Mill the previous summer. We were camping and loved how laid back the venue was. The owner, Wilf, is equally as laid back and friendly.”

Charlie

Bridget and Jeremy’s laidback Irish wedding with a vintage wedding dress, homegrown flowers and inspiring homemade decor

Charlie

Laidback Irish wedding

Today’s wedding has been a long time coming – a long time. I feel incredibly selfish that I haven’t shared it with you until this point, and only now with the help of the lovely Samantha who is going to be helping me by writing up some of our real weddings featured on the blog. Bride Bridget has since emigrated to Australia where she works as a printmaker and artist (check out her online shop) and has recently had her first baby.

Now over to my lovely colleague Samantha who is going to tell you all about this beautiful wedding…

Today we are bringing you the beautiful, effortlessly cool wedding of Bridget and Jeremy, brimming full of homegrown details! Not only is the bride incredibly creative (wait until you see the willow arch they got married under) but their friends and family are one talented bunch, who also brought their own personal touches throughout the whole day.

From the décor and ceremony to the food, photography and entertainment, everything was lovingly curated to make a day that was so incredibly personal you can feel the love jumping out the page! So without further ado I am going to hand you over to bride Bridget who provides the most lovely rendition of their big day.

“We wanted our wedding to be fun, country, vintagey, relaxed and just very us. Our main aim was we wanted everyone to have a brilliant time. It wasn’t only a party for our wedding it was also a bit of a leaving party because a month later we left Northern Ireland and moved to Australia, so for me to be able to see and celebrate with so many friends and family before I emigrated was lovely!”

Bridget and Jeremy got married in August 2011, in a field between Bridget’s granny’s house and her mum’s weekend home:

“My granny lives in a cottage near a town called Killinchy in Ireland. I think I’ve imagined my wedding to be there my whole life. When I was growing up we went to Killinchy every weekend. Even now, if we’re home in Ireland, we go down for Sunday dinner. It is a place of childhood magic and full of family history.

My mum got married there and my brother got married there. The ceremony was held on the grass in between the two cottages and then the celebrations went on in the most amazing Nordic tipis erected in the field beyond the cottages. The tipis looked so beautiful!”

Charlie

The story of a handmade bride’s stunning antique lace Edwardian wedding dress from Lucy Says I Do

Charlie

Another lovely treat for you on the blog today from guest blogger Lucy of Lucy Says I Do – especially for all of you who share my love of the Edwardian era when it comes to weddings. If you’re a regular blog reader you’ve probably already read Lucy’s previous guest posts on her bridesmaids dresses and growing your own wedding flowers, which are full of inspiration.

Today Lucy is sharing the story of how she came to choose her stunning Edwardian wedding dress – I’m just a little bit jealous! Who else is? If you have the budget to have a wedding dress made for you, then I hope you’ll be inspired by Lucy’s story. Love Charlie x

Over to Lucy…

Notoriously fussy when it comes to clothes, I imagined the search for my wedding dress was going to be difficult and long, and I was a little apprehensive, as were my mum and my sister! When I booked my first dress appointments I knew what I didn’t want, but I was yet to see anything (in magazines or online) that I could see myself in on my wedding day.

My first appointment was at Jane Bourvis’s Atelier, and that’s where my wedding dress story ends, short but oh so sweet! As soon as I walked in, I knew we’d found something very special.

Charlie

A rustic Lithuanian village wedding celebrating old traditions and a simpler way of life

Charlie

Rustic Lithuanian village wedding

It’s always nice to get inspiration from other countries and cultures when it comes to all aspects of life, but in particular I love seeing the way the other people celebrate their wedding days. I am so excited that I get to share with you this gorgeous Lithuanian wedding shot by photographer Svetlana Batura (who also captured this timeless autumn wedding I featured).

Svetlana took the time to tell me all about the wedding of Irminta and Artur and what they were inspired by, I particularly love the horse drawn cart ride for the bride and groom and their friends – more about that below!

Irminta and Artur were inspired by their love of nature, old traditions, the naturalness they feel is missing from everyday life, and of their grandmother’s stories of village weddings. They wanted to combine old and new styles to create a wedding day that was beautiful, fun and that celebrated their family traditions.

Charlie

Beautiful bohemian vintage wedding dresses and an exclusive reader discount from Daughters of Simone

Charlie

Recently I had the pleasure of welcoming Daughters of Simone onto The Natural Wedding Company directory, an online vintage wedding dress boutique based in San Francisco, California. Set up and run by the lovely Brittany and Christy, Daughters of Simone offers a beautiful collection of one-of-a-kind vintage wedding dresses all with a bohemian feel to them.

All of the wedding dresses are vintage by origin, but Brittany and Christy love to look at a gown and see the possibilities it has – many of the gowns are reconstructed to have that contemporary feel to them.

Naturally, I was bursting with excitement to showcase their current collection of wedding dresses and I’m thrilled that readers of The Natural Wedding Company can claim a 10% discount on any purchases made until Sunday 15th July 2012. Daughters of Simone ship all of over the world, including the UK (our very own TNWC bride Emma bought one of their clutch bags for her wedding).

All the dresses below are currently available from Daughters of Simone, but please note they are one-of-a-kind dresses and therefore once they are sold they are gone, so if you see one you love make sure you order it soon to avoid disappointment.

Here are some of my favourites…

Charlie

Edwardian inspired lace wedding dress for a modern bride

Charlie

I’m sure a number of you will have already seen this dress when the wedding was featured over on Love My Dress, but as regular readers will know I love the Edwardian era and feel the old eras are often forgotten when it comes to ‘vintage’ inspiration for weddings. So I’m hoping I can champion it a bit here at The Natural Wedding Company.

Back in September of 2011 I featured a couple of dresses from Charlotte Casadejus that I’d fallen in-love with for their use of beautiful lace, and when I say beautiful lace I mean the kind that is intricate, delicate and feminine. It was lovely to spot this gorgeous bride on Love My Dress wearing one of those dresses that had been tailored especially for her.

Charlie

Not-to-be-missed trunk sale at The Vintage Wedding Dress Company 10th, 11th & 12th February 2012

Charlie

This is one date not to be missed from your diary if you’re a bride-to-be searching for a gorgeous, original vintage wedding dress – The Vintage Wedding Dress trunk sale. I’ve heard that there will be a large number of original vintage wedding dresses for sale for three days only in February. There will also be a small number of their Decades Collection sample dresses and accessories.

What’s for sale at the trunk sale will not be available to purchase after the sale has finished, so this is a one-off opportunity to find yourself that wedding dress you are dreaming of. The trunk sale runs from Friday 10th to Sunday 12th February 2012 and you must book an appointment.

Charlie

Mariette and Benjamin’s natural French countryside wedding ~ part two

Charlie

Natural French countryside wedding (part two)

If you missed part one of Mariette and Benjamin’s natural French countryside wedding yesterday, get over there now and immerse yourself in an utterly gorgeous wedding. Today it’s the second part with some gorgeous photos in woodland and around the stone villa, and their fun reception and rustic decorations.

>> View Mariette and Benjamin’s natural French countryside wedding (part one) here <<

What a happy looking couple – and those gorgeous lace sleeves and floral headband. Everything is just so fitting about this wedding, nothing seems out of place or contrived – just simple, natural and beautiful.

It always helps to have a beautiful rustic backdrop to create romantic wedding photographs, like an old French villa with mint green shutters and a rambling rose (oh France how I miss you!)…

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