Vintage themed weddings are still going strong according to brides magazines and industry professionals. Aside from using vintage wedding dresses, where else can you incorporate the vintage look and feel you want for your special day?
The Vintage Wedding Reception
The reception is a wonderful opportunity to showcase your vintage style — especially in the DIY vintage centerpieces you choose for guest tables. There are so many options out there, where do you begin? Contrary to what some believe, vintage does not mean only canning jars and daisies.
Narrowing the focus of your vintage wedding theme is a big help. Instead of just saying “vintage” theme, try zeroing in a specific era/time period, vintage trend or vintage style that you love. This will help you in researching what vintage items are right for your wedding. For instance, your time period or era could be any of these:
- Medieval Times
- Victorian
- 1920’s
- 1930’s
- 1940’s
- 1950’s
- 1960’s
- 1970’s
- 1980’s
Or, maybe a vintage style or trend is more to your liking:
- Vintage Hollywood Glamour
- Vintage Las Vegas (e.g. Rat Pack era)
- Free Spirit or “Hippie” era
- Flappers and Prohibition
- USO and WWII era
- Vintage Country or Rustic Simple
- Vintage Travel — Golden Age of Travel
All these ideas are a bit more focused and and allow you to really showcase your favorite part of a vintage wedding theme.
Vintage Centerpieces
Now that you have narrowed the scope, what can you use as vintage centerpieces? Let’s use some of the themes above to suggest different items you can use as centerpieces. Grouping together items in a small vignette is a great way to get away from the ho-hum floral bouquet we’ve all seen for years. Sure, you can still use flowers, but get creative with your containers or use only one orchid in your grouping and it will stand out among the crowd.
What sort of vintage items epitomize the vintage era, trend or style you have chosen? Try closing your eyes and visualizing all the items that come to mind when you think of your vintage theme? Let’s say you’re hosting a vintage travel theme. Here are some things that come to my mind:
- air, train and boat travel posters
- antique world globes
- vintage suitcases
- passports and old maps
- luggage tags
- a ships wheel
- postcards
- travel brochures
- old cameras
- landmarks or tourist attractions
- vintage planes, trains, buses, hot air balloons, cars & ships or boats
- travel tickets
What about vintage Americana? (1930’s and 40’s)
- coffee, tea, flour, or any food packaging
- vintage milk bottles holding a single bloom
- framed retro advertisements
- white gloves and hats
- hat boxes
- Uncle Sam (for the patriotic times)
- costume jewelry added to candle holders or frames
- a floral arrangement made of vintage brooches
- Jewel Tea, Fostoria or Depression glass cake stands, candle holders or tea pots
All these things are readily available if you know where to look. eBay is a fantastic source of all things vintage. Look around your hometown at antique malls and thrift stores too. Think in groups of items (odd numbers work best).
You want your guests to walk away from your vintage wedding reception knowing exactly where you transported them in time. Having unique and different vintage centerpieces is something they will remember.
I adore a vintage wedding and appreciate your post. You have some lovely ideas and I am going to pass the ideas on to my brides.