How to Plan a Vintage Wedding Theme around the Victorian Era
A vintage wedding certainly sounds different, but what exactly is a vintage wedding: is this just another name for a traditional wedding or is it something more explicit? The first thing that springs to mind when somebody mentions ‘vintage wedding’ is the epitome of Victorian tradition – horse and carriage, top hat and tails, the full white traditional wedding. A vintage wedding, however, can be far more than that: it could be based on the fashions of the 1920s Flapper era, the art-deco era of the 1930s, or the Swinging Sixties.
A Few Ideas
Whether you choose a Victorian wedding, suitable for a large or small gathering, you could choose a formal dinner or an informal afternoon tea party. An item to bear in mind if you intend to follow Victorian traditions closely: up until 1880 you could only get married in the mornings. Wedding ceremonies were unlawful if held in the afternoons. The 1920s Flapper style was the era of cocktails, jazz and the Charleston.
Focusing on how to plan a vintage wedding theme for the Victorian era, attention to detail will help to carry this off. Victorian brides were very sentimental and could be quite scandalized if tradition were not faithfully adhered to. When it comes to choosing flowers, Victorian brides knew that each flower had a different meaning and, in the case of roses, a whole language actually grew up around how open the flower was and what colour it was. Small nosegays carried by bridesmaids were known as tussie mussies, usually shaped to represent a ball on ribbons.
Wedding Cake
The strict superstition arose around the wedding cake. It was considered bad luck for a bride to bake her own wedding cake; it was also bad luck for a bride to taste so much as a crumb of her own wedding cake until the cake had formally been cut. One of the most charming traditions and one that, when you are learning how to plan a vintage wedding theme, is easy to copy is the white layer cake that is covered in fondant icing. Baked into the cake are tiny charms, each of which has a meaning attached to it.
When the cake has been sliced each guest looks to see if they have been lucky enough to get a charm, the most cherished of all for young girls in the ring as this means they are next to marry. Then, of course, there is the horseshoe, symbolizing good luck, cloves also mean good luck, an anchor which stands for adventure, a thimble which represents an old maid and a fleur-de-lis which means that love will flower.
Summary
Learning how to plan a vintage wedding theme can be quite easy once you have given full reign to your imagination. I chose a Victorian wedding in this instance because there is so much information available to choose from. Lots of charming little rhymes, such as the one below, are still around to guide you on the right path – many of these are still actively remembered by some of the older generations.
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Article by 5starweddings
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