Our Kind Of Royal Wedding!

We were secretly hoping that Kate would show up in a 50s style dress but were not surprised when she went for a traditional design. However, all is not lost! PH Weddings and Wedding Daze have put together this Cool Britannia styled Royal Wedding photoshoot at Cusworth Hall for us to pore over.





Photogrpahy - PH Weddings; flowers - Boutique Paeony; cakes - HunkyDory Cakes; styling, signs and crockery - The Wedding Daze; dresses, veils and ivory shoes - Choola; red petticoat - Honeypie boutique

Zoe & Chris' 50's Style Wedding

Zoe and Chris really injected some fun into their 50's style wedding with their candy colour scheme! Zoe's dreamy dress was made by Dana at Once Upon a Time (I have fallen in love the beautiful butterfly detail on the back), and the bridesmaids were each in a different coloured Honeypie Boutique dress.

The couple completed their retro theme with a quirky wedding cake and a fab white convertible Beetle!



Thanks to Hedgehog Photographic who did a fantastic job capturing Zoe and Chris' special day on camera!

Michelle & Craig's 50s Style Wedding

When Michelle and Craig tied the knot earlier this year they went all out 50s from the dress to the car, table decorations and even the food!

Michelle wore a fabulous Dolly Couture Beverlywood and did a bit of clever customisation on her Miss Selfridge bridesmaids dresses with with Honeypie Boutique bows and sashes.



The reception was done in true diner style with decorations and menus by www.rsvpcoordinators.com and Michelle herself. Food included giant hotdogs, burgers, waffles and ice cream sundaes - yum! Michelle even put together a sweet shop with jars she had collected from pound shops. 50s covers band 'Brothel Creepers' provided 50s style entertainment into the night.

Thanks to Al-overdrive for the lovely photos!

Wedding Anniversary Shoot

It's hard to believe it's been well over a year now since my own 50s style wedding! When the lovely Leanne from Without Equal Photography contacted us to arrange an anniversary shoot how could we refuse!

All those wedding day memories came flooding back as we dressed in our 50s finest and headed to the spot where we had our orignal wedding shoot. I wore the Betsey from Honeypie Boutique and chose to add a splash of red as this colour had been banned on our actual wedding day due to football allegiances!!



Leanne and Ricahrd did a fab job of capturing our vintage theme and had even managed to get hold of an original 50s picnic set, radio and newspaper for the shoot. You can check out their website by visiting www.withoutequal.co.uk



To buy the dress worn in the shoot at a discounted price click here!

Sarah and Jason's 50s Style Wedding

Sarah and Jason held their fab 50s style wedding beside Lake Ullswater last summer. Sarah had her beautiful dress made by Whirlingturban and complemented it with summery Vivien of Holloway bridesmaids dresses.

Sons Barney and George did the couple proud as page boys while niece Holly and goddaughter Molly made for seroisly cute flower girls!

Thank you to Rachel Notman for the lovely photographs.

Lee-Ann and David's 50s Style Wedding

Lee-Ann and David held their fab 50s style wedding in Glasgow last year. Lee-Ann wore one of the cutest 50s style dresses I have ever seen, which was made especially for her, and teamed with a perfectly matched birdcage veil. The couple chose a stunning blue Pontiac for wedding transport in true 50s style!



Thank you to Paula Veverka Photography for the lovely photographs.

Lisa and Geoff's DIY 50s Style Wedding

Lisa and Geoff wanted their wedding, in Lisa's own words "not to be very wedding-y and just to be a really fun party!" They used a summer carnival theme as their inspiration and made pretty much everything themselves (Lisa is a designer and photographer so has the creative eye), including Lisa's fab 50s style wedding dress! You can see more details on the items the couple made including the dress, veil and invitations on Lisa's blog.



The reception sounds like it was so much fun, the guests could play retro games such as Operation and Hungry Hippos at their tables while enjoying treats from the candy floss and snowcone machines! The couple then carried on the carnival theme the next day with a photo shoot at the California State Fair (see photo below).



Thank you to Sarah Maren Photography for the fab photographs. You can see more photos of this wedding at Sarah's blog and at Lisa's blog: pre ceremony, the ceremony and the details.

Emma and Nick's 50s Style Wedding

Emma and Nick chose the gorgeous setting that is Ness Gardens on The Wirral for their wedding this summer. Joanne Flemming Design in Brighton made Emma's beautifully elegant 50s style wedding dress, and her Audrey Hepburn style veil was made specially made by Kelly Spence. The bridesmaids looked fab in black polkadot swing dresses with a pink petticoat and matching hair flower.



The couple completed the retro feel by hiring a traditional red London bus from Routemaster Buses to transport their guests!

Thank you to Elegant and Wild for the fab photographs.

Lynsey and Rhydian's 50s Style Wedding

Lynsey and Rhydian looked every bit the retro couple on their big day earlier this year. I am just in love with Lynsey's polkadot wedding dress and veil, and the pastel candy colour scheme they chose for the bridesmaids, flowers and cake is so yummy. Every detail was taken care of in true retro style, even down to the transport!

Thank you to Alun Williams Photography who made it possible for us to drool over this fab retro wedding!

Debbie and Rob's 50s Style Wedding

Debbie and Rob made sure that their big day in Berkshire was one to remember! Debbie chose a striking red Candy Anthony dress, and her bridesmaid's dress was made up from a vintage pattern. Continuing the retro theme, Rob's mum made the most amazing giant cupcake for the couple, yum!

The wedding certainly reflected the couples' personalities, as Debbie revealed that she makes and sells vintage inspired fascinators and gifts in her Etsy shop www.talulahroseonetsy.etsy.com

KT Bruce Photography did a fantastic job capturing their special day on camera.

Danielle and Rob's 50s Style Engagement Shoot

Engagement shoots are becoming more and more popular with married couples to be who want some special photos with each other. Danielle and Rob really made the most of their shoot by giving it a 50s theme. Danielle wore a fab 50s oufit and they chose an idyllic spot along the North Norfolk coast for Emma from Little Flowers Photography to work her magic!

Sophie and Tim's Retro Wedding Party

Sophie and Tim's Circus themed wedding party was a big hit with their guests! Sophie wore a beautiful 50s style wedding dress with a pretty pink gingham sash, and the bridesmaids looked the part in pink polkadot dresses. The couple entertained their guests with a coconut shy and a VW Camper van bar (OK I know it's not 50s but it's very funky), and photographer Paul at PJA Photography did a fantastic job capturing the day!

Laura & Scott's 50s Style Wedding

Laura and Scott tied the knot in September after nearly 10 years together. In true 50s style Laura chose a beautiful swing style dress for the big day. The couple also hired a stunning 1951 Buick Special which, teamed with the expertise of photographer Mike Dearden and the gorgeous couple, made for some fabulous photographs!

Where It All Started . . .

Since it was my own 50s style wedding that inspired me to start this blog, I thought it would be a good place to begin.

We had been putting off our wedding for quite some time, citing a serious lack of funding as our major stumbling block. A mere 13 years on (yes really), and still brassic, we decided it was 'now or never' and dived into organising our 50s style wedding on a budget!

Our June date was agreed and we booked a civil ceremony in a quaint village hall in Willaston on The Wirral, followed by a party with a hog roast for 180 guests at a larger village hall down the road.

A friendly neighbour provided his fabulous 50s car at a snip and I had organised to have my dress made at a very reasonable price. My lovely mum put the finishing touches to it which made it truly unique!



We accidentally found the most amazing photographer who was building her wedding portfolio at the time www.annaoakdenphotography.com. It was a stroke of genius by Anna that lead us to our perfect photo location, a railway station preserved in all its 1950s glory, which happened to be just down the road from the hall!

We worked really hard on the days leading up to the wedding, and with the kind help of our friends and family made all the decorations including bouquets and buttonholes from pink flowers, our cupcake tower, and a yummy candy buffet all in time for the big day!




All the hard work paid off and we had the most amazingly fun 50s style wedding day that we will never forget!

50s style wedding on a budget tips

Some of our money saving tips for budget brides to be:
• Get married as late as possible and go straight into the evening bash
• Have a local dressmaker create your ideal dress or try ebay
• Hire a village hall for the reception
• Skip the sit down meal and have a buffet or hog roast instead
• Make your own invitations, decorations and flowers
• Do your own hair and make up if you are brave enough!