Vintage hen weekends

If the idea of being dressed up as Joan from Mad Men is far more appealing than L Plates and a pink tutu, then these hen weekend ideas could be your ideal alternative to the usual girlie getaway:

Firstly, Vintage Vacations on the Isle of Wight – where you can bed down in a 50s airstream caravan complete with fabulous retro décor, stay in a quirky beach shack, or spend a weekend in a converted tabernacle where you’d have trouble prising yourself away from the wood burning stove it's so cosy.

An Airstream

The Shack

The Mission

The Bungalow

Up North, there is the bohemian La Rosa caravan park in Witby – a cornucopia of kitsch abodes, from a converted truck and old-fashioned gypsy caravans, to a big top tent - along with plenty of eccentric touches such as an open air roll-top bath in the orchard!

La Rosa

For something a little more luxurious (with prices to match), British homewares company Pedlars has just opened the spectacular Balbegno Castle. Kitted out in their signature heritage-inspired style, it would make the perfect vintage retreat.

Balbegno Castle

Vintage Nirvana… Kate Halfpenny’s studio

Vintage Heaven does exist – you’ll find it behind a hand-painted screen that hides rails of delicate dresses in Kate Halfpenny’s London studio. The moment you step inside, you can’t help but fall for the idea of becoming a Halfpenny bride – and fall I most certainly did - for a beautiful 50s number that she is currently recreating for me.

But back to her studio… the huge space, hidden down a cobbled mews in Camden, is a feast for the eyes: vintage gowns, fur stoles and lace caplets are hung haphazard among strings of antique necklaces, or draped over old-fashioned tailor’s mannequins; silk ribbons and trims spill out from the drawers of wooden cabinets, while old-fashioned glass bell jars display her new jewellery collection.

Don’t expect the usual bridal experience – Kate’s no-nonsense approach is refreshing and she has an expert eye in picking out the right vintage dress from her collection, or will make a vintage-style dress to order. I went a bit snap-happy at my last appointment there (no pics of the dress I’m afraid though!):

Polka dot plates

I spent last Saturday at Broadway Market – snapping up the first of the summer’s stripy deck chairs and vainly sifting through wooden letter printing blocks looking for the evasive “&” for our Order of Service covers at The Dog and Wardrobe. And then on to the beautifully stocked vintage furniture boutique Stella Blunt, which had this gorgeous near-complete 40s dinner set in its window - I couldn’t resist taking a picture:

Meadow flowers and real confetti

I think the idea of skipping through meadows picking wildflowers on the wedding morning may have been a bit of a pipe dream! So the idea of Sweet Loving Flowers sounds like a good compromise to me (thanks for the tip, Lula!). It's a small company run by a husband-and-wife duo that grows pretty meadow flowers in an organic plot in Wales. The field was once grazed by sheep and is now blooming with flowers and wildlife. They also provide simple bouquets that have a lovely thrown-together look 

And then my colleague Lucy sent me a link to Confetti Direct, a small company that grows wild flowers, roses and delphiniums for real confetti. Petals are handpicked and packed on the farm at Wyke Manor in Worcestershire, and they also provide paper cones and baskets for display. The fields are covered in a blanket of colour when the flowers are in full bloom… what a beautiful place to live and work: 

Readers’ Vintage Weddings: Jo and Robert

Jo has her own vintage headdress and accessories business in Hampshire but travelled to the majestic Banff Springs hotel in Canada for a magical winter wedding. 

The theme: 30s elegance and old Hollywood glamour. A Jenny Packham “Alice” gown, feather boas and pearls as table décor.

 

Homemade things: Jo made her own alternative bouquet out of her Grandmother’s vintage brooches and her unique head-dress from vintage gems and jewellery. For favours, they bought old-fashioned sweets from the local shop in Banff and placed them in wine glasses along with handwritten thank-you notes. 

 

Vintage tips: Jo recommends sourcing vintage from the suppliers featured on Love My Dress – where she found her veil and bolero, which she finished off with a huge vintage brooch.

I've included some of Jo's gorgeous vintage creations below, that you can find on her website.

Vintage gift list ideas

Researching wedding gift lists is a perk of the wedding planning process, but trying to find vintage wedding lists has proved particularly tricky and I’m beginning to think that good old John Lewis is our best bet – it actually stocks a great selection of vintage-style products such as KitchenAid’s bright yellow blenders and Sophie Conran’s crockery range.

But I have managed to find a couple of great list companies online – The Vintage Wedding List has a beautiful selection of antiques on its site, including 40s stripy Cornish milk jugs, cut glass cake stands, Welsh woollen blankets and faded antique maps. And they’ve thought of the little details too - all the presents come wrapped in tissue paper with hand-written messages on luggage labels.

The Vintage Wedding List

I’ve spent many a lunch hour drooling over the gorgeous products on the Baileys Home and Garden website, but I hadn’t realised that they can also arrange wedding lists – perfect if you are looking for bigger items such as their wooden chapel chairs, industrial lamps and quirky recycled products such as crates on wheels or wooden welly racks.

Baileys

Vintage wedding hair and beauty

Inspired by a very chic model I photographed during Rome Fashion Week who had styled her own hair for a party (shown below), I’ve started researching vintage-style hair dos for the big day. I love the idea of soft 40s Victory Rolls, with a vintage brooch used as a hair pin at the back. 

 

I’ve discovered some great vintage hair and beauty specialists in London who have turned their salons into fabulous retro beauty parlours, complete with bulb-lit theatre mirrors, chandeliers and boudoir-inspired décor.

Lost in Beauty in Primrose Hill is decked out like a Victorian apothecary, with antique cabinets and old-fashioned dressing tables. Along with wedding beauty and bespoke make-up lessons, it can also arrange vintage-style beauty events that would be ideal for pampering at a hen do:

Lost in Beauty

 

Nina’s Hair Parlour in the legendary Alfie’s Antiques Market is a must for any die-hard vintage fan - entirely dedicated to vintage-style hair and beauty. Choose a style from its gallery themed by decade, and they will create the perfect 60s beehive, 20s finger waves or a Brigitte Bardot mane.

Nina's Hair Parlour

 
For something a bit more rock n’ roll, It's Something Hell's on Carnaby Street, has become a cult hair destination, where William and Vanetia Sessel (aka Mister Ducktail and Miss Betty) are experts in 50s Bettie Page pin-up styles and rockabilly quiffs for boys. 

It's Something Hell's

Vintage wedding dresses: Ooh La La! Vintage

Vintage clothing specialist Ooh La! La! Vintage (run by the exquisitely stylish Tara Munro) was one of my first ports of call on the wedding dress hunt.

Based in Paris, Tara can source one-off vintage dresses and accessories for you, or you can book an appointment with her London counterpart Annie, who can help you create a made-to-measure vintage-style dress or alter an existing vintage piece from her stock of dresses (shown below).

Tara also runs vintage weekends and events where she hosts a vintage masterclass and dressing-up session (accompanied by champagne, afternoon tea and Edith Piaf), followed by a tour of the best Parisian vintage haunts in her charming Citroën 2CV, and finished off with a night out at the Moulin Rouge. Sounds like a fabulous vintage-themed hen do idea!