Vintage wedding jewellery ideas

I haven’t even begun to contemplate jewellery yet, but my colleague Sue sent me a link Sarah Drew’s handmade collection of vintage bridal headdresses and necklaces, and I couldn’t resist posting a couple of pictures up. Sarah cleverly combines antique brooches, lace, pearls and gems to create one-off pieces, and you can even provide your own brooch to personalise a look.

I love the sound of her Boutique Bridal Jewellery Weekends that she hosts in Cornwall: a weekend of making your own bridal or bridesmaid’s jewellery and even wedding rings – perfect for a pre-wedding bonding session with your bridesmaids or a creative and crafty hen do.

Readers’ Vintage Weddings: Amy and John

Amy and John's day is a true inspiration for all those planning a homemade wedding. Accomplished in a matter of months with the minimum of fuss and without a Bridezilla moment in sight, she planned the perfect vintage-themed wedding. Here’s the low-down:

Where: The ceremony took place in awe-inspiring Southwark Cathedral (with a crowd of Borough Market onlookers outside), followed by a sunny walk (following hand-drawn "walk of love" maps by Amy’s sister Sally) along the Thames to the faded grandeur, paint peeling walls and fairy lights of Wiltons Music Hall – London’s oldest surviving music hall.

The look: 50s-style dresses for the bride (http://www.dollycouture.com/) and floral ones for the bridesmaids, her favourite pink shoes, an ice-cream van and jam jars filled with peonies and pink roses, bought during a dawn visit to New Covent Garden flower market a couple of days before.

A bridesmaid in Vivien of Holloway

Homemade things: Amy says: “I sewed the table runners and bunting using cheap fabric from Abakhans in Manchester; I made the flower girl dress from an extra metre of fabric I bought from Vivien of Holloway; The favours were handmade by us and my sister Sally - little brown envelopes stamped with vintage stamps from etsy, filled with homemade badges made by my sis, special poems written by John and my favourite baking recipes”. Amy, we salute you!

Amy’s tips: “When I was looking for a new 50s style dress, I would have loved one from somewhere like Candy Anthony but they were too pricey. America has lots of companies that create more affordable vintage-style dresses... It was a bit of a risk as I was worried that it wouldn't fit, but the dress was perfect. And a fraction of the cost of anything similar in the UK.”

A "Walk of Love" map by Sally Leach

Wiltons Music Hall

Inside Wiltons

A Vintage Wedding Evening

I was excited to hear that the fabulous London vintage boutique My Sugarland is planning a Vintage Wedding Evening on the evening of March 3 – sounds like a fantastic idea!

For those of you who don’t know the shop (pictured below), it’s a beautiful space in Angel run by stylist Zoe Lem, who carefully selects vintage dresses alongside contemporary brands. I love the jewellery and hair accessories in there too (future blog post in waiting!).

Zoe herself will host the event, showing off some of the store’s selection of wedding dresses, as well as offering advice on planning for the big day, including ideas for photography, flowers and make-up. Tickets cost £10 – email info@mysugarland.co.uk to book. And if you can’t make the March date, there’s another evening planned for May.

Handmade in Brazil

One of my favourite Rio discoveries is Muggia, a small Brazilian brand set up by two sisters Ana and Juliana who craft inventive accessories out of fabrics, plastics and metals – as well as some beautiful bridal head pieces.

Combining a delicate vintage feel with a contemporary edge, they embroider feathers, gem stones and chains onto veils, hair combs and ribbon head bands. Needless to say I found the perfect veil, which Ana skilfully customised for me, encrusting it with tiny stones and beads. I’m holding this back for the big day – but you can see others from her range below:

Rio Rio

As I tap away on my laptop I can hear the sound of waves crashing on the shoreline and the faint beat of a samba drum in the distance... I've been lucky enough to come to Rio for carnival, where my senses have been overloaded with inspiration - they certainly know how to throw a party here (and there isn't a planner in sight)!

I spent my first day visiting some of the city's atelier-boutiques hidden inside residential buildings in the Jardim Botanico area. I loved these beer bottles recycled into vases and covered in colourful fabric at the Dona Coisa boutique on Rua Lopes Quintas:

And  I thought these headbands could make pretty bridesmaids' headpieces at the Atelier Clementtina (the space reminded me of a Brazilian Cath Kidston and it had its own courtyard garden where you could have coffee or a manicure!)

More Rio highlights to follow, but first I couldn't resist putting up a picture of the view from my "desk"...