Pearce and Angela love all things vintage and retro, so their 1950s wedding theme came easily to them. They wanted a theme that their guests could be a part of (with fancy dress!). The celebration was held at Craig Y Nos Castle near Brecon Beacons in South Wales. “We loved the venue because it was quirky, wonky and theatrical so it suited us down to the ground”, Angela said. “It was once owned by a very famous opera singer, Madam Patte, in the 19th century, who used to throw lavish parties and entertain the great and good back in the day. It was actually completely different to what we initially had in mind for a venue, but when we walked in we just knew it was perfect!”
The bride wore a vintage dress from the 1950s which she bought from Rachel’s Bridal Boutique. “Even though the dress had lovely details, it wasn’t too fussy, which appealed to me”, she explained. “Like a lot of things that I wear, I really wanted to have fun with it and make it my own by incorporating colourful accessories. I added a flower and beaded wedding belt that I made with my Auntie Katherine, and a colourful 50s style petticoat. Colour is such an important part of my life – it makes me so happy, I wanted to build as much colour into my outfit as I could get away with whilst still keeping traditional with a white dress and veil.”
“My shoes were one item that I did splash out on a little though. I had a very specific style in mind (peep toe with bow), and colour (turquoise and red), plus I needed small heels. I wasn’t quite ready to reveal my high heel waddle to my husband-to-be and guests on my wedding day so small heels were essential! There was no way I would have found what I wanted on the high street. So I decided to have my shoes made by Upper Street where I could get exactly what I wanted.”
“However in saying that, I think both our outfits were probably our best purchases. Both of outfits combined, including all accessories apart from our shoes, cost less than £600. Pearce’s suit was from the high street and cost lest than £100!”
“Costume and fancy dress is a mutual passion that we share so we wanted to bring this into the wedding”, Angela continued. “We also wanted all our guests to enjoy and be a part of that theme. We love all things vintage so it was inevitable that our wedding had to be vintage-inspired. The 1950s was a clear winner as it is one of our favourite eras, plus it is a style that really compliments a wedding so it would make things easier for our guests to come up with an outfit.”
“Once the theme was set we rolled it out to everything from the design to the décor to the outfits. We didn’t particularly stick to one 50s style either, we combined rockabilly, vintage tea-party, high school prom and rock n roll. We even stuck images of vintage pin up girls on bottles of bubbles and put them on the tables. Our table plan was an old vintage trunk that we lined with polka dot and floral fabric and filled with 50s inspired trinkets and items such as records, brogue shoes and petticoats, and we named all the tables after famous 50s icons such as Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando and Elvis. It all came together really well in the end.”
The couple also wanted to pay homage to Angela’s Greek heritage. “In addition to all the costumes, unicorn bubble bike, and handmade 1950s inspired pieces, we also incorporated lots of traditional Greek touches. We put bombonieres (a traditional Greek favour of sugar coated almonds wrapped in tulle that represent a lifetime of happiness) on the tables as favours for the guests, but our personal touch was attaching Alice in Wonderland style ‘Eat Me’ tags on the package with a little explanation of their meaning on the back in our own words. We also hired a Greek dancer, who ran a Greek a dancing workshop for an hour, teaching our guests some of the more basic dances that are traditionally danced at Greek weddings. I think this was a lovely touch as it really showcased my Greek heritage.”
