Becky and Dave budgeted £5000 for their 1950s wedding. They wanted a really special and unique day, but they didn’t want to spend a fortune getting it! They were inspired by everything they mutually love for their retro theme.
“We’re both quite heavily tattooed and share a huge love for music, Marvel comics, Star Wars, vintage cars and all things American – especially the 1950s”, Becky said. “We knew from the start we wanted an alternative wedding. I wanted a tea length dress and a celebration filled with the things we loved and that was ‘us’ instead of working to impress guests! With a tight time-scale of six months to to plan everything, two kids (one newborn!) to raise and returning to work in between, I did find it really hard going. We contemplated a Marvel and Star Wars themed wedding but I was too reluctant to put our ever-growing collection of figures and comics out for table displays in case of anything getting damaged.”
“So we based the entire thing on another love of ours – 50s America! I found it really easy to get things flowing from then on and based the colour schemes around the bridesmaids dresses (which were an absolute bargain at £40 each!) I had a beautiful bead bouquet made to match the dresses with a few old school tattoo style buttons thrown in for good measure, and we made the bridesmaid bouquets ourselves with giant paper roses. We booked a 1953 Chevrolet BelAir as our wedding car and I then came up with the idea of basing our table decorations on this. I spent hours searching eBay for 12” die cast muscle cars and managed to get the right amount in the perfect colours (although this has now set off a bit of a hobby of collecting vintage model cars, oops!) We had a TBird, a BelAir, an Oldsmobile Super 88, a Corvette and a Cadillac. They worked so well!”
“To add to the look of the tables we had Coca Cola glasses filled with false carnations and propped up vinyl”, she continued. “We scattered pictures of 50s singers and bands around the room. We had Buddy Holly and Elvis playing in the church during the ceremony and had our first dance to Life Could Be A Dream followed by 50s music being played all night.”
Doing all of the décor themselves and having a small guest list were the main things that saved the couple money. “We only had a small wedding with just over 40 guests, and I think that the entire thing went down amazingly, everyone commented on how different it was”, Becky explained. “Having such a tiny budget to work with, it was sometimes really difficult to piece things together and get an overall picture of how the day would be, especially as the majority of it was DIY. But it all worked really well in the end and I wouldn’t have changed a thing.”
The bride also saved a lot on her amazing dress. “I went to a boutique with my mum hoping to find something that day, but I had to bear in mind I’d only had my daughter five weeks before, it was my first time dress shopping, and with just under six months to go I knew I would struggle to get a dress made-to-order”, she said. “When I walked into The Bridal Room there was a beautiful tea-length lace number on the mannequin in the very centre of the shop. I remember saying to my mum ‘That’s the one, how beautiful!’ I tried a few dresses on but none of them were ‘me’. I tried the tea-length one on last and it fit perfectly. I asked for the price and was told it was an off the peg gown and was available for £299, down from £900! I took the dress with me that day and it didn’t need a single alteration. Perfect!”
“I would’t change a thing about our wedding day, there wasn’t a single thing I didn’t enjoy”, Becky concluded. “In retrospect I do wish we’d had longer to plan though as we were doing everything ourselves. However I was so chuffed with how it all turned out in the end!”
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Suppliers
- Photography: Haywood Jones Photography
- Venue: Stonebridge Golf Club, Meriden
- Bride's Dress: The Bridal Room
- Bride's Shoes: Betsey Johnson
- Bride's Headpiece: Something New Bridal
- Hair : LeKeux Vintage Salon
- Make Up: Helen Brady
- Groom's Attire: Burton
- Bridesmaid Dresses: British Retro
- Flowergirl Dresses: Cath Kidston
- Cake, Candy Cart & Popcorn Machine: The Vintage Rose Cake Company
- Transport: Classic American Wedding Cars