Vintage venues part 1: London

Finding the perfect venue for your vintage wedding will depend on all sorts of things. The number of people you are trying to accomodate, your budget, the best location, but most of all the overall look and how that fits in with the vintage theme you have in mind. I will continue this thread with other regional venues, but thought I would start with 4 really different venues in London.

Deco decadence:

Eltham Palace

If you have elegance  in mind you can't do better than this amazing mansion. Eltham has original interiors which display the very best of  Deco design. If you are having a summer wedding Eltham also benefits from lovely gardens and plenty of outside space - not something you usually find in a London venue.

Victorian Music Hall:

Wilton's Music Hall

Wilton's is a bit of a hidden gem for those 'in the know'. A Victorian Music Hall which is teetering on the edge of dereliction, Wilton's is atmospheric and theatrical - a faded beauty which would suit an evening wedding at any time of the year. 

Pre Raphaelite dream:

Leighton House

Created by Lord Frederick Leighton, this house is a Pre-Raphaelite imagining of an Arabic interior. The rooms feature beautifully detailed wooden screens and vividly coloured tiles - you'll feel like you are stepping into one of Leighton's sumptuous paintings.

Ridiculously OTT:

Café de Paris

If you'd like a venue which sums up the fast-living glamour of the pre-war London night clubs, then why not aim for the top and book the Cafe de Paris? Cole Porter, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Marlene Dietrich...the list of club clientele is enough to make anyone covet this place as their dream venue.  

If none of these suggestions is quite right for you, I would recommend this great website to help you find your own vintage venue.

Dressing a Bride with a bump!

Two of the happiest occasions in a woman's life are usually accepted to
be her wedding day and being pregnant. Although it's not often planned
that way, these days more and more women are having to work out what to
do when these happy events happen to coincide! Lily Allen proved when
she beamed over her baby bump on her wedding day that it's
possible to be a beautiful Retrobride even WITH a bump. 

There are a few companies now who have recognised a gap in the wedding
fashion market and a pregnant bride has plently of dress options to
choose from. An Empire line dress is the most obvious choice and if you
wanted that sweet Austen heroine look you could go for a Regency
inspired gown. But there's no reason you have to look demure. The
'multi-way' dress sold online by Seraphine (here) is slinky without
losing any class. The versatile straps allow you to change between
Grecian twisted straps look or aa slightly 70s looking halterneck style.