Something old has transformed into something new with a vintage spin on everything from wedding dresses to flowers as brides apply their unique style and distinctive personality to their wedding attire. Spilling into every aspect of the wedding process, the vintage appeal is highly regarded this wedding season. Brides and designers alike are including the past into the present and with utmost care and consideration, without re-creating or altering; simply adding a touch here and there to honour tradition and savour its timeless magnificence.

Today’s wedding dress styles offer a clever combination of classic and modern designs. Lightly draped or eloquently layered fabrics give softness and femininity. And plunging necklines, halter tops, and laces add glamour.

The process begins with a reverie of colour. Dating as far back as the Middle Ages, the sacrament of matrimony was celebrated with colour and satiated with symbolism. Wedding gowns could have been any colour, but blue was the colour for purity, hence the something blue that has remained popular. At that time if the bride wore a different colour gown, she included a blue ribbon.

It wasn’t until the 20th century when white became the traditional colour for gowns and has remained a staple in the wedding garb. Today we experience a wonderful fusion of past and present. The bride who wears a white dress can choose a style from the past to bring the glamour into her day. Likewise a slight hint of colour on a voile or chiffon suffices for an updated look. Since the word vintage is very much a part of today’s vocabulary, pick which way you want to bring it into your life and your wedding. Have you kept anything from your grandmother? A coloured brooch perhaps, a crocheted shawl, or a flower can speak volumes. Your mother’s own glamour can be passed on to you through a hat or a bow. Even jewellery is more flexible. Gold and silver worn together or apart are in vogue.

Brocades and elaborate laces bring old world customs to the forefront of every bridal dress. And ruffles and ribbons are flirty variations of an otherwise simple sheath. Every element of your dress: the crinoline, the trimming, the veil, the accessories, expresses your own revival of the classics and retells your own story of love and symbolic plenitude.

By Anna Lombardos