goodbye... for now.

Here is just a little hint about the last post... I can't say more. I can say I am very sad. 

Until I know anything more, I just keep hoping our wedding will be in 46 days... everything is planned so beautifully. Pray for us! 

The above photo sure is famous....

the long road home

I'm packing my yellow suitcase, at least the one in my imagination (because the one pictured is something I drool over on etsy), and moving out of our apartment in the big city into one of the apartments over my grandparents' barn.It is a little one bedroom where the hay loft is. No, the barn doesn't look like the red one above (newer and much larger) but I could always dream, right? I've found that in the face of stress-- our wedding is potentially in 47 days-- I tend to use my imagination much more. I'll give you a hint about it in a later post... Whether or not that is a good thing-- well, questionable. 

Today I picked out all new paint colors for the place-- a nice sunny yellow for the kitchen and little living/dining area, a cool green for the bathroom and a lilac for the bedroom. I'll be living there alone for a while... so I thought what would be better than decking the place out in all vintage decor? I'm can be as girly as I want. How fun! I've got a vision. I can just see myself now, staring out off my deck looking out to the cows and horses in the pasture. Oh please, let time fly!

love birds on a wire

I found this sweet bird garland over at the fabulous site OnceWed. As you can see from the second picture, there is a great tutorial to help you make one. OnceWed is a site mostly dedicated to buying and selling used designer wedding gowns. Although they do have wonderfully creative inspiration ideas, such as the one above! I would recommend taking a jaunt over there, you might see something you like!

I absolutely love garland! I could have miles and miles of the stuff hanging at our wedding if I was allowed. Baby's Breath, paper garlands, even garland made out of Willow tree branches. I love it all. I would love to have a garland like this hanging over the door to the master suite at the inn we are staying in the night of our wedding. My fiance and I, well, we are true love birds!

If you aren't so jazzed up over the birds, you could always try hanging hearts. You don't have to have anything hanging at all! Although some hanging monogram initials would be adorable! I might just have to try a combination of both birds and initials! I can never make up my mind!

sew adorable

All of these things I found are sewn, handmade, do-it-yourself. DIY! I absolutely adore DIY! Anything made with a good old fashioned needle and thread or sewing machine I swoon over. I know that not all of the images below are directly wedding and vintage related, but they could easily fit in the grand scheme of a vintage inspired bride! With some great vintage fabric finds, you can step up to your grandmother's sewing machine and get busy on some DIY projects! 

The first photo is a rice pillow from Blair Peter's blog. A rice pillow is an old remedy. When you have a head and back ache after a long day of wedding planning you just pop this little darling right into the microwave for a few minutes and enjoy! It might even be good for your bridesmaids after the bachelorette party! Think of what wonders it could do for your fiance after you ask him to build and paint those wooden signs for the reception! I can't wait to try one out. Honestly, this doesn't even have to be sewn... a little stitcher's glue 

and you're in business! 

The second and third photos are from a blog called paperstringcloth, a genius little place on the web! These pin cushions immediately reminded me of ring pillows. There is even an in-depth tutorial teaching you how to make one of these for your wedding ceremony. Even though my fiance and I are not having a ring bearer, I might just have to make one of these and have the best man tuck it away in his jacket. My grandmother inherited at least half a dozen boxes of fabric from my great grandmother, making one of these pillows out of Grandma Bessie's fabric would be a wonderful way of incorporating her into our wedding!

The fourth picture is of a paper doily garland made by the creator of The Long Thread blog. I think this simple little decor idea could dress up a simple space. I am envisioning old wooden walls or even an outdoor garden or barn venue. The garland looks so simple, clean and elegant. I would love to have people write little notes on them like a wish tree, but I don't know how that would work out...

The last two images are from the one and only domestic goddess Martha Stewart. On her wedding website there were a bunch of ideas that included buttons. As always, she has very simple and well thought-out how to instructionals. I absolutely fell in love with the hand embroidered button cuff links. I am most definitely going to be making a pair for my dear groom. I plan to have a groomsman come over and  get them from me the day of the wedding and giving them to him just before the portrait session starts. I'm going to be on the hunt for some big buttons and nice fabric to cover them with! 

Get stitchin' ladies...

blairpeter

paperstringcloth

tutorial here

the long thread

tutorial here

martha stewart

just married

here

here

here

here

here

I have weddings on the brain! Mostly, I just want to get ours over an done with. I'm pretty stressed out with school, getting the best grades I can and finishing my thesis. The thought of driving away from it all after a night dedicated to my love and I makes me shiver with delight! 

Look at these photos! Aren't they to die for? All of them were found on the wonderful resource known as flickr! I couldn't figure out what years the first two photos came from; the third photo with the couple in front of the Volkswagon Bug is from 1963, the fourth is a couple from near Peoria, Illinois and was taken in 1960 (look at all those cans!), and the last photo is from 1959 in Phoenix, Arizona. I can't get over how sweet the man standing by the car's posture is! Obviously, these were all events to celebrate! 

Since our wedding and reception are both at the same place, we will not have to use any sort of vehicle to travel. Our venue is a bed and breakfast and we are staying there for our first official married night. Though how I long to drive off into the sunset in a vintage car decorated with the traditional empty soup cans and streamers! I wish we could drive off in one now for a weekend getaway-- and it is only Wednesday! 

dreaming of honeymooning

Aren't these vintage honeymoon photos fabulous? I found them all of flickr.com care of users anniebee and haunted_snowfort. The first two belong to haunted_snowfort, and the people in the photo are the users great aunt and uncle, Bess and Wes. The last three pictures, user anniebee bought from a dealer and lovingly named Ted and Helen. I simply adore both couples!

Just look at that parasol and those knee socks, they were the sunscreen of the times! The matching monogram one-piece bathing suits on Bess and Wes are just darling! When my dearest and I finally are able to go on our honeymoon I am going to make sure we get these traditional photos! Couple on the beach, couple in the water... we've seen it time and time before, yet these types of pictures never get old. You can practically feel the warm young love coming from the pictures! 

While Bess and Wes seemed to be a proper couple living on the straight and narrow, Ted and Helen are edgy. Just look at Helen, she's gorgeous! So put together on a simple countryside walk! Also, look at them in their hotel room... a little risque, aren't they? Ted and Helen were simply before their times. The shower and towel portraits are so personal! Lastly, look at Helen in front of that car. The woman knew how to pose! Her driving gloves, the headband, her entire outfit-- it just works! I hope I have even just an ounce of Helen in me: she's classy, sassy and downright beautiful! 

Now I've got sandy beaches and cold margaritas on my mind! 

I'm just wild about saffron...

They call me mellow yellow!

Okay, so I know this isn't exactly a vintage inspired post, but I guess if I at least post one vintage inspired idea per day I am allowed more creative freedom. For my second post of the day it is all about brand spankin' new yellow high heels! Although, if you look closely at each pair of gorgeous man catchers I bet you can see the throwback to a vintage shoe design. 

I love them all, from the color and bulk of the chunky mary-janes, the vented heel and use of shape in the peep-toe heels, the femininity of the nice soft yellow low-heeled shoes, the two-toned eye-catchers, the texture of the baby chick yellow pumps, and the boldness of the bright patent yellow wedge with the cutouts. 

My bridal party is wearing yellow, and although I hope they have found their shoes already, this post is a little motivation to get them going. You see, there are plenty of yellow high heels just waiting to be worn! 

Each of these beauties were found on 6pm.com. Designers include, KORS, DKNY, Miss Sixty, Eley Kishimoto and Two Lips. 

In order from top to bottom,

here: www.6pm.com/n/p/p73642325/c/17628.html

here: www.6pm.com/n/p/p/7376803/c/764.html

here: www.6pm.com/n/p/p/7400677/c/764.html

here: www.6pm.com/n/p/p/7400677/c/764.html

here: www.6pm.com/n/p/p/7423367/c/2906.html

and here: www.6pm.com/n/p/p/7412997/c/764.html

military brides from decades past

I'm a military bride. My fiance, who would like to remain as anonymous as possible, has been in the service for close to five years now. He's planning on making it all the way through to a 20 year retirement. In some respects, I'm marrying the military too-- not just my man. 

There is something so captivating about vintage military wedding pictures. The attire, the seriousness on their faces and the stories that my imagination makes up while looking at them make these photos so precious. 

Let's look at these pictures from top to bottom. First, there is a vintage military cake topper found on fancyflours.com. There is a large array of vintage wedding cake toppers, it isn't just military-specific. The prices range from reasonable to something that collectors could afford. My military groom chose not to wear his dress uniform to our wedding, which is perfectly fine with me! So instead of using a military cake topper we are blessed to use my grandfather and grandmothers chalkware one from their wedding fifty years ago in 1949. I will post pictures of that one later! 

The second picture I found on a military website, grunt.com, and it is the most interesting and sweet of the bunch, I think. Here is what the excerpt next to the picture said, 

"It didn't take a double wedding for two Marine PFCs to get married. Cutting their wedding cakre are Pfc and Mrs. William R. WIlder, Jr. Th bride, formerly Nancy Olsen of Chicago, is also a Pfc. The bride and groom are both stationed at HQMC." The picture was taken June 25, 1950. The day the Korean War started. " Published in Leatherneck Magazine September 1950. Submitted by SSgt William R. Wilder.

The third photo is a military wedding from an unknown date between 1940-1943. Read here, http://www.fashion-era.com/wedding_pics_1940s.htm, for more information. I was trying to figure out if that was an eye patch on the maid of honor? 

The fourth and final photo is the oldest of the group. Taken in 1919, the caption read "Bill Swinton getting married to Vera Burr just after the Great War" I love the look of the bride's train and that each of the bridesmaids wore a veil as well. Wouldn't it be adorable to bring that fashion trend back?

I hope you enjoyed these photographs. Someday I will be a vintage military bride myself! The idea of some girl hunting around the internet for photos in a hundred years looking at old wedding photos blows my mind!!!

xo,

a touch of southern hospitality

Mason jars, how I love their charm! The glass isn't fussy, they can do just about anything and they remind people (especially me) of family tradition. I think mason jars are so cute that my grandmother, mother and I homemade grape jelly and filled 170+ 3 oz. jars for favors we are giving to the guests at the reception. Now that was a lot of work!

Mason jars are a relatively inexpensive way of personalizing your reception decor. Something about them just screams southern hospitality! I love they way they look hanging together with small candles burning inside. More antique versions come in gorgeous colors perfect for a beach themed wedding. Also, I'm convinced that by using them you can do some up-cycling after the wedding-- think recycle, but cooler! After all of the movin' and shakin' from the wedding has died down, you can make your foray into domesticity by pickling vegetables or making jams and jellies. I know I'll be spending a few relaxing Saturday afternoons with a family recipe for hot pepper jelly and our leftover jars!

I've even seen these jars filled with sand and candles to make clustered centerpieces, or filled with gumballs at a candy buffet. I have even seen them hanging from shepherd's hooks and filled with flowers from the farmer's market as ceremony decor for an outdoor country style wedding. Plus, these jars are relatively easy to find: think local super centers, grocery stores, etc. and somewhat inexpensive. The possibilities are endless!

Look here:

www.cowtowncollectibles.com

here:

http://kristinandryan.blogspot.com/2008/07/mason-jars.html

and here:

www.pastthemoon.com/reception-decor/

something to cry over

For my second post I am going to show you the darling handkerchiefs I bought on ebay via the Make an Offer feature. Coming all the way from China are almost forty brand new, never used vintage style handkerchiefs complete with floral patterns, scalloped edges and bright colors. 

I plan on putting these little darlings in a basket at the entrance of our ceremony set up with a little sign that says something about criers taking one! 

I am so excited to get these in the mail, the seller was very prompt and helpful--- she gave me the tracking number for the package within just a few hours of buying it! I bought the hankies for a great price and they will be one of those little personal touches than many will remember. 

There are many options for brides out there looking to do something similar. For the bride who needs instant gratification, you could purchase real vintage hankies little by little from antique and thrift stores, making sure to wash and press them before the big day. Or, if you are lucky enough to live in a place that holds a monthly antique show (Antiques by the Bay), you can scour the vendors and find them all in one place. For those who are more patient, internet shopping such as on Etsy.com or ebay.com is a great option. I put 'vintage style handkerchief lot' in the search engine and was pleasantly surprised!

a warm welcome!

Hello and welcome to Vintage Inspired Bride! My name is Katie and I will be your beloved blogger.

I decided to create Vintage Inspired Bride after diligently reading vintage blogs, one with the focus of weddings, and finding that my creativity led me in other directions, which I would like to share with you! Please, feel free to leave comments & suggestions-- I will kindly respond to them!

For my first official post I decided to showcase some very sweet vintage flower card and seed package images that I stumbled across a few days ago. I thought they would be perfect printed then framed in lieu of table numbers at an intimate garden wedding! 

Also, I think they would be fantastic as shower hostess gifts or favors. I am planning on printing out the daffodil card and decoupaging it on the side of an inexpensive brown cardboard gift box and then filling the box with bulbs to give to my bridesmaids. For the shower hostess, I will purchase a baby rose plant and either re-pot it in something less commercial-looking or buy a rose that is meant to stay small and plant it in a pretty pot. Then I will take my rose card, paste it to a stick and back it with a strong cardboard making a little sign. 

Adorable, right? 

Download the images for FREE here (website complete with instructions):  

Thanks for reading! Be on the lookout for more posts coming real soon!