What Is It With Vintage Wedding Themes?

[Roger Gunkel]

It seems that every wedding I film now and every wedding show is completely dominated by the 'Vintage' theme. Are all brides like lemmings, throwing themselves over the cliff of Vintage along with all the other brides?

Wedding fashions come and go, but the 50s look seems to have taken over just about every UK wedding. What is also interesting is that while the bride wants printed fabrics, jam jars with flowers in, apple boxes strewn about, brown hessian sacking drapes and chair ties, floral plates and cups and a VW camper van to get to the church, and 50s dresses for the bridesmaids, the guys seem to have abandoned traditional and taken up skinny modern blue suits and brown shoes!

At a wedding show last Sunday, even some photographers had picture frames of Apple box wood and displays featuring jars of roses and floral drapes. Cake makers had cake sculptures of VW campers, floral patterned cakes and there were stacks of stands offering to hire bunting, old sacks, apple boxes, underwood typewriters, anything old, even floral patterns on large letters to spell the B&Gs names. Much of it is a mish mash from different decades but nobody seems to notice or care providing it is old.

I'm seriously thinking of making a demo or highlights video using a flickery old film look and maybe making up a wooden box for one of my cameras with a mock winding handle on the side and a hood to go over my head :-)

Roger

[Noa Put]

The photogs must be thrilled they finally have a place for their video add ons that have vintage color all over it...:)

[Chris Harding]

Hi Roger

I have done a lot this year too and yes, apple boxes and a restored VW Van were also part of the scenario.

They also had the reception at a vintage café strewn with old memorabilia like wind up phonographs and rusty vintage bicycles too!!

You probably will get lots of bookings if you show off your apple box camera but you HAVE to also dress in the correct outfit to suit the era.

My one bride in May had an outdoor ceremony with a broken down vintage door and frame propped up on the lawn so she could enter via a vintage door!!

Don't laugh you just might have hit a gold mine ...if you have please post a pic of your outfit standing next to your apple box camera .....Hmmmm I can see a market for photography too, black cloth to drape over your head, wooden tripod and (just for effect) a hand held magnesium flash tray to add total realism!!

I had an enquiry on Sunday for a medieval wedding!! Wonder how I should dress for that one???

[Robert Benda]

I think you mean 'rustic' theme, not vintage, if we're talking about jars, apple boxes, and burlap.

They've been big in the U.S. for a few years now. Especially with people turning old barns into wedding and reception venues.

Same as any other fashion trend... they'll last several years, then fade.

[Kyle Root]

Here in the South, it's all barns, plantation houses, and similar. It's been the rage for at least 2 years now.

Also, multiple wooden signs with painted phrases... and now I'm seeing chalk boards on-site with elaborate/decorative chalk word art as well.

[Peter Rush]

I like it - more little details to film - it makes it interesting IMO

[Dave Baker]

Originally Posted by Chris Harding

I had an enquiry on Sunday for a medieval wedding!! Wonder how I should dress for that one???

Like Robin Hood, but with a camera instead of a bow and Maid Marian as the photographer. Well, armour is a bit passé and it would get hot as well.

Don't make the mistake I made a few years ago when I won an invitation to a mediaeval banquet, I dressed in a tabard and green tights and finished up being called Kermit! For months afterwards! :-)

Dave

[Roger Gunkel]

Originally Posted by Robert Benda

I think you mean 'rustic' theme, not vintage, if we're talking about jars, apple boxes, and burlap.

They've been big in the U.S. for a few years now. Especially with people turning old barns into wedding and reception venues.

Same as any other fashion trend... they'll last several years, then fade.

Hi Robert,

Rustic covers some aspects, but 'Vintage' is definitely the word in the UK, it involves more than rustic items, typically things that are 1940/1950s themed. Old flower patterned china, brown battered suitcases, items such as vintage cameras, typewriters, jam jars,wind up toys etc used as decoration, then 50s fashion for the girls. I even did one recently with a 1940s buffet served by people in 1940s outfits from wooden trestle tables.

Peter, I like filming all the details, but the same vintage theme for almost every wedding? What happened to the variation that we had until recently, not to mention originality. Fashion I get, but monotonous repetition no. Weddings used to be about celebrating getting married with family and friends, now it is more about themed parties to outdo your friends weddings.

Roger

[Nigel Barker]

I am surprised that the Vintage Wedding Theme hasn't been replaced by the Next New Thing as it's getting a bit passé now as it has been around for several years. TBH it's not not just weddings as the whole Cath Kidston style is loosely 'vintage' Cath Kidston | Beauty, Travel, Kitchen & Dining Accessories | John Lewis

[Peter Rush]

I had chic vintage ladders at the last one lol

[Roger Gunkel]

Oh yes I had forgotten the vintage ladders and an old cart wheel with lights draped around it. At least I should be fashionable as I am a vintage videographer :-)

Roger

[Danny O'Neill]

It's not vintage. That was so 2013. Its Shabby Chic now :)

The whole jam jar thing is weird. I think it started in America when a few folks, looking to save money decided to use their dads jam jar collection to serve drinks. But then it became trendy and what was once a way to save money now means you have to buy the jam jar glasses with handles which cost more than a regular tumbler so defeats the whole purpose.

[Roger Gunkel]

Half the stands doing that type of thing at the last wedding show were promoting vintage and the other half it was shabby chic, all the same though! Give it a trendy name, charge a stupid price for it and brides feel good about filling their wedding with old tat. A few years back you couldn't give that stuff away at car boot sales.

Roger

[Andrew Maclaurin]

Hipsters....or hipster wannabes.
Beards and homemade bikes.
Jam jar glasses...
It's just the way of the world.