Planning a vintage-inspired wedding means choosing period appropriate pieces that fit your desired era, from flowers and colour palette to your wedding attire and jewellery!
Creating a vintage themed wedding can be hard without a defined decade or era to look to for inspiration. Finding a vintage style era that resonates with you and your spouse’s style can serve as a starting point to discover the design elements that you can incorporate into your big day.
In this guide, we will share our top tips when it comes to picking vintage wedding rings and jewellery accessories for your vintage themed wedding, and help you channel styles of the past in a modern way.
What is a vintage wedding theme?
When it comes to picking vintage wedding rings it can be helpful to try and define the decade or era you are most drawn to, or that your wedding theme aligns most closely to.
Unlike antique jewellery, which is more rigidly defined as items over 100 years old, the term ‘vintage’ is generally thought of as being between 50 and 100 years old.
However, vintage wedding themes can take a broader approach, and may include influences and inspiration from many eras, decades and design styles, from Georgian and Victorian to Art Deco and Hollywood Glamour.
In this article, we will use ‘vintage’ to refer to things that are ‘of the past’. To help you choose vintage wedding rings and accessories that fit your favourite vintage era, it’s important to understand the defining features, materials and motifs featured in jewellery design of the time to help you create a cohesive look for your wedding day, and beyond!
Define your decade
Glamorous Georgian designs (1714–1837)
Channel your inner Bridgerton with decadent Georgian jewellery. Gemstones were all the rage in Georgian designs, and jewellers of the time enhanced the colour and brightness of the gemstones with foil backing.
This period also emphasises the handmade and craftsmanship of the artisans who created the jewellery, meaning imperfections were celebrated rather than hidden.
Victorian Era Jewellery (1837-1901)
Victorian jewellery design was rich with symbolism and hidden meanings or motifs. Look out for floral and filigree patterns, serpent and heart designs if you are looking to emulate the elegance of Victorian jewellery.
Cameo brooches and mourning jewellery were also very popular at this time.
Art Nouveau (1890s – 1914)
Art Nouveau spans the late 19th century up until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. Art Nouveau is heavily inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, drawing inspiration from nature, with lots of naturalistic shapes, earthy tones for gemstones, like amber and celestial notes, like opals and moonstones.
Art Deco (1920s – 1940s)
Art Deco jewellery designs are elegant, streamlined and geometric, in a distinctly timeless way, making them appear modern even today. Channel art deco modernity on your wedding day with sleek lines and graphic shapes, or opt for Chanel-inspired strings of pearls!
Old Hollywood (1950s and 1960s)
Inspired by glamorous movies, Old Hollywood jewellery is all about sparkles. Think diamond necklaces, pearls and platinum, and cluster cocktail rings (remember to wear these on your right hand so you don’t distract attention from your wedding stack!).
How to incorporate vintage jewellery into your wedding day
Elegant vintage engagement ring
Set the tone for your wedding theme from the beginning with a beautiful vintage engagement ring.
Whether you are selecting your engagement ring together with your future spouse, or dropping some heavy hints, having a vintage style engagement ring can help you to define your wedding theme, and inspire design elements for the big day, like your colour scheme, wedding stationary or even your attire for the big day.
Choosing the perfect vintage wedding ring
Another fantastic way to incorporate your vintage theme into not only your wedding day, but your marriage too, is by carefully selecting your perfect vintage wedding ring.
The beauty of and vintage wedding rings are the exquisite craftsmanship and high-quality materials that have been used to make them, meaning they are long-lasting and often one-of-a-kind due to their age.
Pairing a vintage engagement ring with a matching vintage wedding ring will help you create a unique wedding stack that’s personal to you and full of memories and meaning.
Vintage cufflinks
Cufflinks have been worn since as early as the 1600s, and have been a staple in menswear ever since. Much like other jewellery pieces, cufflink styles have reflected the jewellery trends and designs in fashion at the time.
So, a pair of vintage cufflinks make a perfect timeless gift for grooms, best men or groomsmen. Not only will they fit the theme of your wedding, they are also a practical gift that the recipient can wear on special occasions afterwards – like on wedding anniversaries for the groom!
Bridal brooch
Embrace the elegance of the Regency era (1795 -1837) with a statement brooch. Originally known as a stomacher, these pieces of jewellery were large, triangular shaped ornaments that were worn on the bodice.
Modern adaptations of this could be a brooch attached to a belt of a wedding dress, or added to the ribbon of your bouquet. A sapphire brooch can even act as your ‘something blue’!
Decorate your decolletage with a beautiful necklace
Another elegant way to embrace vintage jewellery on your wedding day is with a vintage necklace. Often, wedding dresses accentuate the decolletage area, so highlighting this further with a vintage necklace can really draw attention and balance your bridal look.
Along with finding a necklace style that suits your wedding dress neckline, look for pendants that channel your chosen design decade, from pretty pearls to an engraved locket.
Final Thoughts
From glamorous regency gemstones or symbolism-rich Victorian jewels, to nature inspired art nouveau or sophisticated, streamlined art deco, there are so many eras and designs to choose from when it comes to vintage wedding jewellery.
Creating a cohesive vintage-inspired wedding can be really exciting, giving you the chance to research designs of the past and source authentic or vintage-inspired accessories that fit your theme.
