Why I chose a 1920s wedding theme

The other night when I was talking to my dad, he mentioned that he'd sent an acquaintance over to visit my 1920s wedding blog. Her reaction was to ask what made me think of a 1920s theme — which, come to think of it, is a pretty reasonable question to ask.

I actually didn't go into the wedding planning process thinking that I would like a Roaring Twenties-themed wedding. I did know two things, though: 1) that I wanted a vintage ring, as I generally prefer vintage and antique stuff to the "new and improved," and 2) that I wanted a very different type of wedding dress than what you find in the stores most of the time.

So after checking the websites of stores such as David's Bridal without much luck, I started browsing through what was on eBay. At the same time, just by luck, was the gorgeous dress that I ended up wearing. I fell in love as soon as I saw it — I knew it was exactly right. I bid high, determined to win it, and win it I did — though I paid as much as some people do for a brand-new dress!

Sometime in this process of getting my dress — sometime between finding the dress on eBay, planning what I was going to bid on it, and winning it — I conceived of the idea of a 1920s wedding. So the theme for the ceremony and reception was in effect planned around the dress itself, even though I already loved the 1920s and all other stuff vintage and antique.

So that's the story of how I decided to have a 1920s-themed wedding. I'm interested in hearing from readers — what made you decide on a Roaring Twenties theme for your wedding or party?

1920s wedding venues in Denver

A while back I wrote a post about beautiful Parrish-esque Michigan gardens that I thought would make a good venue for 1920s weddings in Michigan. Since I actually live in Denver, I often get emails from people asking about Denver venues for a Roaring Twenties themed wedding. Unfortunately, I usually have to tell them I don't know, because my husband and I didn't actually get married here.

However, over the summer I actually attended a couple of weddings that were held in appropriate venues for a 1920s theme. One was my sister's wedding ceremony, which was held at Cheesman Park on the steps of the pavilion. The pavilion is a marble structure with the classical architecture typical of the Art Nouveau period, which continued into the early 1920s. Although my sister's wedding was Victorian-themed, I can imagine a 1920s wedding here too.



My sister's wedding reception was at the nearby Parkside Mansion, which also could be a very good 1920s wedding venue. Although the mansion was built in 1905, the architecture has the same chunky look that you see in 1920s homes. Because of the house's setup, you could easily hold a Gatsby-style party in the parlor or the rooftop patio.

You could also hold a speakeasy-themed reception at practically any venue (perhaps enabling you to save money by avoiding an expensive wedding venue). For instance, a warehouse or a basement can easily be decorated as a Prohibition-era secret party, complete with spoken passwords that guests have to give in order to gain entrance. There are no doubt tons of venues in Denver where you could do something like this, so I'll let your imagination do the rest.

But rather than making suggestions, I'm really interested in hearing what other people are doing. If you are planning a 1920s wedding and have already chosen a venue, let's hear about it! What made you choose the venue? How are you decorating it to play up the Roaring Twenties theme? Feel free to link to pictures or the venue's website if you want.

Celeste and George's 1920s wedding

A while back a reader emailed me with pictures of her 1920s wedding to post on my blog. This post is a little overdue — sorry, Celeste and George! — but I finally got around to it!

Here you are — Celeste and George's fabulous 1920s wedding!



(Okay, I'm a shoe girl, so please excuse me a moment while I drool over Celeste's sparkly T-strap shoes...)



Celeste wore a more modern gown for the ceremony, but the transportation was totally 1920s...



Celeste changed into a gorgeous white flapper gown and boa for the reception. Here she and George are with their flapper bridesmaid:



I don't know who the gentleman is in this picture, but I love his outfit!



Celeste and her bridesmaid:



Even the kids were on board! I love it!



Regarding dancing and music, Celeste said:

I noticed the section on your blog about the Charleston. I just wanted to let you know that it can be done. Myself and about half of my 65 guests danced it for a couple hours straight (of course with slower ones in between). But it was a riot! And everyone, down to my DJ, said they did not expect my music choice to go off so well (I stuck STRICTLY to 1920s music).



Congratulations, Celeste and George!

My 1920s wedding dress featured on Chicisimo.com!

My 1920s wedding blog gets hundreds of new visitors every single day, and I often get emails from readers with questions about finding flapper dresses or doing 1920s hairstyles.

A few months ago, Maria of Chicisimo.com wrote to me, asking if she could feature my wedding dress on her street-style wedding blog. I said yes (of course!) and sent her some pictures for the collage. You can see the post and the collage here:

A vintage dress for a perfect 1920s wedding in 2007

More recently, Maria put together a video explaining what street style is. It's a neat concept — I hadn't realized it had become such a big deal to post pictures of yourself online!

Choosing a 1920s wedding venue

My last post was on a Michigan wedding venue I thought made a good place for a 1920s theme wedding, a castle that was built just prior to the Roaring Twenties and was a popular place for locals to go for entertainment during the early 20s. The place has been restored and is now a Michigan wedding venue with gorgeous gardens and scenery reminiscent of Maxfield Parrish, the famous 1920s artist.



After I posted on this venue, I had someone email me for advice on other Michigan venues, thinking I lived or was married in the area. Nope — I had just come across the venue doing some research, and was intrigued by its connection to the 1920s. But since the question has been asked, I thought I'd do a post on chosing an appropriate venue for a 1920s theme wedding.

Choose a place with 1920s history. This is what attracted me to the castle venue, and what I consider the most important criteria to look at. A place that was built during or just prior to the 1920s, a venue that is built in an architectural style that is clearly twenties, are both good choices, but your venue will be particularly meaningful if you can tell guests what it was used for in the 1920s. You might even consider making up a program or a card to place on the tables, giving the history of the place.

Choose a place that you can work into a 1920s theme. One really good theme I've heard of people doing is styling their reception after a speakeasy, which is what they called a club that sold liquor illegally (since it was all illegal) during Prohibition. They had secret entrances, and passwords had to be given to gain entrance. If you can find a venue that will have the secretive feel of a storeroom-turned-speakeasy, you're in good shape.



Of course, you can make almost any wedding venue support a 1920s theme — our wedding was in an old 1860s church-turned-winery. It was a small venue, which worked out very well for the theme, but we didn't do much to decorate it, other than setting the tables a certain way and encouraging our guests to dress in 1920s costumes. If you and your guests are willing to use your imaginations, just about anything will work, really!