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Updated Oct 14, 2024Turn Back Time With These 38 Vintage Wedding Ideas
Your parents and grandparents were actually onto something.
Photos: MC Weddings, Alison Kuhn Photography, Nate Henderson, Pen Carlson Photography, Megan Noll Photography, Fred Marcus Studio,Design: Tiana Crispino
Everything that's old is eventually new again—or so the saying goes. If you've noticed the vintage wedding aesthetic popping up everywhere lately, you wouldn't be wrong. From blurry black and white photography to heavily-decorated cakes and throwback wedding accessories (like gloves), vintage-inspired details are definitely having a moment. And while there are a lot of different ways to interpret the vintage wedding theme, the latest version of the trend is reminiscent of the ultra-classic, formal weddings that dominated the '80s and '90s. We're digging into the theme with 38 of our favorite vintage wedding ideas, including invitations, centerpieces, vintage wedding decorations and more. Save the details that catch your eye and create a wedding vision board to share with your vendors. And speaking of hiring vendors, that's one thing you don't have to do the old-school way. Head to The Knot Vendor Marketplace to search for photographers, wedding venues, event planners and more vendors all in one place, where you can filter by location, budget and top-rated pros.
In this article:
- What Is a Vintage-Style Wedding?
- Ideal Vintage Wedding Venue Considerations
- Vintage Wedding Budget Priorities
Vintage Wedding Ideas: Colors | Decor | Invitations | Bouquets | Centerpieces | Editor's Favorites
What Is a Vintage-Style Wedding?
A vintage-style wedding is a themed wedding that draws inspiration from past decades and eras. Examples of vintage-inspired wedding themes include a Great Gatsby or Art Deco theme, a 1940s Old Hollywood glamour theme or a 1970s disco wedding theme.
Like most wedding themes, the vintage wedding aesthetic has transformed and changed to fit with other trends over time. In the 2010s, vintage wedding style often referenced a romantic, Old World-inspired look with pastel color palettes, antique candlesticks, velvet chairs and gauzy table linens. Rustic vintage style was another popular iteration, focusing on mismatched, quirky details that created a shabby chic look.
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The latest version of vintage wedding style pulls inspiration from the 1980s, '90s and early 2000s—think Father of the Bride, My Best Friend's Wedding and the flashback wedding scenes from The Parent Trap. For more inspiration, you might even turn to your parents' or grandparents' weddings, finding details like puff-sleeve wedding gowns, ice sculptures, live music and wedding cake tiers stacked precariously on top of miniature pillars. And while you don't need to copy those vintage wedding ideas verbatim, they're a great starting point for dreaming up your own version of the style.
Ideal Vintage Wedding Venue Considerations
Vintage wedding venues are somewhat traditional—you want to think of the places that most people would have been married in 20, 30 or 40 years ago. That includes churches and houses of worship, historical mansions, banquet halls or hotel ballrooms. At-home weddings, restaurants and parks or gardens are a few other wedding venue options that would complement the vintage aesthetic.
Vintage Wedding Budget Priorities
When you're allocating your wedding budget, fashion is one major detail that will affect the overall vintage theme. There's no denying that modern-day fashion (wedding attire or not) is easy to spot when compared to fashion from decades past, so you'll want to dedicate a good portion of your budget to finding pieces that make sense for the theme. You can opt for vintage-inspired designs that are still in style today, like a silk taffeta wedding gown with a full skirt or a basic black tuxedo. Even better: Shop vintage fashion archives for your wedding day to get the most authentic look (keep in mind that you can always customize or resize items to fit with a good tailor).
On their own, flower arrangements, table linens, rental items and stationery may seem like little details, but they're impactful altogether, so working with a wedding planner who can help you nail the vintage wedding decor is another budget priority. The same goes for your wedding venue, which sets the initial vibe and backdrop for the whole celebration. Finally, look for a wedding photographer who specializes in film photography or vintage-style portraits. And remember that you can get pricing estimates for vendors using The Knot Budget Advisor.
Vintage Wedding Colors
Wedding colors play a huge part in bringing your theme to life, so this is one step you want to think about carefully. Vintage weddings often feature soft, muted colors or classic hues depending on the era. Pastel shades were popular in the 1950s, while the '80s and '90s were a little more opulent, pairing silver and gold with ivory and black as the base colors. Here are a few options to consider when you're choosing your vintage wedding colors.
1. Black and White
This vintage wedding color palette needs no explanation. Whether you incorporate black and white photography, a checkerboard dance floor or outfit the groomsmen in black and white tuxes, it's hard to go wrong with this sophisticated pairing.
2. Green
Green is another vintage wedding color, especially when it's added through natural elements, like flowers or foliage. Add ivory and gold as the accent colors for a gorgeous palette.
3. Silver and Gold
Photo: Lauren Peele
Don't fall for the myth that you can't pair silver and gold together—they actually make a great pair, especially for formal weddings. Focus on using classic pieces in metallic tones, like bronze candlesticks and silver serving trays.
4. Light Pink
Light pink adds romance and charm to a vintage wedding aesthetic. It's subtle enough that you can weave it into a lot of different details (flower arrangements, table linens, stationery, fashion) without worrying about the color being overpowering.
Vintage Wedding Decor
Vintage wedding decorations often include lace, pearls, clear crystal glass and heirloom-worthy items. Browse our picks for ceremony decorations and reception decorations based on the vintage theme.
5. Vintage Wedding Place Setting
For your vintage wedding table decor, focus on formal place settings and carefully curated details. No bare tables here—use lace tablecloths or classic white linens beneath a charger-and-dinner-plate combo.
6. Church Pew Decorations
Photo: Caroline Lima Photography
Fresh flower wreaths can be tied to church pews, venue entrances or the backs of chairs using simple satin ribbon.
7. Calligraphy Escort Cards
Invest in custom wedding calligraphy for your escort cards or seating chart. It's one detail that will immediately elevate the ambience of the wedding reception.
8. Flower and Candle Arrangements
This combination of pillar candles and taper candles reminds us of holiday dinner centerpieces from the '90s (in the best way possible). Create something similar for your ceremony altar, head table or gift table.
9. Personal Menu Cards
QR codes who? Outline the details of your multi-course dinner with individual paper menus. Sentimental guests will love taking them home as mementos.
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10. Framed Table Numbers
You don't need to get too fancy with your table numbers. The simpler, the better—choose unobtrusive frames to display basic handwritten or printed numbers.
11. Engraved Cake Cutting Set
Cutting the wedding cake with your partner has been a tradition for decades, and you can make the moment a little more personal by slicing into your dessert with an engraved knife and serving set. Not having cake at the wedding? Make a toast with special keepsake champagne flutes instead.
12. Vintage Wedding Cake Topper
We love the idea of using a wedding cake topper that's been passed down by family or friends. You can also look for toppers at thrift stores, online resellers or purchase a custom vintage-inspired design.
13. Traditional Wedding Guest Book
Embrace the idea of a vintage wedding guest book by asking loved ones to share their handwritten well-wishes for your marriage. Choose a fabric-bound or leather-bound album you can display on a coffee table or bookshelf.
14. Silver Champagne Bucket
Photo: Purewhite Photography
Functional items can be beautiful, too. Shop around at antique stores before your wedding day for silver ice buckets to display on the bar.
Vintage Wedding Invitation Ideas
Browse our stationery picks with a focus on formality and old-fashioned details, then shop even more vintage wedding invitations on The Knot.
15. Romantic Rococo Wedding Invitations
This wedding invitation, inspired by 18th century Rococo design, features a vintage-style border of interlocking vines and scrollwork elegantly framing your names and event details. The typeface is a beautiful calligraphy-inspired script, adding to the overall romantic theme of the design.
16. Vintage Bow Wedding Invitations
Announce to your guests that you're tying the knot with this adorable vintage wedding invitation decorated with a watercolor bow and ribbons. A polka-dot envelope liner completes the whimsical stationery suite.
17. Antique Fairytale Wedding Invitations
Surrounded by an antique-inspired filigree frame, this vintage wedding invitation combines elegant serif and sans serif fonts to present all of the important details. The genuine metallic foil adds a touch of shimmer and can be customized in either silver, gold or copper. An envelope liner inspired by landscape oil paintings sets the scene for a formal garden wedding.
18. Elegant Rose Crest Wedding Invitations
With a monogrammed crest, rose motifs and traditional calligraphy typeface, this design is fit for royalty. The gold-toned colorway is beautiful if your wedding vision board includes brass tabletop elements, but you can also choose from a handful of other vintage-style colors, including rosy pink, sapphire blue, olive green and black.
19. Metropolitan Wedding Invitations
Combining traditional design with a contemporary edge, these wedding invitations are perfect for a simple vintage theme. The black and white color palette is timeless, of course.
Vintage Wedding Bouquet Ideas
Vintage wedding flowers and vintage wedding bouquets rely on timeless blooms, like peonies, roses, hydrangeas, lilies and orchids. Most importantly, you'll want to ask your wedding florist to limit the amount of loose greenery or other filler elements.
20. Calla Lily Wedding Bouquet
Thanks to their sleek, interestingly structured shape, calla lilies look amazing all on their own without the need for other flowers.
21. Blush and White Wedding Bouquet
Garden roses add a soft hint of pink amidst fluffy white blooms, like these ranunculus and dahlias.
22. Rounded White Wedding Bouquet
Rounded wedding bouquet shapes with minimal greenery work well for a vintage wedding theme compared to looser, larger arrangements, which can sometimes look a little too modern.
23. Cascading Wedding Bouquet
If you want a larger wedding bouquet, our suggestion is to go for a cascading bouquet shape with ivy vines and white flowers. This style was everything in the '80s—just take a look at Princess Diana's bouquet if you need a reminder.
24. Orchid Wedding Bouquet
Orchids tend to be associated with beach weddings and tropical themes, but in an all-white palette, they're incredibly chic.
Vintage Wedding Centerpiece Ideas
Unlike today's wedding flower trends, vintage wedding centerpieces aren't packed with colorful flowers or unexpected details. Instead, opt for elegant, understated wedding centerpieces that look beautiful but don't overpower the tablescapes.
25. Silver Candelabra Wedding Centerpiece
Tall candelabras serve as the focal point, allowing you to downsize your flower arrangements.
26. White Pillar Candle Wedding Centerpiece
Place white pillar candles in a silver compote vase and surround them with white blooms, greenery sprigs and votives for a classic wedding idea.
27. Simple Wedding Centerpiece with Votives
Photo: Jerry Yoon Photographers
Clear glass votives are so simple but so romantic. Incorporate layers of detail by adding textured table linens, low flower centerpieces and votives at different heights.
28. Tall Rose Wedding Centerpiece
Grand reception venues, like ballrooms and banquet halls, call for centerpieces that can hold their own in the space. This tall centerpiece featuring a mix of white and blush blooms was made for a vintage-inspired black tie wedding.
29. Floating Candle Wedding Centerpiece
We didn't know we needed floating candles until we saw this centerpiece. The long-stemmed candle holders add just the right amount of height to balance the small rounded flower arrangement.
Editor's Vintage Wedding Favorites
Want to know what's at the top of our must-have inspo list? Here are the vintage wedding ideas that will add a little extra something to your celebration.
30. Something Blue
Vintage weddings are about tradition if nothing else. For the 'blue' portion of the something borrowed, something blue tradition, pin a small blue bead, fabric scrap or charm to your wedding day attire for good luck.
31. Lace Wedding Ring Pillow
Kitschy briefcases, signs and ring boxes have their time and place, but for a vintage wedding theme, you can't beat a simple ring bearer pillow.
32. Vintage Convertible
For your grand exit at the end of the reception, you'll need a swanky vintage wedding car. Work with a transportation vendor near you to rent a vintage convertible and impress guests with your sweet ride.
33. Live Jazz Band
A live band can tap into guests' nostalgia by playing jazz, big band tunes, swing dance music or classic rock and roll.
34. Retro Phone Audio Guest Book
Photo: After the Tone/Instagram
These retro phones aren't just for show—they're audio wedding guest books that record your guests' congratulatory messages at the wedding and preserve them for you to listen to on repeat.
35. Single-Stem Boutonniere
Photo: Stetten Wilson
A black tuxedo doesn't need a lot of accessorizing, but a white calla lily boutonniere is a stylish finishing touch.
36. Vintage Wedding Cake
Decorate your vintage wedding cake with classic cake baker's techniques, like hand-piping, beadwork and Swiss dots.
37. Heart-Shaped Cake
Photo: MC Weddings
Looking for a cake with a little more personality? A heart-shaped cake is completely on-brand for the vintage wedding theme.
38. Birdseed Toss
Tossing rice or birdseed is said to bring good luck to the newlyweds (but really, we just think it looks amazing in photos). For environmental clean-up reasons, some venues don't allow rice or birdseed to be thrown on their property, so consider flower petals, dried lavender or bubbles instead.
