1950s Inspired Wedding: Retro Charm Meets Modern DIY

rainy day wedding photography by Simply Lace Photography @weddingchicks

Do current wedding trends have you baffled, and you just aren't feeling any of them? Why not take your wedding design back to an era you feel more comfortable in! Jesse and Van did just that.
From her ankle length dress to their emerald green streamer cake backdrop, their entire wedding day feels like we went back in time to the 1950's! You can see even more of their Mid-Century blue and green wedding in the full gallery here. All beautifully captured by Simply Lace Photography.

Wedding invitations and save the date cards for Jesse Van

Mid-Century Style

I’ve always known that if I were to get married, I’d want a 50’s inspired tea length dress so that I could freely move, dance and wear a fun pair of heels. Emerald is the colour of my birth stone and I knew it would look fantastic on my maid of honour Amanda, so I wanted that colour to be incorporated and just found other jewel tones that worked with that colour for my other 3 bridesmaids

Bride holds bouquet with lace dress detail visible

bridesmaids in shades of blue and green @weddingchicks

vintage inspired wedding dress by Lisa Van Hattem @weddingchicks

Bride and groom in blue embrace tenderly on wedding day

suspenders and bow tie groomsmen in blue @weddingchicks

Retro Design With A Modern Twist

Jesse is a graphic designer and I’m a big crafter, so we knew we wanted to create a lot of our own décor and print work. Jesse and I also both love antiques and vintage finds, we especially gravitate towards mid-century design. So based on that, we knew that a wedding with a retro DIY feel would be the perfect fit for us.

antique wedding decor and cute guest book sign @weddingchicks

Teal globe with gold lettering, continents highlighted

Wedding hashtag sign and rose bouquet in gold mason jar

vintage suit case card box and gold r2d2 @weddingchicks

Wedding couple exchanging vows before mint green ribbon backdrop

Signature drinks menu: Amaretto Sour and Presbyterian

Choosing Just The Right Flowers

I absolutely fell in love with the most gorgeous pale antiquated roses (early grey, amnesia). After speaking with Bev of ifiori to see what she thought, she replied informing me she had just been talking about these hoping a bride would let her use them, so we were both incredibly happy and excited with the new selection. We had 3 different types of these pale roses, along with eucalyptus leaves in our arrangements.

Wedding table number four, gold mason jar centerpiece

Rustic wedding table centerpiece with roses and books

mondern twist on vintage reception decor @weddingchicks

A Favor to Love And Charish

Jesse’s dad Rob passed away several years ago, I never had the opportunity to meet him. When he passed one of the items Jesse received was his Jade tree, he had this tree since the 70s. I thought giving each guest a cutting from this tree would be a great way to incorporate Rob into the festivities, while adding greenery to the tables and giving our guests something that they wouldn’t just throw away immediately after the wedding.

Rose gold mason jar wedding favor with plant and Van name tag

Need Cake Ideas? Check Pinterest

After searching on Pinterest for a mid-century cake, I found an image of one and thought it was absolutely perfect for us and changed the colours to match our palette. The cake topper was designed by Jesse and we had it laser cut through a business near his work.

vintage streamer backdrop cake table @weddingchicks