Your wedding day is supposed to be special, and for some people, their dream wedding is one that feels like it takes place in another time. If that applies to you, and your dream wedding embodies a different era, like the 1700s, 1800s, or a particular time and place, the following tips will help you make it a reality.

1. Start with an engagement ring from your ideal time

The best place to start creating a wedding from another time is to look at antique engagement rings from your ideal time period. This will set the scene for an awesome wedding, and will look excellent in photos.

Antique engagement rings can be found in local jewelry shops, but you’ll probably have more luck finding the ideal ring online simply because the selection is greater. However, it can be really fun to go ring shopping in person regardless of where you end up buying your ring. 

Holding vintage rings in person and trying them on can give you a good idea about what elements you like. For instance, you might realize you don’t like gold bands or halos. You might determine that an emerald-cut diamond looks amazing, but pear-shaped diamonds don’t work for you. Seeing rings in person will help you find your ideal ring online by clarifying your style preferences.

2. Plan everything with your partner

Hopefully, your partner aligns with your desire to have a wedding that embodies a past time period. If not, you might have to have two ceremonies or compromise. Either way, it’s important to plan every detail together.

You can split up the tasks, but make sure you come together to discuss the details before making any decisions or purchases. There are some things that won’t necessarily be as obvious as you might think. For example, if you both agree on having a vintage wedding from the 1800s, one of you might picture Victorian England, while the other pictures the 1800s in America. There is a huge difference between the two where fashion is concerned, and if you aren’t on the same page, things will get awkward when you realize the discrepancy.

3. Carefully select your theme elements

When your goal is to plan a ceremony and reception that feels like it’s taking place in an era from the past, it’s important to select the right color palettes, fashion, and décor. There are distinct colors, for example, that were popular in the Art Deco era, like rich reds, blues, and greens accentuated with silver and chrome. Black and gold were also popular colors in that era. However, these colors were mainly used for interiors, and the clothing from that era can differ quite a bit.

For your reception, try to find dishes and glassware from the time period to use at least for your main meal. If you can’t find anything affordable, it might be best to go with dishes that don’t have much of a theme to avoid clashing. Although, it’s your wedding and you can go eclectic if you don’t care about keeping your time period theme strict.

4. Learn about the time period

Although it’s fairly easy to find the right clothing, colors, and décor from a given time period in the past, you still need to know how to implement those factors. For example, a lot of young kids today absolutely love the 1990s, but since they didn’t live in that time period, they use the aesthetics in a way that doesn’t actually represent the time period.

Try to research enough to incorporate some of the time period’s traditions. For example, in the 19th century, only the bride received a ring, and it was usually a plain gold band with both people’s initials engraved on the inside along with the wedding date. You’ll probably both want rings, but you can still copy this tradition and get gold bands engraved.

Even if you don’t have a historian attending your wedding, and none of your guests will notice small things out of place, it’s still worth going the extra mile to get as many details right as possible. It will make your wedding more authentic and interesting. For example, having clothes made by someone who knows the time period is better than getting clothing from a costume shop because costumes can miss important details, like the size, shape, and location of buttons, and garment proportions.

Make your wedding special and fun

Themed weddings are always a hit, but there’s something special about going vintage. No matter what time period you prefer, a wedding set in a past era will make amazing memories for you, your partner, and all of your guests.