.texas

.This is my new real wedding obsession. Not only does the fabulously styled bride have the 1920s look down to an art form she is also wearing a gray dress like me! Details about the wedding can be read on Martha Stewart Weddings.

.Oh and she changes into a second dress for the evening - a woman after my own heart!

.venues we nearly booked: bluebird

.Finding an affordable wedding venue in central London is maddeningly difficult!

.Over the past year nothing has caused me more stress (not even beginning and completing my masters degree in 12 months) like finding a wedding venue has. I am now by no means an expect in London venues, but I do think that I have discovered a few little gems along the way which I would like to share with you. I hope it will be of help to someone.

.The first venue I will talk about is Bluebird Restaurant on the King's Road, Chelsea. Bluebird is something of a London institution. Formerly 1920s car garage and more recently part of the Conran restaurant group, it is an Art Deco gem. There are two private dinning rooms but we were interested in booking the Beaufort Room and Pewter Bar (pictured above).

.It holds between 20 and 34 people and I particularly loved the fact that this was the only private dinning room we saw which included our own private bar too. The minimum spend is only £1000 (although realistically you would be looking at spending at least £1500) and the bookings manager was brilliantly helpful.

.Deep down, I am a small wedding kind of girl, so I really fell in love with Bluebird. But, in the end, we decided to go with a big wedding so that all of our nearest and dearest (my immediate family alone is 50 people!) could be there. So Bluebird came off the list. I would still love to book this place for another special event though...

.ear lobes

.When it comes to jewellery I am an earrings girl, through and through. No doubt about it. This means that choosing earrings for my two wedding dresses (Yep! Two) has been far more tortuous for me than picking dresses.

.For my grey Temperley London dress, which I plan to wear during our ceremony and wedding breakfast, I would love to have these Adriana Orsini earrings. The art deco shapes match the perspex pieces on the back and front of my dress perfectly.

.The only problem is, these earrings are over £150. Why oh why Ms Orsini do your beautiful sparkly creations (which I might add, are not even made from precious metals) have to be so expensive?!

.The second pair of earrings I would love to have, to wear with my 1950s ivory and gold gown and Vivienne Westwood Melissa shoes or Mui Mui sandles (for an evening of drinking & dancing) are these crazy 1980s Swarovski and pearl beauties from etsy.

.I think they are rather joli laide, which is partly why I love them so much. I also think that a bride should be able to have a bit of fun with her outfit on her wedding day - well, I should be able to anyway.

.ruffled

source . jessica johnston via snippet & ink
.My original Art Deco bride inspiration is definitely Amanda of Ruffled blog fame.

source . jessica johnston via snippet & ink

source . jessica johnston via snippet & ink
.Amanda married photographer Matt in an art deco building in downtown Detroit. Not only was their wedding style effortlessly beautiful, they did the whole thing for just $15,000!

source . jessica johnston via snippet & ink

source . jessica johnston via snippet & ink
.I have definitely taken lots of inspiration from Amanda. She proves that a beautiful wedding does not have to cost an arm and a leg and that keeping things personal and intimate (they had 75 guests) is also the way to go.

source . jessica johnston via snippet & ink

source . jessica johnston via snippet & ink

.Best of all I love their DIY photobooth. What are great idea huh?
To read more about Amanda's vintage wedding check out the feature on Snippet & Ink or Amanda's blog Ruffled (one of my absolute favourites!)

.temperley london

.Oh no! Rather than concentrating on my dissertation during this long blogging hiatus I have instead become a two dresses/two shoes bride. Help me people! First I bought a fabulous pair of gold Mui Mui heels from Outnet.com (fashion sale heaven), even though I already have a pair of Westwoods AND I was supposed to be looking for flats. Then today I bought this art deco inspired Temperley London dress. Yes it is light grey but it was 76% off and it is divine!!! In case you are not convinced, here it is in ivory and in black. See, it is lovely.

It should arrive in the post in a few days. Once it arrives I will try it on, compare it to my current dress and then some serious DECISIONS need to be made (decisions are not my strong point, in case you hadn't noticed). I could get away with grey on my wedding day right? This bride did and looked super.

.accessorize

kate deco wow earrings £18.00
.British high-street favourite Accessorize have some fantastic vintage inspired pieces of jewellery in their new collection. There are art deco inspired pieces which I adore...

new york statement ring £12.00

noir chunky chain tear drop earrings £8.00

80s deco enamel stud earrings £7.00

vintage knot necklace £12.00
...some great faux pearl pieces which would suit a glamorous vintage wedding...

pearly edie bead chandelier earrings £9.00

statement layered pearl necklace £20.00

pearltastic charm bracelet £12.00

space age fan necklace £15.00

...and amazing brooches which would be the perfect way to jazz up a simple J Crew wedding gown or decorate a classic wedding cake.

vintage snowflake brooch £10.00

decadent sparkle flower brooch £10.00

.Best of all most of the jewellery is under £30.00! Hurrah!

.deco necklace

buy it here

.I love it

.brook street

claridges entrance

the foyer with a chihuly chandelier

gordon ramsey at claridges

.Finding a location for a london wedding is shockingly difficult. we have searched high and low all over the city. From city bars to church halls nothing has been ideal. Except for one place - Claridges. Unsurprisingly for a bride who is having an art deco style wedding Claridges has been on my radar from the beginning. It is opulent, decadent and oh so elegant. It is also quite pricey. This means that a decision to host our wedding breakfast there will require sacrifices on difficult issues such as guest numbers.

claridges bar

the snuggery

.But what a party it would be. We could begin our evening in the Snuggery at the back of the bar where we could enjoy some spectacular cocktails...

amaryllis room in the gordan ramsey at claridges restaurant

...before moving on to the Gordon Ramsey at Claridges restaurant. Here we could have dinner in the private Amaryllis Room which can hold up to 32 people for dinner with an adjoining room for pre-dinner drinks and canapés.

brook penthouse

art deco bathroom

.After our guests had gone home Dr. D. and I could head up to one of the gorgeous art deco rooms for our wedding night.

afternoon tea at claridges

.And the next afternoon we could head down to the foyer for afternoon tea. Doesn't it sound blissful? For real life intimate Claridges weddings take a look at Stefan and Agata and Jon and Stacey who both held their vintage style receptions at Claridges after wedding ceremonies at Chelsea Town Hall.