Fourteenth: My True Vintage Bride

Nov 14

In my career, I have restored and restyled many vintage headpieces, crowns, and veils, but meeting a bride with an authentic vintage flair is rare. Catie scheduled a FaceTime consultation with me, and I immediately recognized she had a unique story and a fashion sense to match.

“The Empire State Building is “my building.” That’s all there is to it! I love it and am fascinated by it. Of course, I don’t actually have the deed to it, but that’s irrelevant! Nino knows I love it, so he gave it to me!”

— Catie

Catie is a California girl; her fiancé Nino is a New York City guy. When she came out to visit in February of 2022, Nino had plans to give Catie the world— and an engagement ring at the top of the Empire State Building!

After he proposed, they returned to the house and celebrated with their families. Catie’s knockout red peplum jacket and pencil skirt reminded me of something out of a 1945 Hollywood movie.

Catie pulled off a Marilyn Monroe vibe at their engagement party that would have made Joe DiMaggio take another look. After getting to know Catie more through the design process, I recognized her style and personality to be very unique. She lives her life with a closet full of iconic fashion and a home furnished with inspiration from yesteryear.

Catie flew to New York City to visit Nino and plan the wedding in April. During this trip, she scheduled an appointment with me at the shop to see if I could bring her grandmother’s 1940 delicate beaded crown back to life to wear on her wedding day. The plastic headband in the bottom casing of the crown had deteriorated to the point of crumbling, leaving it limp and lifeless.

“I live vintage fashion in my everyday life. It makes me feel confident, beautiful, and like my authentic self. Some think fashion is superficial, but I think fashion is wearable art. It’s about self-expression and making what you look like on the outside match how you feel on the inside. If you look good, you feel good; if you feel good, you do good. That’s true for many people; the only differences are in what makes people feel good. For me, that’s vintage style! It’s very different from what most people are used to seeing. They usually assume I am going to some event or party. The thing is, life is an event! Life is a party! Why would we let anything keep us from celebrating that?”

“Catie arrived at her appointment dressed perfectly, as though she was ready for the school Sock Hop. Her saddle shoes and bobby socks added an element of energy to this project. I only hoped I could restore her grandmother’s very fragile crown so she could live out her wedding day dreams.”

— Marie Hunt

The base fabric of this old wedding crown was quite aged and golden in color. Catie and her mom tried to clean it themselves, first with Dawn dish detergent, and when that was unsuccessful, they took a risk and tried a Tide pen. That didn’t appear to work either until they awoke the next day to see that the fabric had lightened. They decided to keep going and lightened the entire vintage piece. Catie brought me the crown to see what could be done to give it strength and stability. Please note that I would never advise using a Tide pen on a frail vintage piece. While the crown returned to a beautiful light ivory, hydrogen peroxide (the main ingredient in a Tide pen) breaks down the molecular structure of pigments. In the case of this beautiful heirloom, the Tide pen also broke down the fibers of the original fabric, causing fraying and tearing, which made it very challenging to add structure to the thin, delicate areas at the top of the beautiful arching.

Another challenging but successful vintage wedding crown restoration!

My True Vintage Bride

Color Wedding Photography by Mauricio Merino Editing by Catie Allo

CROWN RESTORATION / Headpiece.com CEREMONY / Central Park CHECKER CAB / Film Cars RECEPTION / Ferrara NYC

“I had always admired my Nana’s bridal crown when looking at her wedding photos. When my parents took the box with her dress and accessories down while cleaning the attic one day, I saw the crown in person and immediately knew I wanted to wear it.”

— Catie

“We decided to have a small ceremony and celebration with only our parents, siblings, and his grandmother. Neither of us had ever pictured having a large wedding, and a small guest count allowed us to really take in and enjoy every moment without feeling pulled in every direction at once.”

“The wedding ceremony took place at the Ladies Pavilion in Central Park and was officiated by my groom’s family friend, the honorable Judge Anthony Paradiso of Nassau County. It was beautiful in every way. When you have a ceremony in a public outdoor space, you always risk unplanned noise, inclement weather, or other interruptions. Still, the weather was perfect, and the visitors in the park were so respectful of our ceremony and allowed us privacy for the small, intimate wedding of our dreams.”

“Because the ceremony was in the park, I didn’t want a long gown that would drag in the dirt and get all muddy. I chose a unique tea-length dress with all the feminine lace and beautiful tulle I had hoped for. I paired it with additional crinoline for added fullness and wore a pair of shoes I already had in my closet.”

“We booked a classic 1960s Checker Cab to take us for a cruise around the city, stopping along the way for photos. Peter, the owner, took us to some spectacular locations he knew would make beautiful backdrops for photos, including the Chrysler Building, New York Public Library, Radio City Music Hall, and the Brooklyn Bridge.”

“Our dinner and celebration took place at the iconic Ferrara Bakery in Little Italy, serving New York’s best Italian pastries since 1892. Our family waited for us in the private party room upstairs, seated at one long table. We planned it this way to further enhance the day’s intimate, small gathering feeling.”

“We ate pasta (I didn’t get one drop of red sauce on my dress!), had a toast, and Nino and I had our first dance to the song “Al Di La” by Emilio Pericoli. Ferrara is famous for its pastries, so of course, we had to have a full pastry buffet in addition to our wedding cake!”

“My grandmother’s crown turned out better than I could have ever hoped! I love how it maintained its dainty appearance but also felt sturdy. Marie is so knowledgeable and passionate about what she does. I love that she took the time to educate me on how the crown was initially constructed and the methods she would use to typically restore these types of vintage headpieces. I highly recommend Marie to anyone wanting to make a vintage headpiece look new again!”