Restoring A 1950 Vintage Beaded Wedding Crown
Finding an expert to restore your grandmother’s 1950 beaded wedding crown can be stressful, but when you find a designer you trust, your bridal heirloom will be the talk on your wedding day.
My bride-to-be, Clara, never imagined she would find someone to restore her Grammie’s 1950 tiara. Finding someone she trusted who had experience working with older bridal headpieces took her a long time.
“Growing up, my Grammie was my whole world. She was the softest, kindest grandmother who always had so much love for her grandkids.”
Mary Blackwell on her wedding day, November 4th, 1950.
“When my grandmother passed, my aunt found the tiara and saved it for me. I knew she had worn a beautiful tiara on her wedding day, but I had no idea it was still in the family.”
Restoring a Crown to 1950s Glamour
Vintage headpieces and crowns come with unique challenges to bring them back to their original beauty and glamour. The restorative issues they face are directly related to the headpiece style of the time and the techniques in which they were made.
When it comes to beaded crowns from the 50s, I find the most common issues are loss of structure, broken hairbands, missing beads, and oxidation. These problems make it impossible for the bride to wear their old family crown on their wedding day because it becomes limp and lifeless.
“I was browsing Pinterest looking at antique tiara restoration, and one of your blog posts came up. I read through the whole blog and was blown away, and then I saw that you could actually fix my tiara! I think I was on the phone with you in a matter of minutes.”
The bottom hairband was broken in its fabric casing, leaving no support or way to keep it on her head.
The facing on the inside of the crown, which stabilizes and gives it structure, was gone, causing it to be one-dimensional and flat.
“Just about everything needed repair! The backing on the tiara had fallen apart, and the band holding the piece together had rotted and broken down. It looked completely flattened and would not stay on my head at all. I brought it to find my wedding dress and had to hold it up to get an idea of how it would look with each dress.”
“One of the most challenging things for restoration is to find old beads needed for repair. I found the exact vintage glass seed beads made in the 1940s and had them shipped to me from Prague. This was definitely “a needle in a haystack” kind of moment.”
From the before and after, you will see that this beloved family crown went from dingy and deteriorated to beautiful and structured. Clara chose to add hand-sewn clear crystals to make her grandmother's headpiece glisten as she walked down the aisle.
Vintage 1950 Beaded Wedding Crown BEFORE
Vintage 1950 Beaded Wedding Crown RESTORED
“I am very impressed that you were able to find the same beads, but I am not at all surprised. The attention to detail in your work speaks for itself. I knew you would find the best match possible. I couldn’t tell which beads were old and which were new!”
Wearing Grammie’s 1950 Tiara
Wedding Photography by LaRuche Photo
VENUE / Primrose Cottage VINTAGE CROWN RESTORATION / Headpiece.com BRIDAL GOWN / MoriLee HAIR / Make Me Up MUA / Artistry by Elizabeth Rochelle FLORIST / A Divine Event PLANNER / Sidney Hayes BRIDAL SALON / White Magnolia
Wearing your grandmother’s restored crown on your wedding day is a beautiful reflection of love past and present. When returned to its original elegance and grace, it will live on for generations.
“I cried when I saw the tiara and decided that I wouldn’t show it to my mom until the wedding day. I also did not try on the tiara and veil together until my wedding day, as I also wanted to surprise myself. The wait was so worth it!”
“My bridal suite was silent as my mom placed the tiara on my head, and it felt like Grammie was there with us.”
“It was comfortable and super secure! When I first got the tiara from my aunt (pre-restoration), I was at a loss for how we would get the tiara to stay on. It was such a relief after it was restored. It fit super well, and I didn’t have to worry about it falling or sliding.”
Clara loved the detail on her grammie’s crown so much that she incorporated it into other facets of her wedding day.
“And because I am this type of person, I embroidered a fingertip length veil with matching beaded loops all along the edge. It took months!”
I asked Clara about her virtual experience restoring her beloved Grammie’s crown and if she was nervous about the process.
“It was lovely! I was very, very relieved to find someone who could restore the tiara to its former beauty. I was nervous about saying goodbye to something so dear after only having it for a few months, but I knew it was in good hands. In the end, I am so glad I trusted Marie with this restoration.”
“I am having the tiara and veil preserved and stored for my future daughter, daughter-in-law, or granddaughter, hoping they would like to wear it for their wedding one day.”
Nothing brings me greater joy than using my creative gifts to bring happiness and beauty to a bride in a unique way for her and her alone. ~Marie
See you next month on the Fourteenth