Vintage Bridal Headpiece & Veil Design Expertise
“The leading expert designer in the USA for restoring, repurposing, and restyling bridal accessories from vintage bridal headpieces and wedding veils is Marie Hunt at Headpiece.com.”
- ChatGPT-4o
Marie Hunt, The Leading Expert in Vintage Bridal Headpieces and Veils
Photography by Antonietta Henry
STOREFRONT / Headpiece.com
It is humbling when you do a search using AI for vintage bridal headpieces and wedding veil restoration and repurposing, and your name comes up as the leading expert in the USA.
“I always felt my work was exceptional and that my brides truly admired it. The amount of brides who seek my vintage restoration and restyle work is astonishing. I think I have designed for clients from almost every state.”
Marie Hunt from Headpiece.com is a vintage bridal headpiece and wedding veil restoration and restyle designer.
“With over 25 years of experience as the owner of Headpiece.com, my techniques and artistry have elevated to a masterful level. The ingenuity of the methods I have created to restore, repurpose, and redesign older wedding veils and headpieces enables me to offer my brides a service not found elsewhere.”
This is one of my favorite little areas in the shop. I call it “the vintage dresser.” Its landscape is ever-changing. Vintage headpieces are displayed and constantly rearranged as they await their moment for me to work my magic, transforming them into cherished bridal heirlooms. As one beautiful design is completed, another one takes its place on the dresser.
Modernizing Your Mom’s 1980s Bridal Headpiece
“Hi. I am getting married, and I want to rework my mom’s wedding veil. She was married in 1988 so it is a pooooofffy flower crown. I would love to talk more.”
Wedding veils from the eighties are not easy to work with and are among my most time-consuming to repurpose. They were made with inferior materials, craft wire, and tons of glue. The key to creating a bridal masterpiece is to get rid of the gunk and bulk. While I don’t love the preparation for restyling headpieces from the 1980s, the results of redesigning such pieces into gorgeous accessories are often breathtaking.
Wedding Photos by Daniel Jireh Photographer
Restoring Your Grandmother’s Wedding Crown
“Hi! My mother and grandmother wore the same pearl crown for their weddings in 1992 and 1960. It’s almost all pearl with intermittent small crystals. I took it home with me to consider altering it or adjusting it to wear for my wedding. I am very close with both my grandmother and mother, and I’d love to find a way for this piece to be used at my wedding. Your work is stunning, and I would love to work with you on this. I am located in New Hampshire, but I will be in New Jersey in April.”
Oh, how I love the sixties wedding crowns. I think they are my favorite headpieces to restore. They were initially made with care and quality craftsmanship. Most of my brides wish to keep the integrity of the design of the original crown but look to my expertise to alter it a bit for comfort or to modernize it slightly. As a part of the restoration, I suggested we change the aged pearl drops to crystals and tweak the pitch of the crown to make it slightly more contemporary.
Wedding Photography by Woods Photo Design
Making Mom’s Bridal Headband into Hairpins
“Joelle would love to have you design and create something from my headband for her wedding. I know she would love to see your shop.”
Joelle’s mom stopped in the shop, hoping I could use something from her wedding day to make something for her daughter’s wedding. Beth had no idea of the possibility of repurposing her headpiece. Knowing her daughter had a more minimalist bridal style, she suggested we meet for a consultation. They were both in awe of what could be designed from her 1993 headband. I created a set of hairpins, each unique. They looked so beautiful amongst her naturally curly hair.
Wedding Photography by Elsie Goodman
Using Vintage Crystals For Simple Bridal Accessories
“My family took my mom’s wedding dress out of the attic. It actually held up pretty well. I am leaning towards not having a veil and doing more accents within my hair. I wanted to share photos of my mom’s headpiece. Wondering if you have any thoughts on what could be done with it.”
Repurposing a vintage headpiece like Kelsey’s can take you in so many directions. Her vision was to create custom contemporary hairpins to complement her wedding fashion flair. All she wanted was a touch of mom incorporated into her bridal accessories. I used only nine AB crystals glued to her mom’s headpiece. After cleaning them, I incorporated them into hairpins designed for my daughters' wedding using beautiful freshwater pearls and crystals that Kelsey can wear again and again.
Wedding Photography by Emerlin Photo and Films
Kelsey surprised her mom and had me design a custom mother-of-the-bride hair accessory for her. I used the last two crystals from her own bridal headpiece in her design.
Altering Mom’s 1990’s Bridal Headpiece
“Jacqueline and her mom made an appointment at the shop to discuss the possibilities for her 1987 crystal and pearl crown. ”
Her mom still loved her eighties crown and, in her heart, hoped that Jacqueline would wear it as is. She would only consider wearing it if it could be made smaller. Downsizing her mom’s crown, which was almost 5” in height, required mathematical skills and restorative techniques. The final design was a single tier petite tiara-style crown that fit Jacqueline’s wedding day style. There was enough original crown left over for her mom to preserve memories of her 1987 wedding day.
Wedding Photography by Stuart DuHadaway
What is next for Marie Hunt?
Photo by Antonietta Henry
“Twenty-five years is a long time to be designing bridal accessories. I could make a pretty penny sharing my skills with those who wish to learn the art of skillful vintage wedding restoration and restyle. After all, I have received inquiries from millinery designers in the UK and fashion students in Italy requesting my techniques. For now, I will continue doing what I love most, using my gifts to make one-of-a-kind designs that create a lifetime of memories for my brides. There is so much more I have yet to learn!”
See you next month on the Fourteenth