Vintage wedding food ideas

Before we look at vintage wedding food ideas, we have to define what a vintage wedding is. The definition of the word vintage is the year or place in which wine, especially wine of high quality, was produced. The part of this definition that applies to Vintage Weddings is to identify what era your wedding theme is going to be based on. A 1920’s style wedding menu offers up different foods than a 1950s-themed wedding. If you want a truly vintage style menu for your wedding, don’t mix vintage eras, but stay true to the theme you’ve chosen.

The most popular eras for vintage weddings today are the 1920s, 1940s and 1950s, so for this blog, we’ll look at ideas for those three decades.

Vintage wedding menu ideas

1920s

The 1920s was an era of dramatic changes known as the Roaring 20s and the Jazz Age, and motion pictures were introduced. It was an age of prosperity and offers a wide variety of options when planning your vintage menu.

• Finger foods: deviled eggs, tea sandwiches, mushrooms stuffed with pimientos, shrimp cocktail and smoked salmon canapés
• Salad: You can make this optional because according to food historian Krishnendu Ray, at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, “many thought salads to be effeminate and French,” and so they were missing from the menu. Salads did make a comeback though with the invention of the Caesar Salad made from romaine lettuce, Romano cheese, bread, olive oil and some eggs.
• Entrée: Baked Ham soaked and rolled in liquor and breadcrumbs served with celery stuffed with cream cheese and red pimentos, carrots and peas, and potatoes with cheese.
• Dessert: Walnut bread or caramel custard

1940s

If you go with a big band theme your menu will be different than choosing an afternoon tea which highlights a buffet of cakes paired with tea served in mismatched cups. During WWII, with rationing, food served at a wedding would be limited, but 1940’s American cuisine offers a wide variety of tasty menu options. Here are a few options to inspire your choices:

• Salad: Mix cooked green beans cut into 1 in. lengths, diced cooked potato, and a large lettuce shredded. Decorate with sliced tomato and a few chopped spring onions
• Soup: Wartime pumpkin soup, cream of potato soup, or clam chowder
• Entrée: Deviled chicken served with sweet and sour carrots
• Dessert: Cola Marsh Ice (made with marshmallows, cola, salt and lemon juice and sliced for best presentation), or banana shortcake

1950s

In the post WWII 1950s things changed. We had drive-in theaters, TV dinners, beatniks, I Love Lucy, and society loved to dance.

• Salad: the 1950s was the era of salads made with Jell-O. For your menu consider molded Jell-O made with cottage cheese and canned fruit. Greens salads should be made with iceberg lettuce served with French dressing or a vinaigrette.
• Appetizer: Deviled eggs, fondue, or fruit skewers. For a more casual wedding serve up celery and Cheese Whiz
• Entrees: Roast or Swedish meatballs, with mashed potatoes and corn or green beans. For a casual wedding individual pot pies are a good choice. For something between casual and elegant, serve steak with fries.
• Dessert: Fruit cup, or ice cream banana split.

Jordan almond wedding favors

Jordan almond wedding favors are a common tradition that crosses decades and carries a special meaning. Make this tradition compatible to your wedding theme by packaging them in era-specific small glass bowls or decorative boxes, but be sure to include a small card that explains the meaning of the candies with your guests using this traditional poem:

Five sugared almonds for each guest to eat
To remind us that life is both bitter and sweet.

Five wishes for the new husband and wife

Health, wealth, happiness, children, and a long life!

These ideas just begin to scratch the surface of vintage dining. Once you know your wedding theme, decide on dishes keeping with that theme. The main goal should be to keep it fun. You want your guests to feel like they are at a celebration.

Images: pixabay, flickr.com, wikipedia

Why choose a vintage engagement ring?

If you’re in love with the romanticism of a bygone era or just looking for a ring that’s distinctive and a great value, vintage engagement rings offer that and more. Today, vintage-inspired rings are the trend among celebrities including actresses Alexis Bledel and Scarlett Johansson, but if you take the time to search for an authentic vintage ring you love, you can usually find a better deal because previously-owned rings often sell for less, making them a smart choice that still features the quality and gemstones for which you’re looking.

Searching for the right vintage engagement ring style takes time, but it is time well spent. Consider it a treasure hunt. Then when you discover the right one it will be all the more precious and the process of looking for it will become part of your story.

Know what you’re looking for

It helps to narrow your search. For instance if you know you want a rose gold ring, then you may not want to visit an estate sale selling a vintage cushion cut platinum ring. If you know you want a pearl ring, then a sapphire or diamond ring won’t meet your needs. However, I suggest you keep a somewhat open mind, since authentic vintage rings are one-of-a-kind, and the beauty of these rare finds may just change your mind.

 

Where to look for vintage engagement rings

If you’re in the market for an authentic one-of-a-kind antique engagement ring there are a number of places to look. First of all, ask family members if there is an heirloom ring in the family. But if you're not that fortunate, visit estate sales, pawn shops, antique stores, and there are plenty of online options with sites where you can shop like Etsy, Lang Antiques, and Brilliant Earth. However, before you make a final purchase, you want to have the ring appraised by a reputable jeweler. This appraisal should include the ring's characteristics and value and must be filled out using the proper forms. When looking for someone to appraise a vintage ring, I recommend someone with both gemological and appraisal education.

Photo credits: pixabay.com, pixabay.com

History of halo engagement rings

Today, the halo style engagement ring is the second most popular engagement ring style (solitare is first). One reason for this popularity is that for couples on a budget, the halo setting enhances the look of the center diamond making it look bigger with a halo of smaller diamonds circling it. This popularity isn’t something new, though. In fact, the history of halo engagement rings can be traced back to the Georgian era in Europe (1714-1837). At that time, halo rings were designed with smaller round diamonds or pearls circling the center stone. During the Victorian era (1837-1901) halo rings took on a new look that imitated flowers using colored gemstones as the center stone which made them a popular choice for an engagement ring. This popularity carried over into the 1920s when what we look at as the “classic” diamond halo setting of a larger round diamond surrounded by smaller round diamonds originated during the Art Deco movement.

Rose Gold Halo Engagement Ring

Popular halo engagement ring shapes

Today’s Halo diamond engagement rings are available with a variety of stylish options paired with it classic vintage panache. They can be purchased in a variety of precious metals including halo engagement rings crafted from rose gold and a variety of shapes including the trendy heart-shaped diamond. Other popular shapes include:

Cushion Cut Round Brilliant Cut Diamond

• Vintage round halo ring: The timelessness of vintage round diamond halo rings is still the most popular choice.
• Halo engagement rings princess cut: The second most popular shape is the Princess cut. The face-up shape of the princess cut is square or rectangular. From the side it is comparable to an inverted pyramid with four beveled sides. These rings mingle classic luster and contemporary angles and is a shape found in many vintage halos.
• Cushion cut halo ring: The cushion cut diamond unites a square cut with rounded corners. It gets the name “cushion” because it looks a lot like a pillow and makes a good choice for people who prefer a vintage look to their jewelry.
• Emerald cut halo ring: The emerald cut shape brings emphasis to the clarity of the diamond. It’s has a large table and distinctive step-cut pavilion. The length of this cut compliments the finger.
• Oval diamond halo ring: Oval shaped rings offer sparkle comparable to the round diamond but with a less common profile that brings a certain vintage charm with it and something a little different for brides who want to be unique.

Halo diamond engagement rings have made a beautiful, bold choice throughout history and still are a stylistic choice that makes any carat diamond appear bigger than it really is.

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Vintage style wedding rings: Georgian Era

Vintage style wedding and engagement rings offer the perfect opportunity to find a unique one-of-a-kind ring. Georgian era (1714 to 1837) rings are a rare find, but worth the search if you’re looking for handcrafted quality jewelry. This period gets its name from the Hanoverian Monarchs of the United Kingdom who reigned during that time including four Georges: George I who reigned as king from 1714-1727, George II (r. 1727-1760), George III (r. 1760-1820), and George IV who reigned longer than any other king in English history. William the IV finished out the Georgian era reigning from 1830-1837.

Georgian Rose Cut Diamond and Emerald 5-Stone Band

Features of Georgian Era rings

Because the Georgian era covered more than 100 years, the style of wedding rings as well as other jewelry evolved over that time. The Baroque style led in popularity until 1750 with its over-all symmetry and thick ornateness. After 1750, the Rococo style emerged with lighter asymmetrical lines. As a result, the period offers a variety of popular motifs including: bows, crescents, flowers, leaves, and ribbons. The thing that the entire era has in common is that all the jewelry was handcrafted. In fact, the artisans hammered 18 k or higher gold ingots and other metals like silver (for gemstone settings), iron, and steel into thin sheets by hand before they even started to fashion the rings or other pieces.

Rings from the Georgian era often feature gemstones like sapphires, diamonds, and emeralds in closed-back settings. A popular choice included foil backings which enhanced the gemstones scintillation by candlelight. However, if you are fortunate enough to have such an heirloom ring, or to make such a find in your quest for the perfect ring, it is important to note that contact with water will destroy the delicate foil, so be sure not to wear the ring if your hands are going to get wet.

Another thing worth noting, if you’re in the market for a vintage ring from this era, is that because gold assaying wasn’t enforced until the 1900s authentic Georgian jewelry isn’t stamped, nor does it bear any maker’s marks.

Where to find Georgian vintage style rings

Finding vintage wedding rings from this time period can be very difficult, not just because they are from so long ago, but because the jewelers from that time often melted down pieces they considered out-of-date in order to craft pieces fitting the current trend. The best places to shop for these rare rings will be reputable antique jewelry outlets like the Antique Jewellry Company out of London.

Photo credits: Erica Weiner, Erica Weiner