Today’s shoot from Jodi McDonald Photography is simply outstanding! With six bridal gowns and all the styling elements and accessories to match, it spans decades of wedding dress styles from the 1920s to the present-day. Each look captures the spirit and essence of the years it represents perfectly.
This first wedding dress from MXM Couture embodies the 1920s and it does a fantastic job of capturing the glamour of this era. Think: Art Deco and The Great Gatsby when you glance back at this gown.
The style during this time was lavish and ornamental in reaction to the deprivation during WWI and daring women the world over embraced the roaring twenties by showing more skin while wearing gowns with a relaxed and free-spirited “flapper” attitude. The beauty and magnetism of this wedding dress along with the bobbed hairstyle and smoky eyes reflects this decade flawlessly!
The 1940s brought an era of austerity as WWII was being fought and a more demure look crept into fashion. Women reworked their dresses from previous years and utility was key.
As ladies entered the workforce due to the absence of men they gave up unnecessary undergarments like girdles and opted for more comfortable fits. The gorgeous wedding dress above from Judy Copley Couture captures this decade with its blouse-like top and uncomplicated but chic lines.
After a decade of role reversal women in the 1950s embraced a tailored, feminine look. Full skirts, small waists, and thoughtful details dominated this era of fashion. Jennifer Gifford’s spectacular wedding dress represents it well and I love the addition of the gold belt for a little added definition to the waistline.
The 1960s mod look is incorporated into this shoot with a great black and white color blocked look pulled together by pairing a flirty short dress by Silver Sixpence with gloves. Trish of FT Makeup did a fabulous job recreating that defined and doll-like look on the eyes with mascara and eyeliner. It’s Twiggy to a T!
Another 1960s era look that is having a major resurgence today is that of the peace-loving and free-spirited flower child. This bohemian styled gown from Judy Copley Couture paired with fishtail braids and a freshly picked flower crown does justice to the legendary Summer of Love.
And that brings us to modern times. While styles from decades past (minus the 1980s) are still being embraced, today’s brides are looking evermore to designers to create one-of-a-kind looks for their wedding day.
Brides want their personal beauty and style to shine through and the above gown from MXM Couture was created especially for this shoot to capture that sentiment!
Which decade do you love most?
I’d like to give a big mahalo to Jodi for sharing this fabulous shoot. I’ve never had so much fun writing about history!
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Photography: Jodi McDonald // Floral Design: A Sculpted Leaf // Cake: Sunny Girl Cakes // Hair: Coastal Style Mobil Hairdressing // Makeup: TF Makeup // Decor & Design: Love Bird Weddings // Venue: Spicers Clovelly Estate QLD, Australia // 1920s: MXM Couture // 1940s: Judy Copley Couture // 1950s: Jennifer Gifford // 1960s: Silver Sixpence // Bohemian: Judy Copley Couture // Present Day: MXM Couture.
About Sara Burnett
These are so beautiful and a great documentation of time too.
This is so beautiful! What a lovely concept.
Goodness, this is awesome! Love it.
OMG, I am obsessed with that first gown! Absolutely gorgeous inspiration!
Oh my, I love this post. Great inspiration and a look at how things have changed over time. Gorgeous!
I cant pick! I want to say the ’60s but the ’20s was such a sexy time .. Either way I LOVE this shoot
Amazing inspiration! Each decade is perfectly portrayed! The 1950s one is really speaking to me today!
This post is utterly fabulous! My heart is with the 1920s, but all of the decades are beautifully represented. That MXM Couture gown is especially stunning. I am, however, a bit distraught over the fact that the ’80s were left out!
What a neat idea for a shoot. My favorite are the top two!
Stunning shoot!
Done lots of pinning! Always love your blog. Thanks for always bringing us beautiful inspiration xx
Mahalo! xx
Think I just pinned every image here. Gorgeousness!!
What a great post – loving the beautiful gowns and the hair styles. Just stunning. I personally love the 1920’s style – the detailing always amazes me.
Sara what a brilliant insightful write-up – you have totally captured the essence of this inspired shoot – THANK YOU!
Really beautifully written Sara and I just love the layout it looks fantastic …Thank you so much 🙂
This is so cool! I love seeing how things have evolved! 🙂
Thank you for sharing in such a beautiful way, this was so much fun to put together and was one of our most absolute favourite styled shoots ever! x
What a fabulous post! So fun to see which era’s I love…definitely the 20’s, 40’s and 50’s. Also a big fan of the music from those early era’s, too. Great writing and researching 😉
Love it! Great collection of dresses 🙂
The 20s is it for me! They’re all so well put together! Absolutely love!
What beautiful women!
Hmmmmm, all the gowns are gorgeous, the models all look stunning in them ( as you would expect from models) but I’m not sure that they are an indication of of the eras they are supposed to represent (look back at old family wedding photos and I don’t think they will look remotely like these gowns! However, they are very clearly representative of today’s style (backless, bejewelled, flowing and elegant)… even the see through one that would take a brave bride indeed to wear it!
Thank you so much for your comment Judith but I’m going to have to respectfully disagree. If the creatives behind the shoot wanted exact copies they would have just used vintage dresses. Instead they are showing how today’s designers are influenced by eras past and I think the influence is pretty easily seen in each gown. Today’s styles wouldn’t be in style without the influence of previous eras. It took a brave woman in the 1920s to shed her petticoat and corset to wear a backless gown and that’s why we can do it today.
Does anyone know the designer of the 20s veil? I absolutely love it.