Guide to Hosting a Vintage Bridal Shower: Invitations and Expert Event Planning Advice

Your bestie is an old soul who enjoys vintage touches in her everyday life.

You might see it in her choice of fashion, her taste for antique jewelry, or maybe by the way she decorates her apartment. For this reason, throwing her a vintage-inspired bridal shower is the chance to reveal her favorite time period in everything from the bridal shower favors to the invitations.

With advice from luxury event planner Tessa Brand of Tessa Lyn Events, you’ll find tips for hosting the perfect vintage bridal shower. You’ll also get the chance to see five of our favorite vintage stationery templates along with ideas on how to customize them to fit your party design scheme.

Jump to the sections with the links below or read on.

woman in a car in a 1960s vintage dress

For the best friend who’s passionate about vintage fashion, furniture or jewelry, a vintage bridal shower is the perfect way to celebrate her unique style and shower her with love and support.

How to Plan a Vintage Bridal Shower

When planning a vintage-themed party, event planner Tessa Brand immediately thinks of wooden tables, distressed furniture and textures such as lace and velvet.

Her approach to bringing the vintage theme to life is relying on the venue for the appropriate vibe and style.

“A venue with vintage furniture and a lot of shabby chic décor is a great choice for a vintage bridal shower,” says Tessa. “26 Beach Cafe in Marina Del Rey comes to mind.”

With the perfect venue, Tessa suggests incorporating a few of the design elements into the invitations.

But you don’t have to reserve an expensive venue to have a great party. If you’re planning a shower at home, you can always create the vintage vibe through the decorations, party favors and the menu.

Vintage Theme Decorations and Details

The vintage party theme can be fun and even whimsical. So how do you pull it off? The more specific you are about the time and place in history, the easier it will be to bring it to life through the decorations.

Here, design tips on how to do just that:

Choose your inspiration. Whether it’s The Great Gatsby, classic Hollywood or 1950s rockabilly, pick a single source of inspiration from the past that best fits the bride-to-be. The goal is to be as specific as possible about the era, style or world you want to create. Once you’ve settled on a single source of inspiration, you can explore the vintage possibilities and pick out classic colors, motifs and images to use in your decorations.

Pick an appropriate color scheme. Think of the color palette as an extension of your theme. Colors should reflect and match your theme. If you’re going for 1920s Art Deco theme, for example, a color palette of white, pink and gold wouldn’t make sense – even though that is a popular bridal shower color scheme. Instead, a color scheme of gold and black is a better choice for a classic Art Deco party.

Incorporate textures and materials. If your vintage bridal shower theme is inspired by the Victorian era, consider adding materials such as lace and velvet to your decorations. You can do this by picking lace table covers or adding lace to your party favors. The key is being consistent with the materials you use and incorporating them throughout most of your decorations.

Select more than one vintage image. Resist the urge to repeat a single image on every decoration or design element. Is there a classic image or motif that best represents your theme? If you’re throwing a Great Gatsby party, for example, some classic images might be feather boas, a flapper’s outfit and champagne glasses. Instead of picking a single image, mix and match a few images to create a unique and interesting party theme. For example, your decorations can feature feather boas and flapper dresses while your invitations can feature an Art Deco design, color palette and champagne glasses.

Vintage Bridal Shower Invitations Showcase

Thoughtfully designed vintage bridal shower invitations will reveal your unique party theme and get your guests excited for the upcoming event.

“Start with choosing a font or image that evokes the vintage theme. Then, add personal touches such as a lace belly band around the invitations or adding a scalloped edge trim,” Tessa says.

Here are five of our favorite vintage bridal shower invitation templates.

lace bridal shower invitation

A Victorian-inspired vintage bridal shower theme is brought to life with the perfect color palette of beige, white and pink with lace details.

Craft and Lace Bridal Shower Invitation

Nothing invokes the vintage theme like lace, the delicate texture and design used to decorate the Craft of Lace bridal shower invitation designed by Yours Truly. Elegant with a touch of Victorian flair, Craft and Lace features a soft color palette of beige, white and pink, and can be customized with unique text to reflect your vintage bridal shower details. This stationery is a great choice for Victorian, shabby chic and rustic vintage bridal shower parties.

Personalize Craft and Lace to reflect your vintage-inspired bridal shower.

 

 

lace and burlap wedding shower invitation

Featuring a combination of vintage lace and burlap materials, this unique photo bridal shower invitation reflects the vintage theme while also allowing you to personalize the stationery with custom photos.

Lace and Burlap Bridal Shower Invitation

Lace and Burlap is a great choice for a vintage bridal shower tea party or rustic-themed event. Designed by Yours Truly, this lovely stationery features a textured burlap background along with three frames outlined in pretty lace, allowing you to upload custom photos of the bride-to-be or the happy couple.

Personalize Lace and Burlap for a rustic or country-inspired vintage bridal shower.

 

vintage bridal shower invitation with a wedding dress

Need a fast and lovely invitation template? A classic 1950s bridal shower theme, Showering the Bride is a unique and beautiful invitation that’s simple to customize with your event details, paper type and trim.

Showering the Bride Bridal Shower Invitation

If you’re throwing a 1950s inspired vintage bridal shower, Showering the Bride is the perfect stationery for your party. With a lovely princess-style wedding gown, a polka dot chalkboard background and beautiful font, guests will instantly know they’re invited to a bridal shower with a vintage flair. Designed by Stacy Claire Boyd, this invitation can be printed on Pearl Shimmer card stock for that extra vintage touch.

Order Showering the Bride for your special vintage shower.

 

 

pink wedding shower invitation

For the sophisticated bride-to-be who loves everything vintage, Graceful Gown can be personalized with event details and printed with your choice of a pink or grey background.

Graceful Gown Bridal Shower Invitation

Feminine and sophisticated, Graceful Gown is a classic bridal shower invitation that will work well for nearly any vintage theme. Designed by Brejer, this stationery is ideal for casual showers at home or semi-formal parties. Along with the choice of a pink or grey background, you can personalize this invitation with your event details, paper choice and type of trim. If you want a subtle vintage design without committing to a particular era, Graceful Gown is a good fit.

Start customizing Graceful Gown today.

 

 

polka dot invitation with a white wedding dress

Invite guests to the special 1950s bridal shower with Spring Ensemble, a cute and beautiful stationery template you can make your own.

Spring Ensemble Bridal Shower Invitation

With polka dots and a classic 1950s dress, Spring Ensemble perfectly embodies the 1950s retro look and goes well with a diner theme or vintage 1950s housewife theme. To personalize this invitation, you can pick the design color scheme of black, white and pink or grey, white and baby blue. You can also customize the text, paper type and trim to reflect your specific vintage theme.

Choose Spring Ensemble for your bestie’s unique 1950s-inspired bridal shower.

Personalized Vintage Bridal Shower Invitations

Whether you’re planning a rustic vintage wedding shower or a 1950s housewife party, Shutterfly® makes it easy for you to create the perfect invitations that reflect your theme and details of the event. Explore the rest of our bridal shower invitations to find vintage stationery templates you can begin designing now.