There are vintage inspired weddings and then there’s Emilia and Ryan’s vintage Victorian wedding. The couple took the vintage theme to heart, finding their dream venue in Marshall House, a Victorian mansion on the historic Fort Vancouver grounds, but it was Emilia who really took the theme to the next level, choosing to wear a custom Victorian reproduction wedding dress. Wanting to make sure that the dress was authentic, Emilia even donned a waist cinching corset, a petticoat and a bustle to achieve the look. Now, if that’s not commitment, we don’t know what is!

Special thanks to Kari Renee for sharing all the pretty photos with us!

Emilia, 32 & Ryan, 32

Vancouver, WA

Wedding Date: August 11, 2013

Number of Guests: 55

Wedding Cost: $8,000

Wedding Ceremony Location: Marshall House, Fort Vancouver National Park

Wedding Reception Location: Marshall House, Fort Vancouver National Park

Why did you have an intimate wedding?

I have always been intrigued with the Victorian era and I really wanted to incorporate it into my wedding. We found the perfect venue, a beautiful Victorian mansion in a historic national park with a huge wrap around porch, and it could just fit 50 people inside and out perfectly. We wanted the wedding to be part of the house, not just in it, so I had a reproduction dress made by a seamstress who specializes in Victorian clothing. The goal was for it to be authentic and natural, not ‘costumey’, so authenticity was the key and she did a wonderful job. I find the Victorian silhouette to be very beautiful, and that silhouette is completely lost in modern fashion, so bringing it back was a lot of fun. The dress required a corset, bustle and petticoat to correctly achieve that look. Overall, I had a blast designing this wedding and if it wasn’t an intimate wedding I don’t think I could have accomplished the look and feel I was aiming for.