10 Vintage Wedding Hair Styles – Inspiration for a 1920s-1950s Wedding

Hair, Make Up & Beauty

The vintage look is on its way back with a bang. As you probably are aware already (lord knows it’s been stretched out long enough!) Baz Luhrmann’s highly anticipated Great Gatsby hits screens this summer and we are getting all geared up to fall back in love with vintage bridal. Today we’re checking out the vintage hair styles and art deco headpieces you need to create your own elegant and glamorous old Hollywood look.

brunette vintage wedding hair style inspiration
Photo by Modern Vintage Weddings

The most noticable way to create a glamorous 40s feel to your hair do is with waves that softly frame the face. This low, oversized chignon just sits at the nape of the neck, with sexy-yet-sophisticated lost, pin curls to finish.

To recreate this look, try these individual beaded hair pins by Rangoli placed to the side of the chignon for added glamour.

blonde vintage hair wedding inspriation
Photo by En Luce Photography for Hermoine Harbutt

A statement headband could just be the ticket to a relaxed vintage style. Hair can be done in loose waves and then messily tacked up in a low bun if it’s finished off with a high-impact headpiece. For a real statement piece think outside the box and look at bridal sashes which can be altered to create statement headbands. We love this embellished ivory bridal belt of lace, pearls and chiffon from Irish designers Bonzie.

short hair wedding styles vintage headpiece
Hattie Bridal Headpiece by Debbie Carlisle

Find your perfect bridal headpiece and hair accessories here

vintage hair style wedding down long waves curls
Photo by White Fashion Photographer

The vintage look works very well even if you’d prefer to wear your hair down and long on your big day. The above style uses smooth, oversized ringlets for a very elegant Grace Kelly feel, while bringing a bit of an edge to the overall look with a funky but feminine side parted retro quiff. This look would work equally well with a full veil, a mantilla or a birdcage veil.

red hair bride vintage style
Photo by Modern Vintage Weddings | Hair pins by Gemma Sutton

This low rolled style up do works amazingly well with a low back dress and feels a lot more comforting than a full up do. Individual diamonte hair pins could work with this but a better alternative would be two of this 6-piece daisy flow crystal hair comb which will sit above the full hair roll to make a massive impact.

vintage waves 20s hair style wedding bride
Photo by Bronte Photography via OneFabDay

The crux of this look lies in a very glam oversized rolled fringe which is infinately elegant while still being fun and stylish. If you don’t style your hair very often this fringe might be slightly terrifying, so approach with caution and make sure to get plenty of photos during your trial to know how it looks on camera.

short hair wedding hairstyle vintage 20s style
Styled by Jill la Fleur | Photo by CLY Creation via StylemePretty

This very volumnous up do is seriously sexy and evokes the starlet style of icons like Jean Harlow, Lana Turner, Vivian Leigh and of course Marylin Monroe. We think this look would be fabulous for a city wedding, and would be finished off perfectly with a bridal fascinator or cute pill box hat.

We LOVE this circular lace bridal headpiece from milliner Emily Jean, which is topped with an ivory bow and finished with a Swarovski rhinestone. For full out Hollywood glamour we love this incredible statement bridal headpiece by Emily Jean which is guaranteed to make a huge statement on your big day!

vintage hair style
Idda Van Muster

This smooth, chic, 50s style is the perfect frame to a red lipped, flicked eyeliner look. This style works best on shorter hair where the ends are flicked in neatly and a very slight quiff gives way to a curled fringe.

An oversized flower will add a summery feel to this look, making it perfect for a destination wedding, however if you want a similar look for autumn/winter, try this stunning black feather hair comb from Azure Jewellery placed just over the ear.

vintage wedding hair style
Photo by Amber Weimer

Find your Perfect Wedding Hair Stylist in our Wedding Directory!

By Karen Birney