19 of the most iconic vintage celebrity wedding dresses to inspire your bridal style

If you’re deliberating over your dream wedding dress, browse through GLAMOUR’s edit of these 19 vintage celebrity wedding dresses… all worn by style icons before the year 2000. From full skirted 1950s shapes to mod mini-dresses in the Sixties and right through to hippyish slip-dresses from the Seventies (plus mega-meringues from the Eighties) every bride-to-be will find her perfect vintage fashion inspiration here…

Although, just a word of warning, as you can pinpoint different decades from their general trends, it’s also easy to date a wedding dress with the style signatures from that era. So, if you’re planning your wedding now, it would be a smart idea to just take one or two elements from these vintage celebrity wedding dresses, rather than recreate them in all their retro glory. If you go too heavy on the details, you could end up looking like you’re wearing costume… and that’s not a good look.

So, who are the vintage celebrity brides we’re inspired by?

Scroll down to see some of the icons of the last century’s best bridal style…

Wallis Simpson 1937

Their relationship had a scandalous start (Wallis had been married twice before *gasp* and the former Edward VIII had to abdicate from his position as King, as the Church of England wouldn’t condone a royal marriage to a divorcee) but Wallis’s dress was truly divine. Echoing the 1930’s penchant for longline looks, the bridal gown dress was floor length and super-sleek. Parisian couturier Mainbocher dyed the dress blue to fit in with society’s belief, at the time, that only first time brides could wear white (*eye roll emoji.*) The dress’s gathered details and halo-style hat inspired bridal style for years to come.

Queen Elizabeth II 1947