My Roaring 20s Speakeasy Wedding

It’s Like Déjà Vu

Welcome to my roaring 20s speakeasy wedding! It’s been a hundred years since the roaring 20s, but here we are again with a global pandemic and an economic collapse. It’s like déjà vu. (Or, it would be if any of us were alive to actually experience it the first time around…)

Sometimes it feels like the world is ending, but those folks in the 1920s managed to have a good time in spite of their crappy circumstances and so can we. How do I know? Because we did! Our speakeasy wedding was the cat’s meow and I’m here to tell you all about it!

Finally. I mean, it’s been over a freaking year already. What took me so long?

No, really. I’m asking. I have no idea.

1920s silent movie sign saying it is our wedding

What’s the Secret Password?

You may remember (or not, it was so long ago…) I got handcuffed (i.e., engaged) back in November of ’19 and got hitched to my fella in May of 2021.

Back when we were planning our wingding, we thought, what with this being the 20s and all, it would be berries to ankle down the middle aisle in a genuine speakeasy! I know, right? Turns out, it was the bee’s knees!

I’m so excited to share all the details of my roaring 20s speakeasy wedding with you, so if you’ll just kindly provide the secret password, we can get a wiggle on

Bookcase secret door in speakeasy

(Psst… The password is SOUP SNAKES)

Secret bookcase door in speakeasy opened to hidden stairs

You made it! Swell.

Well, Don’t We Look Spiffy!

I’m jumping ahead a little, but I feel like I might lose you if I don’t show you a freaking wedding picture already, so let’s remedy that right now. Here’s Schmoopy and me on the big day.

roaring 20s wedding couple in speakeasy

Dress: Sabine, by Gwendolynne

I know, right? We’re heckin’ cute. Keep reading and I’ll have plenty more pics of us to show you (and a sweet, sweet video!), but please allow me first to brag about all the things I DIY’d for this very special day.

I mean, this is still a DIY blog.

In theory.

I didn’t DIY this next part though. So, if you’re keeping track, so far, this theory isn’t panning out.

The Venue

We booked our venue less than two weeks after we got engaged. Charlotte’s was the first and only place we visited.

If you didn’t already know better, you’d probably be thinking… a dessert shop? What kind of weirdos would ever get married in a dessert shop?

The truth is we’re totally the kind of weirdos who would get married in a dessert shop, but, since you’re reading this post, you know we really picked this place because the basement is actually a genuine speakeasy that was used during the Prohibition era!

Crowd in speakeasy

What’s Prohibition, you ask? (Feel free to skip this next part if you didn’t ask and I was just hearing voices again.)

A Little Bit of History

Picture it: Sicily America. 1920. The United States government decides to ban the sale and consumption of alcohol. You know, for the good of the nation. Of course, if you want to make sure people don’t do something, the worst thing you can do is to tell them they can’t do it. (Ask me how I know…)

So, once people figured out a way to drink on the DL, alcohol was consumed more than ever. Only now, it was crappy, dangerous alcohol because legit manufacturers were banned from making the good, safe (ish) stuff. Crime increased, tax revenue decreased, and speakeasies became one of the most lucrative businesses of the era.

Way to go, government.

Back to the Venue

In the 20s, Charlotte’s was a women’s clothing store named… I don’t know… something old timey like Myrtle’s Dress Shop or Betty’s Lady Frocks, with a speakeasy in the cellar below, complete with an escape tunnel for when the fuzz busted in.

When the current owners bought the building, they had no idea of its bootleggy history, but they were delighted to discover it and decided to restore the space to its former glory.

For me and Schmoopy, it was love at first sight and we booked it on the spot. We’re nothing if not nontraditional. Which is to say, we’re not. Clearly.

Save the Date!

As you might imagine, Fridays and Saturdays are jumping at Charlotte’s, so Sunday was our only option if we wanted a nighttime affair. (And we did. I look much better at night.) We chose May 30th because it was Memorial Day weekend and most people had Monday off from work so they wouldn’t mind staying out late. Aren’t we clever?

I made our “save the dates” myself (HA! I told you this was still a DIY blog!) using my cheapo laser printer and this no frills laminator to add gold foil to my design. My printer was low on toner, but I quite liked the aged quality that resulted.

I had a custom stamp made from rubberstamps.com to go over the seal.

Custom wrap-around return address labels completed the look. (None of this was enough to impress Ms. Buffy Summers, as she did not even bother to RSVP…)

If you’d like a tutorial on how to make save the dates like these, I’m very sorry I can’t make you one because I don’t want to. However, you can go here for lots of videos over on the YouTube, made by some very crafty people, that will show you the technique I used.

You’re welcome.

Making the Invitations

Our invitations were newspapers that I printed (published?) on tabloid sized parchment paper, which is perfect for making a four page spread. Folded into quarters, it fits into a standard booklet envelope. I purchased brown craft paper ones and tied the papers with twine for that vintage vibe.

Newspaper 1920s wedding invitation

The paper was comprised of articles I wrote about how we met and the history of the venue, ads from the 1920s, and detailed information about our big day. I even included horoscopes for those guests in need of serious life guidance and a word search because… well, no one knew wtf Sudoku was in the 20s.

Newspaper 1920s wedding invitation

Many of my guests told me that it was the best wedding invitation they’d ever received and I was like, “I know.”

My Bouquet

I made all of the bouquets for my wedding using artificial flowers. Now, before you poo poo fake flowers, hear me out. Real flowers are stupid expensive, they need to be delivered the day of, and then they die. Control freak that I am, there’s no way I could have made all of the bouquets myself using real flowers.

Now they live in a vase on my piano. (Well, they don’t live there, because they’re not alive, but that’s where they hang out, pretending to be alive.)

1920s wedding bouquet in vase on piano

I’m probably going to do a tutorial on how to make a bouquet because I’m awesome at it and I feel a slight responsibility to share that gift with all of humanity. (Or, at least the handful of humanity that reads this crappy blog.) I’ll put a link here when that happens.

Our Vow Books

I wanted a nice keepsake for our vows, so I learned how to bind my own books on YouTube and made these…

Handmade hardback vow books with vinyl applique

I know, right? I’m amazing. I used my Cricut to make heat transfers for the covers. I thought the lock and key was romantic because there’s only one key for every lock and he’s my key.

Except, that’s not true at all because you can have copies made at the hardware store, and you can even have locks rekeyed so that’s actually a terrible analogy. All I know is those slutty whore locks better stay away from my man’s key…

Signs

Speaking of my Cricut, I used it to make a bunch of “silent movie” signs for people to pose with in photos.

1920s themed wedding with silent movie title signs

It was a fun way to incorporate some of our favorite movie and TV show quotes into our theme. Bonus points if you know what movie those signs above are from. (Don’t get excited. Bonus points mean nothing.)

Man in modern clothes holding sign that says I'm from the future in front of staircase

Props Box

In addition to the signs, we had a bunch of other props for photo ops. I purchased a vintage suitcase to hold them all and dolled it up for the occasion.

Vintage suitcase from the 1920s refurbished
vintage suitcase from the 1920s made into prop box for wedding
1920s theme wedding group picture with props

Other DIY Touches

I made candle holders for the aisle using stair balusters, wooden bases, metal trinket dishes, gold spray paint and lots and lots of pearls.

1920s art deco style aisle candles

My centerpieces were bud vases from Dollar Tree, more pearls, styrene balls, and ostrich feathers. I bought the votives on clearance and sprayed them to look like mercury glass using this technique.

1920s Wedding Centerpieces with Ostrich Feathers, Pearls and Candles

I’m not sure how common this is in the rest of the United States, but in New York, people don’t usually buy wedding gifts; they bring cards with money. In anticipation of this tradition, I painted a birdcage gold and decorated it with ribbon, pearls and feathers to hold them all.

1920s Wedding Art Deco Gold Birdcage With Pearls and Feathers for Cards

And maybe you remember these guys. I dedicated a whole blog post to painting this figurine. I’m not sure it warranted a whole entire post, but, at any rate, you’ll have to go there if you want to see what it looked like before.

It’s OK to be curious. Go on. Go see…

1920s Gold Skeleton Flapper Figurine

There are probably a few more things I’m missing, but it doesn’t matter. The DIY I’m most proud of is our wedding movie…

Our 1920s Wedding Movie

We didn’t have the budget for a videographer, so I asked a few friends to record our ceremony using cameras I rented from wedit.com. The upside to using wedit.com was that they provided a link to download all of the pictures and footage, so no begging my guests to please send me the moments they captured on their own devices. The downside to using wedit.com was that their cameras truly sucked.

Coincidentally, movie quality in the 20s sucked too, so I just rolled with it. (If you don’t see the video below, click here.)

ARVE Error: Mode: lazyload not available (ARVE Pro not active?), switching to normal mode

Much of the music in my movie is by a very talented piano musician named Scott Bradlee, creator of Postmodern Jukebox, who covers modern songs in a vintage style. We only played PMJ (that’s what the cool kids call them) at our wedding. Lady Gaga in a 20s style? Yes, please. Gatsby Gangsta’s Paradise? Fo shizzle.

Our 1920s Speakeasy Wedding

If you watched the movie, then you know how amazing our wedding was. If you didn’t watch the movie, then I guess these pictures will have to do…

1920s theme bride walking down aisle with parents

Both of my parents walked me down the aisle to the song, The Stripper. I didn’t tell anyone what song I was using, so it was really fun to see recognition bloom on my mom’s face in the video. (If you didn’t watch the movie, you really should. My mom is so cute dancing to The Stripper.)

Thank goodness everyone kept their clothes on. It wasn’t that kind of wedding.

1920s wedding laughing at the altar

My best friend of nearly forty years performed our ceremony. I know, right? How does that math even work? Obviously, we met well before we were born…

1920s theme bride and groom on stairs under chandelier

I bought my dress used from a wedding dress marketplace called stillwhite.com. The designer, Gwendolynne, is based in Australia and her beautiful, art deco gowns are made to measure, which means they’re custom fit to each individual bride and, thus, way out of my price range.

Luckily, one of those rich Australian brides put her dress up for sale on the website for a fraction of the price she paid, making it almost affordable, so I bought it. It came to me in pristine condition and only needed minor alterations to fit me perfectly.

Schmoopy’s suit was from Macy’s. Men have it so freaking easy.

1920s speakeasy wedding group laughing

I instructed our photographer to take candid shots of us and our guests. Some of my favorite photos of the day are of people just enjoying themselves.

1920s bride and groom in front of friends making hearts with their hands

In this photo, someone suggested making hand hearts, which is clearly a girl thing because, as you can see, the men don’t know wtf they’re doing here.

1920s bride and groom laughing

Our thank you speech was hilarious. Schmoopy is almost as funny as I am, so you can imagine just how entertained our guests were.

1920s theme bride with fur stole standing in doorway in front of chandelier

A week before our wedding, the weather forecast called for a perfect day in the 70s with sunshine and no humidity. The day of our wedding, it rained and the temperature dropped into the 50s. Ironic. Don’t you think?

I was able to snag this faux fur wrap on Amazon just in time and, fortunately, it made for some super cute pictures. And who would’ve thought? It figures.

Thank You

Our guests received Western Union telegrams to thank them for attending our wedding. This one below is just for you.

1920s thank you Western Union telegram

I hope my crappy wedding post was worth the wait! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I hate to give you the bum’s rush, but I have to go and see a man about a dog…

(Note to my dear husband: That’s just an expression from the 20s that means ‘I have to leave’. We’re not ready for a dog. Slow your roll, my love…)

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24 Comments

    • My Crappy House

      Ha I wondered if anyone would see the video ahead of time. There was quite a delay between uploading that and publishing the blog post. You got the sneak preview

  • Marianne

    I loved everything about your wedding! It has been a joy to follow your blog all these years. I think your wedding post has been my favorite post so far! I love your unlimited creativity and sense of fun and humor. You two are a beautiful couple together. ❤️ Congratulations on your one year anniversary. All the best! ?

    • My Crappy House

      Thank you so much for following me all of these years and for the wonderful compliments. You know how I love those…

  • Em Dirr

    Well THAT was certainly worth the wait (actually, in every possible way).
    I could offer congratulatory comments on every fluffing thing. Clever beyond words, hilarious, joyful. What an amazing celebration! Im still a little irked that i wasnt personally invited, even though we’ve never met; but I do completely appreciate the thank you note.
    I confess that I do come back regularly to reread your posts because they’re so darn enjoyable (and also to make sure I haven’t missed one); but I will be watching your video and rereading this post many, many, many times. (Yes, I SHOULD get a lfe of my own.)
    Also, Schmoop’s face when you came down the aisle!! Just wow!
    All the best to you, sweet, funny, beautiful Vickiann!???

    • My Crappy House

      Thank you so much, Em! I’m glad I didn’t disappoint! (Well, except for failing to invite you. I hope you will forgive me for that. You’ll definitely be on the guest list for my next wedding.) The day went by so fast. There are so many pictures I forgot to take and things that didn’t get set up right because I left that to the caterers instead of hiring a wedding coordinator. Then there was the rain and 50 degree temps. But, even with all of that, it was still a perfect day

  • Barbara H.

    Well, now I know why you’ve been gone so long – it was recovery time from all that DIY, creative wedding planning and WOW – what a shindig. It was wonderful. Thanks for sharing!!!! but gosh, I sure missed you. All the best to two fantastically creative, fun people.

    • My Crappy House

      Ah, you’re very kind to give me an excuse for my absence. I’ll take it! Yes, I’m finally juuuust about recovered. Hopefully, I’ll soon have the energy for more DIY posts.

  • Joan

    Fantastic! You really did a great job with everything! Looks like a really fun wedding. And, I caught two of references: The Empire Strikes Back, and I believe the other one was Back to the Future. Do I win? You two are just way too cute! Happy Anniversary (late)!!

    • My Crappy House

      Thank you! Congrats on getting one of the two references correct! The first was, indeed, The Empire Strikes Back, but the second one was actually from the TV show, The Office, where Holly imitates Arnold from Terminator. (We’re huge Office fans around here. We even dressed up as Dwight and Angela for an Office themed bar crawl a few years ago. Click here for a pic.) We also had quotes from Titanic (“I’ll never let go!”), The Notebook (“If you’re a bird, I’m a bird.”), and Friends (You’re my lobster”).

  • Linda

    OMG, your wedding was the absolute most fun, thoughout and prepared for day. So fitting for your special day. Everything you DIY’d and the movie, all just so wonderful.
    Continued happiness that lasts a lifetime!!

  • Katherine Davies

    Oh my goodness. I’m delighted to see your wedding, at last. The video is superb. You looked very beautiful and Schmoopie very handsome. I’m so happy that you had such a beautiful day in such a lovely place. Glad go see your Mom and Dad, and allyour lovely guests. What a day! Congrats on your recent first anniversary, too. ♥️

    • My Crappy House

      Thank you so much! I’m so sorry for my late reply. You know me… why do today what you can do in a month? While I do tend to be a pessimist (Why did it have to rain? I can’t believe I didn’t get pictures of my bridal party! I should’ve worn better underwear…), it really was a fabulous day

  • Bridget =)

    I came for the house and stayed for the wedding. PERFECTION. OMG, your dress is JAW-DROPPING. And every detail is just fabulous! congrats!

    • My Crappy House

      Thank you so much! I know, right? That dress was the bomb. Hoping to get back to some house stuff soon, so I hope you’ll keep on staying!

    • My Crappy House

      Aww thank you! We had so much fun with the theme. Once we found the venue, we kind of had to go all in!

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