Fourteenth: The Family Crown
A Google search for “vintage bridal headpiece restoration” often leads to Headpiece.com. We have had inquiries from all over the world. The yearning for a piece of family history to become a part of the wedding day fashion is becoming vogue.
Brides have many different reasons for wishing to use a loved one’s old vintage headpiece. All of my brides have in common, the desire to wear something beautiful and meaningful. Our production room is always full of old headpieces and veils waiting for a chance at new life.
Vintage Swarosvki AB Crystal Crown
My high school classmate, Sissy Duffy, referred Shannon Reilly to Headpiece.com when she heard she wanted to wear her grandmother’s 1961 crystal crown. Sissy follows us on our Facebook page and told her co-worker we were the only place to go.
“Shannon came for her consultation with her hair done. All she knew is that she wanted to wear her grandmother’s crown and spruce it up, so it didn’t look so old. The first thing I thought was to turn it upside down to give her a visual for a vintage restyle idea I had in mind.”
My idea was to change the crown to a backpiece to nestle into the back of her twisted chignon. Extra crystals could be strung to lay across the front of her hair to give the illusion of a crystal headband.
We were so busy at Headpiece.com that I had to bring her piece on vacation to work on it. The blackened metal wire left tarnish in the holes of the vintage Swarovski crystal beads. Each crystal needed to be cleaned by hand. The circular frame had to be replaced due to age and glue.
From old to new, vintage to current, and crown to backpiece, always exhilarates me and gives me the rush to work on my next vintage redesign.
“Not only did Marie make my grandmother’s headpiece perfectly for me, but she also made my grandmother a bracelet with leftover beading. Let’s just say there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. I also went for my dress fitting two weeks before my wedding and found the beading on my shoes was falling off! I couldn’t find a replacement anywhere and called Marie in tears. She told me to come to her shop, and she fixed the shoes. Marie is an amazing person inside and out, and I am so happy I found her!”
Why not surprise your grandmother with a special gift made just for her from her own headpiece?
I am not a shoe maker, but when my brides call for help I do all that I can to relieve them of any worry.
Wedding Photography by Stark Studios
From 1961 to 2019
“Thank you, Grandma!”
Vintage Pearl and Rhinestone Crown
Rachael’s mom, who lives in Ohio, searched extensively to find someone who had the ability to repair or redesign vintage headpieces. She found Headpiece.com on Google and realized we were quite capable after reading a few of our blog entries.
“When I got engaged, my mom pulled out her wedding dress and my grandma’s wedding dress and accessories to try on for fun. After we tried things on, my mom approached me about using my grandma’s crown as my ‘something old.’ I was initially skeptical about the ability to transform her vintage crown into something I wanted to wear. Still, at the same time, I knew having a piece of my grandmother with me on my wedding day was something I really wanted to do.”
An inspection of the vintage headpiece is always the first step in the design process. Many brides reach out to me and ask for pricing and ballpark numbers. I only give pricing after a hands-on look to see the original construction and what the condition of the headpiece is. Rachael’s mom packed up the crown and sent it off to Headpiece.com. Upon arrival, I found the crown was in poor shape. The wire had rusted and blackened, damaging many of the pearls. Her original thought was to use the crystals alone to create a floral and vine hair brooch. But I had a better idea!
I showed Rachael photos of Shannon’s headpiece and told her I could design a backpiece while trying to keep the integrity of the crown’s original design. She loved the idea, and my work began!
The final design was precise, as I had imagined! I designed the piece to be flexible so Rachael could shape it to work with her hairstyle. Rachael lives in Atlanta and we did all of this work through FaceTime. I sent her these photos so she could see the progress of my work.
Wedding photography by Grapefruit Photo
Rachael and her mom wanted to have a special moment with her grandmother, so they chose to surprise her on the wedding day.
“We have the most beautiful photos of my grandmother’s reaction. She was shocked to see that the piece was still usable. We all cried happy tears! We included a note in the wedding program about the headpiece and that it belonged to my grandma. So many guests came up to see the headpiece and commented on how beautiful it was!”
“I love that I have the opportunity to help my brides with design ideas and things they never even thought could be done. I often suggest making something special for the mom or grandma if I have enough leftover vintage materials. We had just enough crystal to make a bracelet for Rachael’s grandmother.”
“I plan to keep the headpiece in my family for future use. Hopefully, someday, my (future) daughter will consider wearing it! In the meantime, if my cousin wants to use it as her ‘something borrowed,’ that might also make sense. She is not there yet, but the offer is on the table! It is a treasure that we hope can be used again and again!”
Rachael’s custom wedding veil was featured on our December blog, Fourteenth: The Best of 2019.
Vintage Metal Crown
I think all of my brides know how much I love working with them. I am so invested in their bridal journeys and love to follow along as they continue through married life. I saved this bridal story for last because Alyssa found her way to me at the last minute with a bit of hopelessness. Often brides are lead in the wrong direction with their bridal accessories and then come to me in desperation with hopes that I can help them.
“I got engaged in November of 2017 and immediately began searching for places to restore my aunt’s wedding crown. My aunt and mom are 13 years apart and she has always been like a grandma to me. I went to a total of 15 stores on Long Island, but all told me it couldn’t be restored. I was talking to a friend of mine, and she recommended a family friend that owns a shop in NYC. The shop owner asked me to send photos and explain what I wanted to be done. Ten months before my wedding, I received confirmation that she could restore it, and it would be ready in three months.”
Patricia D’Ambrose married Joseph Domill in 1955. Her original crown had a few extra leaves in the center front. They disappeared over the years leaving an aged circular metal crown missing many pearls and AB rhinestones. This crown had incredible charm if only someone wanted to give it the love and attention it needed.
Months went by with no progress on Alyssa’s headpiece restoration. She also received little or no response from the NYC shop owner when she inquired.
“In August, my aunt suffered a stroke, and the reality of the possibility of losing my aunt hit hard. I went to the hospital every day to sit by her hospital bed. It became imperative for me to find out about the progress of the crown that I wanted to wear on my wedding day. The shop owner continued to ignore my emails and messages.”
Alyssa was desperate to rescue her family crown from the NYC shop owner and find the right person to restore it. The problem was she now had less than two months before her December wedding. Alyssa found Headpiece.com on Google and emailed us.
“After months of avoidance from the shop owner and discovering that she had never even started on the crown, I told her I wanted my crown back! That is when I came across Headpiece.com on a Google search. I emailed Marie, and eight minutes later, she replied, asking for photos of the crown. I called Marie right away and asked if I could come to her store as soon as possible!”
The story of this vintage crown and its restoration became even more complicated when the store owner emailed Alyssa. She told Alyssa she had finally restored the crown and attached pictures. She told her to have the money ready and that she could pick it up on Saturday, October 26th—only seven weeks before the wedding!
“On Thursday, October 24th, the store owner sent me photos of the crown. That is when my heart sank! She ruined the crown and took away its beauty. I spent the evening in tears. I think what killed me was when my aunt saw how terrible the crown looked. She held it together and offered to buy me something new since my wedding was almost a month away. After meeting Marie, everything changed!”
Originally when Alyssa sent me photos, I knew it was going to be a challenging piece to restore. Multiply that by ten, after that shop owner got her hands on it! There was glue everywhere! The original pearls were replaced with white plastic pearls and the vintage Swarovski AB stones where replaced with clear rhinestones. She painted over the vintage enamel on the leaves with a white craft paint. What killed me is that she threw out all of the vintage pearls and crystals!
I was booked solid with November and December consultations and design production, but I wanted to make Alyssa’s dream come true. I had a ton of work ahead of me to restore this crown to its natural beauty!
I deconstructed the crown and stripped the leaves down to there original finish.
Next five coats of enamel were applied to both sides of the leaves. Alyssa chose the color.
“I love to document the steps of a vintage restoration and redesign. When I put the photos all together, it is like watching a silent movie love story!”
I designed the frame the exact circumference of the original headpiece. Alyssa wanted to wear it off of the back crown of her head with a beautiful side downstyle.
I chose to hand-sew the pearls so there would be no glue discoloration over time and not damage the pearls.
The final results were night and day over the skills of the NYC shop owner!
Wedding Photography by North Island Photography and Films
“To say I was happy was an understatement. I was ecstatic with the results! From the second I saw the crown, tears flooded my eyes with the amazing work Marie did!”
Alyssa’s aunt placed the crown she once wore on her wedding day.
The new beauty of her vintage crown looked gorgeous with Alyssa’s jeweled bouquet handmade in Russia.
And what’s not to love about her firefighter hubby, Ryan! Ryan stood by Alyssa the whole way driving her from Long Island to Headpiece.com in NJ reassuring her that her dream of the family crown will all work out. I think this couple is a match made in heaven!
“I am a big believer that everything happens for a reason and that people cross paths in life for a reason. If I didn’t have this negative experience, I would have never met Marie and have this beautiful headpiece. She really looked to see how the crown will live on, and I am forever grateful for that!”
Next month on the Fourteenth:
A Wedding Texas Style