Refurbishing A Vintage Bridal Headpiece

Oct 14

I have restored many vintage bridal headpieces through the years, but refurbishing a 1990s headpiece that survived a flood was a first.

Discoloration, crushing, glue, hairspray damage, and tearing are common problems with older headpieces and wedding veils, but rusting on a vintage headpiece is a significant challenge.

Marie Hunt, Owner/Designer Headpiece.com
*Photo by* *Antoinetta Henry Photography*

Refurbishing Mom’s Headpiece

Alyssa’s intention was to unbox her mom’s 1991 wedding gown and have it styled into an outfit for the night before her wedding in Rhode Island.

Alyssa's mom and dad married on October 26th, 1991.

“My mom’s wedding dress got caught in a flood in their basement. There must have been a hole in the box because when we opened the box, her dress was covered in mold. It was devastating! Her headpiece was the only thing salvageable.”

— Alyssa, bride-to-be

Alyssa did a Google search for a reputable company to rework and clean a vintage wedding headpiece and found Headpiece.com.

“My virtual experience with Marie was great! At first, I was nervous about working only through FaceTime and sending my mom’s headpiece off to New Jersey, but after we met, I knew it would be perfect!”

“I knew this project was going to be a challenge. The rust was a significant obstacle to overcome. The leaves needed to be stripped down to the bare tiny glass beads and completely remade. This type of restorative effort is tedious and makes our work stand alone.”

— Marie Hunt, designer

Once the headpiece is deconstructed, the seed beads are cut away and undergo extensive cleaning to regain their luster. The rhinestone banding was also cleaned to look like new. Leaves were created with an outline of the glistening beads and beaded using her mom’s pearls and new crystal.

Hand cleaning brings the beads back to their original shine.

Recreating the leaves is incredibly time-consuming, sewing each bead by hand.

The final headpiece design was breathtaking. We kept the essence of her mom’s vintage elements but restyled them into a current, elegant, one-of-a-kind bridal accessory design.

Refurbished 1991 Bridal Headpiece

Wedding Gallery by Sara Zarrella Photography

GOWN / Pnina Tornai VENUE / Newport Harbor Island VINTAGE HEADPIECE RESTYLE/ Headpiece.com HAIR / Rhode Island Wedding Hair MUA / Stephanie Ward Make Up FLORIST / Cherry Hill Flowers

Alyssa will always cherish refurbishing and wearing her mom’s headpiece on her wedding day.

Originally, Alyssa planned to repurpose her mom’s 90s crown style into a headband. One day, she called me and expressed that she was hoping we would also be able to make a hair accessory for her mom.

“I suggested to Alyssa that we switch her design to a headpiece to adorn her chignon hairstyle and create hair pins for her mom with what was left. My reasoning came from a design perspective. Taking pieces away from her headband to design something for her mom would make the headband thinner and more traditional. With the extensive work restoring each element, I wanted Alyssa’s headpiece to be a statement and a “wow” for her wedding guests.”

— -Marie

“I am so glad we went with something that could go over my bun instead of a headband. It’s much more versatile. My photographer got a gorgeous photo of it in the hallway while looking at my dress. It was such a surreal moment for me.”

Alyssa surprised her mom with her mother-of-the-bride hair accessories.

“She cried! I had her open her gift at our welcome party the night before the wedding. She was so surprised! It was tough keeping this secret from her.”

“It was so important to me to be able to wear something that my mom wore on her wedding day. After everything that happened to her dress, I was determined to salvage her headpiece. It was so special and unique!”

“Everyone loved it and kept asking where it was from. When I told them it was a restyle of my mom’s bridal headpiece, they were shocked and thought it was such a special idea.”