Yes, I won't argue that. :) Burlap-wrapped mason jars and bunting have certainly received more than a few critiques. But over the past few years, I feel like I've been seeing less and less bales of hay and quilts in open fields yet I'm still seeing a verbal backlash to the all-encompassing umbrella term "vintage." And that right there is at the heart of what bothers me so much about this backlash. If it's rustic chic you don't like, just say that. But please stop clumping so many varying styles together with the broad term "vintage" and declaring that they're all over.
There's a big difference between rustic vintage, black tie vintage, retro vintage, kitschy vintage, couture vintage, classic vintage ... I could go on and on. To throw them all together in one pile and make a broad remark just doesn't make sense to me.
And that brings me to my next point. I'll readily admit that I have never been a huge fan of the rustic vintage or shabby chic looks. I tend to like my vintage more polished and classic (obviously, I hope?).
While planning our wedding back in 2008, I remember first meeting our florist and trying to describe my vision when he suddenly perked up and said "Oh, so you want a romantic shabby chic look?"
I think I visibly cringed in my chair. I didn't want anything about my wedding to say "shabby." Chic - yes - but shabby - good lord, no. His description seriously sent me into mini-meltdown mode and I started wondering if the polished + timeless look I was pursuing and pouring my life into creating would be interpreted by others as "shabby chic." But somewhere in the middle of my freak-out I realized something. Who cares? It's all just labels. If you create something and love it 100 percent, that's all that should matter. I know it's a fairly elementary thing to say but I think its truth is often forgotten in the highly judgmental world of weddings.
As it turns out, maybe milk glass, french doors and hydrangeas (my floral vision) do create a shabby chic look. But you know what? I'll love that look until I die and I'll never think of it as shabby chic. It will always be timelessly beautiful to me.
So this long rant is all to basically say beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
A sad, fleeting trend to one person may be eternally beautiful to another. And a trend that's clearly over to one may be just being discovered by another as something fresh and new. Everyone has a different take on the world and sees things differently - that's what makes our world so interesting and wonderful.
So pursue your own vision (whether it's rustic chic, black tie vintage or ultra modern) and remain loyal to it. Don't let a wedding vendor's personal description of your vision get you down and don't let a snarky wedding blogger's comments on broad styles make you question your own.
At the end of the day, a wedding is more about enduring love than enduring style.
That said, let's close with a few weddings that capture both equally well:
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VINTAGE CHIC WEDDING
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