I have a special treat for all of you today. I have asked my friend Sarah to do a little guest post. Sarah runs one of my favorite wedding blogs, Classic Bride which is chock full of gorgeous wedding inspiration. Classic Bride was a huge inspiration for me long before I even owned a blog and I am very excited to be hosting Sarah here today!

Hello! I’m Sarah, from Classic Bride blog, and I’m so excited that Gillian asked me to come and chat with you all today! Over at CB, we celebrate preppy and polished wedding style (much like Coastal Bride!) with an emphasis on incorporating heirloom antiques. Since I also have an online wedding boutique filled with preppy/vintage finds, I thought it would be fun to share some of my top antiquing tips with you (plus a few of my favorite finds)!

TOP 5 ANTIQUING TIPS (FOR YOUR WEDDING!)

Tip No. 1 | Have a game plan. Before you ever step foot in an antique shop, mall or market, know your wedding style inside and out. If possible, carry a wish list of items you’re specifically on the hunt for. Basically, this means that you need to do your homework: create some Pinterest boards to define your wedding style; surf wedding blogs for inspiration and tear out pages from wedding magazines that fit your style. Once you have a cohesive idea of the look you want, start zero-ing in on actual antique pieces or collections that you’d like to source for your wedding. From my own experience, I knew I wanted to collect gobs of milk glass to act as compotes and vases at my wedding. I started collecting a year out  and was able to collect more than enough by our wedding date. But I was only able to do this because I had my “eagle eyes” on whenever I’d go scouting – my milkglass radar was on and I was ready to pounce.

Tip No. 2 | Don’t settle. So you have your list and you know what you want. You head into a shop or market and see a piece that’s on your list … except it’s not quite what you wanted. Don’t settle for something that doesn’t make you 100% happy because chances are, you’ll later regret the purchase. In this day and age, you have the Internet on your side in addition to scouting out local antique venues so finding exactly what you want shouldn’t be too hard. Start early so you have time to be picky and choosy.

Tip No. 3 | Bring your friends! I antiqued several times a week during the year leading up to my wedding and if it hadn’t have been for my Mom (AKA my BFF!) and several wonderful friends who would go with me, antiquing would have been way less fun. Instead, those antiquing trips became some of my fondest wedding-planning memories. My Mom and I made a vacation out of a New Orleans antiquing weekend and another time, I met up with one of my besties in South Carolina to hit some shops – and I found our gorge silver cake stand with her!

Tip No. 4 | Know your budget. The last thing you want to happen is to spy a piece you want but have the price be out of your budget … but it will happen, I promise you. And you’ll have to decide if it’s worth the splurge or if you should pass. Instead of being caught in the crosshairs and making a  choice you’ll later regret, go over your budget before you go shopping so you know your limits and aren’t tempted to go over them.

Tip No. 5 | Coordinate with your vendors. If you’re planing on collecting vintage wares to go with floral decor or as a cake topper, etc., convey that information to the proper vendors at your very first meeting (or at least as soon as you know). Even if you don’t have the pieces yet, let them know that you intend on having them and set things up so you know your deadline of when you need to drop the items off with your respective vendors.

I hope these tips are helpful and if you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer in the comments! And if you’re craving more tips, check out the antiquing series I wrote earlier this year on my blog. Plus, the best French flea markets – ooh la la!

And here’s a few of my favorite [wedding] vintage finds that are currently available in my wedding boutique, CBV: Retro and vintage cameras will always pull at my heart as I love dabbling in photography so it was only natural that I’d start collecting the little cuties. I have quite a few for sale in my shop, ranging in colors and styles but this mint one is definitely my favorite! They would be adorable in engagement and wedding shoots! Maybe it’s because I love to write or because I have a journalism degree … but I can’t stifle my love for typewriters. They’ve been on the wedding scene for years as creative guestbooks or for the bride and groom to write love notes to each other but the trend hasn’t died on me – I think these darlings are here to stay. I have several typewriters for sale in varying shades. I purchased many of the finds in my shop while I was living in Germany – we’d flea market in Germany, Belgium and France frequently. I picked this champagne drying rack up in Metz, France, and while it’s intended purpose is to dry champagne bottles (duh!), it’s also cute to hang tea cups and, as illustrated, it makes a fantastic flowering display for weddings! These are rare so they are a bit of an investment piece. I only have the one for sale! Last but not least, I love the idea of incorporating old French baskets overflowing with flowers in a wedding. Whether they are flanking the aisle or serving as reception decor, they lend the perfect essence of easy elegance.

Finally, as a thank you to those of you who have it made it this far, I’d love to extend an exclusive 25% discount on all items in my shop through the end of December 2014 (excluding wedding attire and items already on sale). Just mention the code CBxCB when you e-mail me with your order information.

Thank you so much for sharing your tips on wedding antiquing with us today Sarah! Make sure to visit Sarah’s gorgeous blog, Classic Bride and following along on all of her antiquing adventures via her Instagram!