Eggs, Dolls, Sisters, and Tsars

I love the look of Imperial Russia. I realize it was a problematic society, but I think the Russian court was so incredibly beautiful and stylish. I'm not totally sure where this fascination came from, but being half Ukrainian I was raised on many Russian fairytales and I think that might have something to do with it. I was also completely obsessed with the Romanov family after watching Anastasia when I was 10 and that's really stuck with me. Here's a few images to give you an idea of what I love about Imperial Russian design.

The gorgeous palaces. They're over the top and dramatic, but also seem like a fantastic place to spend a winter afternoon:


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Russian fairytales are wonderful. If you haven't read the Firebird or Vasilisa, go do it now:


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The always wonderful Faberge Eggs. My family has quite a few of the regular Ukrainian painted eggs, but nothing like these. The Met used to sell a Faberge Egg charm bracelet and I'm pretty sad I never bought it...


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Incredible clothing. Russian court dress was so over the top and glamourous. I think this dress is gorgeous and really wish I had some reason to wear things like this in my life. I need a fancier life:


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Matryoshka Dolls. I'm not sure if the ones in this image are technically Imperial Russian, but you get the idea. I grew up with matryoshkas in our house and I really love them. They seem to be pretty popular at the moment because I keep finding them and items inspired by them (jewellery, cooking items...etc) every time I go shopping in Toronto:


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And, of course the Romanovs. They were such a beautiful family. I especially love the pictures of the 4 Romanov Grand Duchess and wish that similar pictures existed on my sisters and I:


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When I was originally thinking of inspiration for our wedding I knew I loved the look of Imperial Russia but I suspected that it was really too over the top for our wedding. As a result, Imperial Russia won't have too much of an influence on our wedding. However, at my visit to the St. Lawrence Market Antique Market this week I found the perfect item to incorporate my love of Imperial Russian design into the wedding. Stay tuned to find out what it is!

What are some of your favourite design inspirations?