Choosing Your Wedding Veil

Wedding Veil Headpiece

The veil was used in ancient times to cover the brides face. The groom did not meet his bride before the wedding ceremony and the veil covered the brides face until after the marriage had taken place. The groom then removed the veil and was the first person to see his bride.

Today many brides like the idea of a veil, but they often don't want to follow the tradition of keeping it down for the entire ceremony so here are a few options to choose from.

Leave the veil down for the entire ceremony and then have the groom lift it once you have been pronounced husband and wife.

Wear the veil down during the bridal procession and then have the chief bridesmaid lift it back when you reach the altar.

Have the wedding veil hanging down at the back of the headpiece and not covering your face.

The veil can be plain or elaborate in design, heavy or light, beaded or embroidered, covered in crystals and lace. The veil can be made from silk, cotton, voile, chiffon, organza, or tulle and come in gold, silver, blush tones, white, diamond and ivory. These can be worn at the back of the head or cover the face.

A headpiece can be used to secure the veil to the head. The longer the veil the more formal the wedding.

Try to match the veil with the wedding gown. If you have a family veil and wish to wear it, have it professional dry cleaned and take it with you when you start looking for your wedding gown.

Tips

Bride with veil

Crystals and seed pearls will add glamor and romance to a veil.

The embellishments on the veil do not have to match the dress but should complement the dress.

If a longer length veil is what you would like to wear, consider a multi layer, so that the longer layers can be detached after your ceremony, which will then allow you to wear a shorter finger tip or elbow length during the reception.

Inspect the veil for quality workmanship. Look for a clean finish, see how secure the beads or crystals are attached, and does the price match the quality.