Everything You Need to Know About Wearing a Wedding Veil

As I said in my recent post about Wedding Hair Accessories, these bad boys deserve a post all of their own.

In medieval times, the veil was used to show purity and chastity. Ancient Romans used the veil to hide the bride from evil spirits. Way, way back, a veil symbolised the act of a man throwing a blanket over his chosen bride to capture her. Romantic, right?!

Nowadays, the majority of brides use a veil to enhance the look of their wedding gown. Some still traditionally cover their faces whilst walking down the aisle, the veil then being lifted by whoever walks them down the aisle before presenting them to their betrothed.

I went down this route as I had a typical Italian wedding, getting married in the same church my parents did. Here’s another shameless photo of me on my wedding …but with a veil!Photo shot by the amazing Craig George

Who knew there are seven different types of veil?!

Mine was my first holy communion veil that I decided to use as my ‘something old’. My ‘something new’ was my dress and I don’t think I had a ‘something blue’ or ‘borrowed’. Its’ cool though, I’m still married and its coming up to 4 years! Anyway, I digress…. seven veil types.

1. Shoulder Length – Works well with a vintage style dress
2. Elbow Length – Perfect for the majority of dresses. but not the best idea if you have back detail on your dress.
3. Hip Length – Again, this style will go with most gowns, but not really suitable for A-line dresses.
4. Floor/Waltz Length – Complements any dress.
5. Ballet or Puddle Length – As the name suggests, this style creates a small puddle of material at your feet. Cute, huh?
6. Chapel Length – A little longer than puddle length and works well with all dresses.
7. Cathedral Length – The queen of veils, this style makes a real statement. Just make sure you have a big enough aisle to show its true potential.

Traditional veils will have a ‘blusher’. This is the piece of fabric that goes over your face. When pulled forward, it should stop just under your bust so as not to interfere with your bouquet. This means that you need to consider where it will be placed on your head when choosing your veil.

You also need to think about material, how many tiers you would like, whether you want embellishments, edging, gathering… There’s a lot to consider, right?! Luckily, your bridal boutique will be able to help you with all of these things and, nine times out of ten, when you put it on with THE dress you’ll just know. It’s another one of those magical things about getting married.