The Bride Wore a Veil

Dear Fiancée —Two weeks ago I officiated at a beautiful wedding at King Family Vineyard. The tables for the reception had been tastefully decorated; the dresses for the bridesmaids had been tastefully chosen.  The bride, though, was more than tasteful—she was absolutely stunning. I have been trying to put my finger on what made her so.    She is pretty, that helps certainly.  Her gown was form fitting and heavily beaded, in other words, exquisitely crafted.  Those things helped, too.    I think that what really added to the effect,

though, was the bride’s veil.  Yes, the bride wore a veil.

Now, I have to tell you that I have not officiated at many weddings in which the bride wore one.  In fact, until two weeks ago, I thought that veils were rather passé.  After considerable research, though, I stand corrected.  Veils are “in.”  So, today I thought I would fill you in on some of what I have found out about veils.

Veils are “IN” for brides marrying in 2014

First of all, there are many kinds of veils and those veils have descriptive names. Who knew? There is, for instance the cathedral veil.  That’s a several yards long, veil, like Maria wore when  she married Captain Von Trapp, remember?  Then there’s a mantilla veil, which is cut in a circle and is bound with lace.  I believe it originally hailed from Spain, although apparently it is popular in other countries, too.  White mantillas are worn at weddings, although women used to and still do on occasion, wear black mantillas to Mass or for funerals in the Catholic Church.

The birdcage veil, gets its name, I suspect, because it looks a little like a birdcage.  It is short and in the 20’s it was sometimes attached to a pillbox hat—other times to a comb.   It covers only the face, or sometimes just half the face. If you are wearing a vintage wedding gown, I would think that a birdcage veil would add to the look you want to achieve.

As I scanned the web for information on veils, I ran across a nifty you tube video for creating your own short, birdcage veil.  My, are they easy to construct!  While you might pay $60-80 in a bridal shop, you can make one for something like $10.  Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEGZyQ__8iQ.  Of course, you will want your veil to go with your dress—so I would recommend looking at lots and lots of wedding pictures first to make sure that the veil and dress actually work together. Wearing a birdcage veil with a long, flowing gown would probably look ridiculous—sort of a mixing of eras and traditions—like wearing a cowboy hat with a pencil skirt, or boots with a bathrobe.

Still, the right veil with the right dress can really make a statement.  Go for it, if you dare!

Happy wedding planning!