Almost as iconic as the wedding dress, the wedding veil accentuates the bride’s personal style and adds one more touch of elegance and beauty to her look. Although I’ve seen the occasional guest wear a white dress to a wedding, I’ve never seen one wear a veil. Wedding veils are quite simply only for brides.
While the wedding veil has its origins in religious tradition, it’s fair to say most brides today choose to wear a veil for more personal and aesthetic reasons. And when it comes to options, there’s a lot of them! Veils can vary in length, decoration, and color–though most are usually a shade of white, ivory, or off-white. And with every style comes a plethora of ways to wear the veil. I thought I’d show some examples and options and ways brides can wear their wedding veils.
First up is the blusher and short veil. This is the shortest type of veil–usually only long enough to cover the bride’s face. It may be accompanied by a hairpiece or even hat.
Next is the mid-length veil, which generally falls at the bride’s elbow, sometimes a little above or below. This veil can be positioned most anywhere in the hair and is often accompanied by a headpiece. Sometimes it has several layers, and depending on where this veil is placed, it may not be very noticeable when looking straight on at the bride. The mid-length veil is a popular choice because it’s easy to wear and there are so many ways to wear it.
Then we have the cathedral length veil. This veil traditionally falls all the way to the floor–and then some! Again, you have several ways to wear this veil, but the important thing to remember is its length. This veil will require a little more hand-holding–literally–throughout your wedding day, but the look it can create is impressive!
Lastly, there’s a smaller subset of veils, styled after the Spanish wedding veil, the mantilla. These veils are striking for their elegance and beautiful details gracing their edges. The traditional mantilla is worn over the head, but more modern twists on the style provide you with numerous options.
And of course, there is one more option–no veil at all! Many brides decide to forgo a wedding veil altogether, and that is certainly fine, too.
by mary
Megan - Thanks for this article, it was exactly what I was looking for! I appreciate the info! 🙂
Milla - Mary you are full of such wonderful information!! I didn’t know all the different types, but the mantilla is my favorite. Just stunning!! Great post.
Emilie - Beautiful post Mary. I love how you’ve captured the beauty of each of the styles avaliable and how each style suits a brides personality.