home > veils

Wedding veils - What options are there and how do you choose?

Thank you to Margaret Byrne of www.dream-veils.co.uk for supplying this article

For most girls the only time they will wear a veil (apart from if they wore one on their first communion day) is their wedding day. So a veil can be such an unknown item - they don't know what they will look like in one - or in fact anything about them.

The first time they come across a veil it is a jaded sample they try on in the wedding dress shop, which can be off putting to say the least! The shops only have - for obvious reasons - 'set sizes' to try on. The shop's main business is to get you organised with your dress and the veil is an extra item, an addition or an accessory even. So the veil can be a secondary decision at the beginning of the brides search, something that they can't think about at that time as the dress, quite rightly, is their main concern.

So, in my experience I have found that brides tend to leave their veil till the last minute, thinking they might or might not want one.

Then suddenly they go for their first dress fitting 8 weeks before the big day, try a veil on again and then decide that yes in fact they do want a veil. They see the options and either think they are too expensive, not the right one, or are just disappointed with the choices the shop has. SO the big hunt is on for 'The Veil' and where do they look - yes the internet. Now how on earth can you choose something from a website for THE most important day of your life.

When I started Dream Veils I never imagined that my little company would finish up being an internet based company but I can only explain so much about the veils I make, and obviously photos would be the best way to show the veils. So, as time went by and brides sent me photos of themselves on their big day in their veils, I put them on the site so that other girls would get ideas and examples of all the different ways that girls had worn their veils and the looks they achieved.

So to start your search for 'The perfect Veil' look around the internet at all the photos that are around until you get an idea of what you want and the look you want.

I personally make all my veils as 'one offs' - they are custom made to the brides order - yes you can have exactly what you want! But you do need to know where to start and I think that there are four main things to decide upon.

1 The length,
2 doubled or single layered,
3 which edge if any and
4 the fabric its made of.

These are the main points you need to decide on then there are variations of these which can be decided on later.

The length
Do you want a tiny short veil just to reach the nape of your neck, or a long veil that covers the train of your dress? A short veil can be less cumbersome and you can leave it on for longer whereas a really long veil can annoy you and get in the way and you might want to get it off as soon as possible.

A single layer or two layer veil
A single layer hasn't got that portion that covers your face when you walk down the aisle. So decide if you do want that. If you do then straight away you know you need a two layered veil. To further explain, this is how they are made: A double layer veil is cut in a circle for shorter length veils or an oval for the longer length veils. It is then folded over at the 'Blusher' length - and gathered onto the comb on the folded edge. So as an example a chapel length or 126' veil is cut 126' long, then folded over at say 26' to make the blusher layer 26', therefore the remaining length of 100' is the final length of the veil that falls from where the comb fastens into the hair down the back and along the floor. A single layer veil is cut in a U shape and gathered along the top of the U so there is only one piece of tulle falling down. So the chapel length of a single layer would be 100'.

Edges
Again it depends upon where you buy your veil from. The usual edges are a pencil or fine edged stitch, a satin bound edge or just a cut edge. I make other edges too - and other companies make different edges to me. See what will go with your dress.

Fabric
There are a few different fabrics that veils can be made of but the main two are nylon tulle or pure silk. You can sometimes find chiffon or organza veils but the problem being that a veil is very wide and you therefore need fabric which is manufactured very wide, which tulle is (around two and half to three metres in some cases). Silk tulle is made around 70' so isn't so wide and therefore won't make a very big full bouffanty veil. Chiffon and organza is not made very wide so isn't really an option to be used to make veils, however I am still searching!

So once you have made a decision on these main points - you then have
options of embellishments and different cuts of the veil. Embellishments for example, could be crystal or pearl additions either all over the veil or to the edges. Different cuts of the veil could be cascade cut or angel cut, and then there is also the gathering on the comb for example, part gathered, fully gathered or completely flat on the comb with no gathers at all.

There are lots of companies out there on the internet, in different countries, who make veils along these basic lines, with slight differences, for instance some make their two layered veils as two single layers sewn together onto the comb, so just have a good browse around. Once you know the options out there that are available to you (and you can understand what they all are!) you can make your decision and buy the veil that will make you into a real fairytale bride.

Just always remember - the main focus is probably your dress - so your veil should enhance the dress and not overwhelm it.

Happy hunting!

Margaret Byrne
www.dream-veils.co.uk

bridal accessories
bridal wear
cake
catering
favours
flowers
groomswear
hair and make-up
music
photography
rings
stationery
transport
venue
EXPERT ARTICLES (3)

This site is a FREE resource and links are a simple and effective way to help more people find us. Please refer to our links submit page for further details on linking to this web site.

To deep link to this page please copy and paste the following code into your html page, or document:

To add a link to this page from most popular forums please use the following code:

Email:
Password:
Forgotten?