Veils... How To Approach This?

Girl, I totally feel you on this! I did not plan on wearing a veil either. However, when I try on my dress, it just doesn’t feel ”bridal”. I love my dress. I absolutely adore my dress! I think it’s super beautiful, and I cannot wait to wear it to marry the love of my life. But.... as beautiful as it is, I can’t say that I look at myself in it and think “bride”. For that reason (and as you mentioned, the amazing shots photographers get with veils!) I have decided to wear one after all. As far as trying on veils, you have several different options here. If you have already purchased your dress, but not picked it up yet, you could wait until you go to pick it up & try on lots and lots of different deals with it. Figure out what you like, take pictures of you in them, then go home and find something similar online. If you haven’t picked out your dress yet, do the same thing when you go to try on dresses. If you have already purchased and picked up your dress and have it in your possession, then I would call some bridal stores and ask them if they mind if you bring in your dress to help you pick out a veil. As far as length goes, that completely depends on your dress and what you think looks good with it. I would also take into consideration the veil inspiration photos you mentioned wanting to capture. A lot of those epic veil shots require you to have a Chapel or Cathedral length veil. And yes, almost any veil can be placed under your hairstyle, so as not to cover it. As far as in my opinion should you go for it?- heck yes! This is the only time in your life you’ll get to wear a veil, why not take advantage of it? Plus, you will only be wearing it for the ceremony and for pictures, so you get the best of both worlds! If you try unveils and decide you don’t like them, that’s OK too! Just go with whatever makes you happy and makes you feel beautiful

Length and style purely depend on your own taste and what you feel comfortable in. For me, I didn't want a veil that was super long, I'm very short and didn't want to look like I was being eaten by the veil. I went with fingertip length. I also wanted a veil that didn't outshine my dress, so I went with one that had a simple trim, though my mother insisted on using some of the appliques that were hemmed from my dress and add them to the veil. Okay, whatever, at least it matches a little more now.

I am doing an updo, and the hair stylist showed me how I can insert the veil under the bun instead of on top, so definitely doable, but not sure if the length/weight of the veil will affect this.

Agree with Chrysta to just try some on, see what feels "complete" and "bridal" with your dress. The veil is truly just for the wow factor of your entrance at the ceremony and for some stunning pictures, but after that you can rip that bad boy out if you decide you hate having it in!

If you are still feeling like you can't find the right veil, I also feel like hair accessories are a great contributor to feeling bridal, so that might be something to consider as well!

Well crap- now you got me thinking about those epic shots with the veil... I wasn’t planning on wearing one, just wearing a tiara with a loose, sexy braid. Maybe some baby’s breath sprinkled in...

Different style dresses are better with different veil lengths, and styles. From tiny bird cage veils which barely cover your hair, to, to your eyebrows, or chin, or elbows or fingertips or to the groud or trailing 3-15 feet, and totally see through or really concealing.
Show us the dress, preferably on you for proportions.

Oh, maybe try a cape? I’m doing something very similar to this photo and I’m so excited! You still get that flowing look and bridal feel without covering your hair/face!


Oh and I got mine from https://www.preownedweddingdresses.com/dresses/view/267804/Sophia-Tolli-Size-8

I bought 2 veils. The 1st one is a designer beaded veil, which I deeply regret buying when dress shopping. I think $160ish was over priced. I just don’t feel it’s the veil for me. As a photographer I feel I prefer to get those gorgeous shots with the simple yet dramatic length of my royal cathedral. And it doesn’t took away the dress because it’s see through and..... simple. I will obviously sell my fingertip veil, but keep my simple one.

Most people don't have a clue about history behind any wedding traditions from antiquity, and those who do and keep them see them as a novelty. If you hate it that much, don't let anyone pressure you into wearing a veil. Skip it entirely and you will still look like a bride. You can get sheer capes that have zero history behind them for a photo op if you choose.

Honestly if we are going to get into history of marriage it was often during times when you did it for money or to unite families when women were pieces of property so the whole concept of marriage in tradition can be sexist lol. However, I think now a days veils are for aesthetics and I would not think of the tradition behind it. If you want one great if not then do not do it, even just for pics if you are really against it.

With that said, I would hit up Samantha from blanca veils (etsy and a website) as I got my veil custom made and it was under $150 plus it was supporting a small business which is nice. She does excellent work. AS pp's have said the length depends on you. I started with a finger tip and then decided how much I love the look of the cathedral and realized when is the next time I get to wear a veil so let's go big. Depending on the camera shots you want I would go at least finger tip. I know I went into a bridal store to try on mantilla style veils to see how I would look and a good length but ended up buying online. Etsy is a good place to look but I would see different styles and then go to a store but as someone said, they can be over priced.

A cathedral length veil will work better for photos I think I would personally be able to ignore the history more easily with a longer veil, because it feels more like an accessory for your dress than one for your head. (Hopefully that made sense.)

You can put it on under your updo or you can put it on top. People generally only wear them for the ceremony and photos anyway, so everyone would still see your hair during the reception. I would recommend getting one that's attached with pins instead of a comb so it'll be easier to take it off without messing up your hair.

I neither wore a veil nor missed it in my pictures. I wore live flowers and a hair vine. If you decide to try a veil on, ABSOLUTELY bring your dress. It's not rude at all, you're going in with the intention of purchasing something, and you have to make sure it goes together

Thank you everyone for the input!! To clear up one point, the dress is being stored at the bridal salon, which also sells veils, including the matching cathedral veil for my dress. I don't want to buy one there because they all run around $300, which is more than I'm willing to spend.

I don't have pictures of me in my dress but here it is on the model - Casablanca BL219:

This is a neat discussion where the OP was not interested in a veil and her fiancé knew that. Then she decided to look into wearing one and surprising him. Wedding Wire ended up sharing a list of 21 ways to wear a veil. It came about a half year too late for this bride but this is a reminder to explore this website a little more for its articles.

21 Ideas & Tips for Wedding Hairstyles with Veils (weddingwire.com)

Share what you decided to do.