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Welcome to my blog, where I share highlights of everything from my client's wedding days and portrait sessions, to recent features and our adventures around the world. 

Hi, I'm Alicia.

The Veil Guide | Bridal Business

Mar 19, 2020

When it comes to veils, I used to think the options were cathedral length and all others… and that’s coming from someone who didn’t even wear a cathedral length veil! They’ve just gotten so popular over the past few years and if you’ve ever seen them photographed, you can easily see why. It turns out, however, that there are options ranging from style and length to color and edge type! I wanted to dive into these choices a bit deeper to future brides can decide which is the best fit for them!

As a side note, I want to give credit where credit is due! I am clearly not a veil expert and used Britten Weddings as a source for content and images in this post! They are veil experts as they handcraft custom options for brides to be — be sure to check them out!

STYLE
I mistakenly thought that a cathedral veil was a TYPE of veil, but it’s actually a length and will be discussed below! There are, however, many different styles that I do want to touch on:
Single Tier | Flows from the attachment point in your hair, back to the floor.
Two Tier | Like the single tier, but also includes a blusher which can be pulled over your face.
Drop | This is very similar to a two tier veil, as it does drape across your face. However, it doesn’t have an attachment point, it simply lays in place or is held by a head band. I actually LOVE this type and think it’s very underrated!
Mantilla/Spanish | The one tier version of a Drop veil.
Bird Cage | A vintage veil with a small piece of netting over your eyes.
Cape | A veil alternative if you don’t like the idea of having something in your head but love the look!

A bride's guide to the different types of veil options available and how they photograph from a DC wedding photographer's perspective!

Image from Britten Weddings

 

LENGTH
I never realized that the length names suggest where the veils are to be worn! This was, of course, designated many, many years ago and doesn’t really apply today, but it’s still interesting to know that history. Here are some of the most popular lengths:
Cathedral |  Trail well behind your dress.
Floor | Meant to just kiss the floor.
Ballet | Falls to about mid-calf.
Fingertip | You guessed it… to the end of your finger tips!
Elbow | Again, as the name implies, falls at the end of your elbow.

A bride's guide to the different types of veil options available and how they photograph from a DC wedding photographer's perspective!

Image from Britten Weddings

 

EDGE TYPE
Again, I was totally naive to think veils either had a lace edge or “regular” edge! As it would turn out, there is a ton of variety:
Cut | Leaving the veil as is; cut in it’s original state.
Pencil | A small line of stitching around the edge of the veil.
Full Lace | Lace all the way from one edge to the other!
Semi Lace | On longer veils, you can have a traditional cut edge with some lace at the bottom.
Satin | For a polished look, you can run satin along the edge.
Horsehair | Almost like a double edge, usually several inches thick, to provide structure and bit of bounce!

A bride's guide to the different types of veil options available and how they photograph from a DC wedding photographer's perspective!

Image from Britten Weddings

 

COLOR
Color is a bit more straightforward than the previous categories, but it doesn’t just start and end at white as you may think! Ivory and champagne have become popular choices over the past few years to keep up with the many non-white dresses on the market. While the veil doesn’t need to match your dress exactly, you definitely want to try to get close. Britten Weddings mentions, “when in doubt, go one shade lighter than your dress.”

A bride's guide to the different types of veil options available and how they photograph from a DC wedding photographer's perspective!

Image from Britten Weddings

 

Again, be sure to head over to Britten Weddings for even more information and to see their beautiful creations! This is not sponsored in anyway, they just had fantastic content!

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