Should I wear a veil?

Should you wear a veil on your wedding day? Or, skip it? This is such a personal decision, but I am here to provide the pros and cons! Having shot 100s of weddings, I definitely have seen both the good and the negative when it comes to wearing a wedding veil!

The History of the Veil

Historically speaking, the wedding veil can be traced back to ancient Rome. The bride would use it to disguise herself from evil spirits who would possibly try to prevent her happiness with her future partner.

Over time, the wedding veil came to symbolize different things in different cultures and faiths. Overall though, it is associated with purity and innocence.

Although these days, that meaning has really faded and the wedding veil has come to be more of stylistic choice.

Stylistically speaking, I LOVE a wedding veil. I think they look so sophisticated and romantic.

Here are the PROS of wearing a wedding veil:

1. Wedding Veils photograph beautifully. They make for super romantic, glamorous shots with an ethereal look.
2. Wedding veils often complete the wedding day look.

Here are the CONS of wearing a wedding veil.

1. A wedding veil is just one more thing to worry about and wedding veils tend to be fussy.

I have seen it happen time again and again. The bride will just have finished getting her hair and makeup done and now it's time to put on the veil. It looks amazing! Then around one hour later, she is walking down the stairs and accidentally steps on it, and it tugs at her hair. Or, later when taking photos, the groom accidentally steps on it, and it comes off entirely.

The honest truth is that a wedding veil, especially a super long one, is difficult to manage and control.

PRO TIP: If you are going to wear a veil, especially a super long one, have TWO people pay close attention to when the hair stylist places the veil in your hair. This way should the veil get pulled out, one of those two people can quickly put it back in place confidently!

Also, ask the hair stylist to place extra bobby pins on the veil to ensure it is super secure!

2. Think about the type of photography you are most drawn to.

While the wedding veil looks amazing for some photos, it doesn't quite work for others.

If you are drawn to really romantic, delicate looking photos, absolutely wear a veil.

However, if you are drawn to photos with a adventurous, spontaneous, bohemian spirit, ditch the veil.

The reason is that these types of photos require A LOT of movement. The photographer will often have the groom lift up the bride, there will be a ton of walking, etc.

With this type of photography style, the wedding veil usually becomes a hindrance as it prevents a lot of natural movement.

Of course, the wedding veil can always be removed for some photos, but if you are a huge fan of the spontaneous, hippie look, I would just ditch the wedding veil entirely,

3. If you live somewhere where it tends to be super windy, ditch the wedding veil.

With a lot of wind, the wedding veil becomes super difficult to control and will often fly in front of the bride's face becoming a nuisance and possibly affecting her makeup.

4. If your dress has a lot going on or a lot of details in the back.

A wedding veil in this case might be overkill and may also cover up intricacies or beading details that you really want to highlight on your wedding day.

Hope these observations help you when deciding whether or not wearing a veil is for you!

Until next time,

Elyana