Wedding Details Wednesday – A little About Veils

Well today I thought we would chat a little bit about veils…. :) I love em! Some people actually call the veil “the photographers veil” its a great tool to play with :) If it wasn’t so close to being Thursday I would have found some more adventurous veil shots…but these ones feature some beautiful veils pretty well!

First of all I will say that I was not planning on wearing a veil at my wedding, but once I had one on…the dress felt complete…so then I had to have it!

I only wore it until the reception and then I took it out, and as always, you’re the bride, so its your choice if, and for how long you wear a veil. However…here is some basic veil info.

Veils were originally worn because of the belief that the sweeping fabric would ward off evil spirits, now they are worn just because they are beautiful! (and its really the only day you can get away with wearing one!)

There are many styles and lengths of veils. There are birdcage or petal veils that just cover the face, and a royal or cathedeal veil start at about three meters in length! Usually the length of the veil coincides with the formality of the dress.

Veils can be made out of tulle, chiffon or lace and be decorated with crystals, pearls, or other appliques.

Depending on the style of gown and veil you may opt to have the veil pinned at the back or your head or on the crown. The crown works better if your veil has a layer to pull over your face.

I recommend if you have a really ornate dress to keep the veil simple and always recommend that you try the veil on WITH your dress before you make the final decision if at all possible. The experts like your wedding dress salesperson should be able to help you make selections that will work with, and compliment your dress!

I took the below stories on veils from Wikipedia.

I like the part where it talks about the veil showing that the groom is marrying his bride for her inner beauty :) awwwwwwwwwww

Wedding veils

An occasion on which a Western woman is likely to wear a veil is on her wedding day, if she follows the traditions of a white wedding. Brides used to wear their hair flowing down their back at their wedding to symbolise their virginity, now the white diaphanous veil is often said to represent this.

It is not altogether clear that the wedding veil is a non-religious use of this item, since weddings have almost always had religious underpinnings, especially in the West: in the Christian tradition this is expressed in the Gospel passage, “What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder” (Mt. 19:6). Veils, however, had been used in the West for weddings long before this. Roman brides, for instance, wore an intensely flame-colored and fulsome veil, called the flammeum, apparently intended to protect the bride from evil spirits on her wedding day.

The lifting of the veil was often a part of ancient wedding ritual, symbolising the groom taking possession of the wife, either as lover or as property, or the revelation of the bride by her parents to the groom for his approval.

In Judaism, the tradition of wearing a veil dates back to biblical times. When Rebekah went to meet her betrothed, Isaac, she veiled herself as he approached. The veiling was both a symbol of modesty, and a definition of her personal space. Rebekah is known as the most self-assured of the matriarchs, and by veiling herself she indicated that she would still be her own person even when she would be living her life with Isaac. ^[8]. It is important to note that Rebekah did not veil herself when traveling with men to meet Isaac, but only did so when he was approaching. Just before the wedding ceremony the badeken or bedeken is held. The groom places the veil over the bride’s face, and either he or the officiating Rabbi gives her a blessing. The veil stays on her face until just before the end of the wedding ceremony – when they are legally married according to Jewish law – then the groom helps lift the veil from off her face.

The most often cited interpretation for the badeken is that when Jacob went to marry Rachel, his father in law Laban tricked him into marrying Leah, Rachel’s older and homlier sister. Many say that the veiling ceremony takes place to make sure that the groom is marrying the right bride! Some say that as the groom places the veil over his bride, he makes an implicit promise to clothe and protect her. Finally, by covering her face, the groom recognizes that he his marrying the bride for her inner beauty; while looks will fade with time, his love will be everlasting. in some ultra-orthodox traditions the bride wears an opaque veil as she is escorted down the aisle to meet her groom. This shows her complete willingness to enter into the marriage and her absolute trust that she is marrying the right man. In Judaism, a wedding is not considered valid unless the bride willingly consents to it.

In ancient Judaism the lifting of the veil took place just prior to the consummation of the marriage in sexual union. The uncovering or unveiling that takes place in the marriage ceremony is a symbol of what will take place in the marriage bed. Just as the two become one through their words spoken in wedding vows, so these words are a sign of the physical oneness that they will consummate later on. The lifting of the veil is a symbol and an anticipation of this.

In the Western world, St. Paul’s words concerning how marriage symbolizes the union of Christ and His Church may underlie part of the tradition of veiling in the marriage ceremony ^[9].