types of veils

[janinegirly]

what kinds of veils are you wearing? any reason to choose a blusher vs. not? i know it''s all personal preference--but i''d love to hear everyone''s reasoning..

i always thought i''d want a blusher (seemed like the thing to do), but it looks so poofy on and no one can see my face for awhile!)

 

[basil]

It depends on your dress, I guess!

My dress will (probably, not ordered yet) be a lace sheath/mermaid with a really pretty sheer lace keyhold back and a sweep train. I was thinking of a plain cut-edge chapel length veil, but without much gathering at the top so that it would be more see through to let the dress show up more. But then, while I was trying on dresses, I tried one with a blusher, and my mom started crying thinking of my dad lifting it up over my head. So I will probably do that for her!

My mom is going to make my veil, but I liked this site for a really good comparison of all the different options! http://www.occanseydesigns.com/page2.html

 

[anchor31]

At first I didn't want a blusher, I thought it would annoy me to have something over my face. But I've tried some on and I love it, I think it looks very romantic. I'm very much in love with drop veils, very simple and not pouffy. I'll be making my own, probably elbow length with blusher (29"/24"), pencil edge. I'll be using the sheerest tulle so people can actually see my face!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I''m very taken with the mantilla style veil. I''m not sure about the others, I''ll have to wait to try them on.

 

[robbie3982]

I have a 3-layer chapel length (the top two layers are more like fingertip and shoulder bladish length) veil with embroidery and pearls just around the edges. I could use the top layer as a blusher, but I really don''t like the way the embroidery hits my dress when I wear it like that.

I always thought I''d wear a blusher, but besides not liking how the embroidery hits my dress, I can also totally see my dad messing up my hair or pushing the blusher back and not arranging it so it looks good and me having tons of ceremony pictures where I look weird so I''m just avoiding it.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I wore an elbow length waterfall veil. I think there was three layers so I used the top as a blusher. It was something I really wanted. I think you can still see my face well through the top layer though. The back of my dress was my favorite part so I didn''t want to cover it up. I took the veil off right after the ceremony.

 

[Pandora II]

I have an antique lace veil that I plan to attach underneath a chignon - no blusher. I really wanted an oldfashioned wax orangeblossom headdress but can't find one I like so I'm going to use a company who supply modern copies of the individual wax flowers and you make your own - here's a pic I saved from another forum that kind of shows the effect I'm after for the flowers only with a more structure hairstyle.

I haven't looked for my dress yet - I have to find what I like and then my friend's company will make it for me - but I really love the lace dresses that Pronovias and San Patrick do. I really want short sleeves, sheath shape and a chapel length train - ivory silk with a chantilly style lace overlay. I thought maybe too much lace but lots of 1920's wedding photos show lace dress and lace train and it seems to work as long as the lace is not too heavy. I'll take the veil when I go to try things on to see if i looks nice.

 

[Kit]

Personally, I am opposed to the blusher because of the symbolism and meaning behind it. I originally was staunchly opposed to the entire veil concept, but now I am open to wearing a single tier veil, very non-pouf, just as a sort of head piece, if you will. I will wait until I buy my dress and then just go with my gut.

 

[labbielove]

I am wearing a fingertip length, single tier (no blusher) diamond white veil with pencil edging and very very lightly scattered crystals for a touch of sparkle (you can hardly see them).

I wanted single tier because the back of my dress is a beautiful corset back and I wanted the sheerest veil possible so that it showed through.

Even if I had a blusher I would''ve left it up and not over my face, but that''s just me.

As for the length, I love cathedral veils but I''m getting married in a small country chapel and it just didn''t fit.

I will be removing the veil after the ceremony and a few pics,

fyi, i got my veil at occaseny designs (online) and it was a great experience, you can design your own step by step. mine cost $40 with shipping

 

[Jaders731]

I had a fingertip length ivory veil with organza ribbon illusion edge.. with blusher...

I chose to wear the blusher.. just down the aisle... LOL.. I look back now.. and LAUGH hysterically... as the wind was blowing sooo hard.. that the veil stuck to my lips.. hehe.. and attacked me and my hubby during the ceremony.. that half way through.. we took it off!!! what a funny moment that was...

And when our photog releases our photos.. I''ll post the one where we are taking formal pics.. and my veil flew off.. and the photog captured it!!! sooo cool...

I wish it hadnt been so windy.. but some of the pictures are really cool.. I dont regret wearing it at all.. it was sooo beautiful.. not poofy at all!

 

[jcrow]

i wore a single tier cathedral length veil. no bibbon edge, no rinestones... and i loved it.
i wasn''t sure if i wanted to wear a blusher or not. in the end, i decided against it. but, when it came time for that aisle walk, and i was a teary mess, boy did i wish i had something to cover my face! ha. but after seeing the pics, i''m glad i chose what i did. you could see my face. you could see the emotion.

 

[Blenheim]

This is really sad, but I can''t even remember what type of veil I have (and I''m getting married in 2.5 weeks!). I know that it''s fingertip length though. I don''t like the symbolism behind a blusher, but I like the way they look. I might have ordered one? It''s down in VA, so I can''t check.

 

[basil]

What symbolism do you all disagree with in regards to the blusher? I feel like I''m missing something.

I guess I thought the blusher was kind of part of the whole "giving away" thing, and since I''m obviously not my father''s property to give away, it''s a little weird. But since my mom (who is about as women''s lib-y as they come) wants me to do it, I think I probably will. I''m actually more concerned about the two layers of tulle obscuring the back view of my dress than I am about the symbolism.

Unless I''m missing something, and wearing a blusher symbolizes an ugly bride or something

 

[janinegirly]

i agree. the symbolism (which i think is virginity) is just that, symbolism. in fact every aspect of the wedding is symbolic and has some meaning that stems from thousands of years ago, and a lot of it is kind of weird!
but we all love the tradition of it all..the fact that the guys proposes, we accept, we get showered, wear white...all of it is fun, even though the symbolism doesn''t apply to many of us these days (especially for those of us who''ve been living with FI for years, are in our 30''s etc).

But it''s all about what you feel comfy with and makes you feel warm inside. butm i''m also curious to hear what others find concerning about blusher''s symbolism..it''s kind of fascinating!

 

[labbielove]

Here''s what I understand the symbolism to be- not sure if it''s right but I agree, fascinating to see what others know/find

I thought it went back to the days of the arranged marriage,when the bride had no say, and the groom got a dowry,etc. etc.
I heard the blusher was to cover the brides face as her father (aka "owner" back in those days) walked her down the aisle towards the groom- so that he couldn''t back out of it (i.e. i guess it''s technically the ugly bride theory)

 

[jcrow]

don''t know if this is true either, but i found this here.

"There are many stories of the origin of a bride''s veil. Some say that the veil was introduced in ancient Rome. People of that era believed that evil spirits would be attracted to the bride, so they covered her face with a veil in order to conceal her features and confuse them. The definition of veil is to "obscure, shroud, mask or cover, so perhaps that is how the bridal "veil" got its name.

It''s also said the in medieval times, the veil was used to protect her from "the evil eye" and was a symbol of purity, chastity, and modesty.

Others say the the origin of the bridal veil was due to the circumstances of an arranged marriage. In days past, men bargained with an eligible young lady''s father for their hand in marriage. AFTER the ceremony, the veil was lifted to reveal the brides features. This was to keep a groom from backing out of the deal if he didn''t like what he saw.

Some say that the veil was used in days past as a symbol of a bride''s submission and willingness to obey her husband.

Certain lengths of bridal veils got their names from how or where they were worn. At one time, Cathedral Veils were only worn in wedding that took place in cathedrals."

 

[Blenheim]

There are multiple, varying connotations associated with blushers. Labbie mentioned one. Also, it protects women from being seen by people who aren''t in their family/saves them for their husbands eyes. During the Victorian era (from what I understand), it was seen to symbolize the hymen (which is broken/lifted by the husband during the ceremony, yuck!).

I think some of them might be myths.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Don''t pay attention to this historial meaning of certain things. Do what you like best and what you feel comfortable with.

 

[Kit]

Well, for me, the entire wedding ceremony is riddled with patriarchal and offensive symbolism that I personally can''t not "pay attention to." I sort of live my life in all aspects as a critical thinker, so for me the challenge is to have a wedding ceremony that contains the least amount of these elements that are personally offensive to me. I am sure that at one time the veil was not considered to be a bad thing, but to me it''s a very Victorian concept and I just don''t like the idea of being covered up and presented to my future husband. I''m not even being "given away" by anyone because I object to this tradition; I''m not having ushers because I really dont'' get why women can''t walk down and seat themselves without being on the arm of a man; I can''t bear to and refuse to address any correspondence to "Mr. and Mrs. John Smith"...on and on and on. I guess my thought process in all of this is, why is the woman supposed to do something the man isn''t? And so with the veil thing and particularly the blusher thing, it really crosses that line for me.

But if it''s not setting off that alarm bell thing inside of you, why worry about it?

 

[basil]

Date: 4/26/2007 3:33:20 PM
Author: Kit
Well, for me, the entire wedding ceremony is riddled with patriarchal and offensive symbolism that I personally can''t not ''pay attention to.'' I sort of live my life in all aspects as a critical thinker, so for me the challenge is to have a wedding ceremony that contains the least amount of these elements that are personally offensive to me. I am sure that at one time the veil was not considered to be a bad thing, but to me it''s a very Victorian concept and I just don''t like the idea of being covered up and presented to my future husband. I''m not even being ''given away'' by anyone because I object to this tradition; I''m not having ushers because I really dont'' get why women can''t walk down and seat themselves without being on the arm of a man; I can''t bear to and refuse to address any correspondence to ''Mr. and Mrs. John Smith''...on and on and on. I guess my thought process in all of this is, why is the woman supposed to do something the man isn''t? And so with the veil thing and particularly the blusher thing, it really crosses that line for me.


But if it''s not setting off that alarm bell thing inside of you, why worry about it?

To each his own. My mom objects to high heels and pointy toes cause she thinks they''re sexist and are a call-back to foot binding, but wants me to wear a blusher. Go figure! Me, like I said, I''m not too into the whole symbolism thing, so I pretty much wear what I like if I think it looks good. Including my attractive fiance on my arm if I want

 

[sarahthewarrior]

Ah, classics major to the rescue! I can tell you all about the history of veils. What''s really great is that I just wrote a whole paper on the wedding procession in Greek vase paintings. I hope it''s ok to quote this here--it''s from The Wedding in Ancient Athens by John H. Oakley and Rebecca H. Sinos (University of Wisconsin Press, 1993). It''s on page 30:

"The veil signifies a woman’s sexual maturity and protected status; once a woman reached marriageable age, she covered her head whenever she went out in public. Thus the bride’s unveiling to her husband was a significant point in her transformation from maiden to wife, who would uncover herself to this man alone. From this ceremonial occasion, the gesture became a symbol that could be used in black-figure paintings even outside the context of a wedding to indicate a woman’s sexual maturity or marital status."

For the record, most Greek wedding vases identify the bride by showing her pulling the veil away from her face. This "ugly bride" business sounds silly to me. It''s really all about virginity (looks don''t matter as much as status and purity--you can''t have a wife who sleeps around since then you won''t know if your kids are legitimate and actually citizens), so I''m only against using them under false pretenses. Of course, that''s the idea behind wearing white, too, and clearly that isn''t really the case anymore. Lots of brides who were previously married and even have children still wear white. Not to insult anyone--I''m just old-fashioned.

As for me personally, even though I actually like the symbolism of the veil covering the face, I think I''ll just wear one that doesn''t cover my face--the whole hair/make-up issue. In one of the weddings I attended last summer, the bride had her hair pulled back into a tight bun with just a very small veil (the size of a handkerchief) hanging from it. I actually loved the look--sorry I don''t have a pic.

Hope this helps!

 

[Kit]

Oh, those crazy ancient Greeks! Thanks for the 411, Sarah. This is exactly why I am anti-blusher. But, for those of you who are into it, blush away!!

 

[Chptr3]

there are so many ways to think about the blusher. This is my 2nd.... and (absolutely) my very last wedding.Took 7 yrs to find the right guy. Now.... this brings me to the blusher veil.... my fiance really wants me to wear one (he is a true romantic). He wants the whole drama of lifting etc etc.... now....here is the tricky part.... I wanted to wear a finger tip, single layer veil under my low styled hair, or just above it, not exaclyt on the top of my head but towards the back a slight bit...... where would one even consider attatching the blusher??? and to take it off right after the ceramony? I want to leave the longer one on.... So many silly things we have to think about.... they get a new hair cit for like maybe $25. bucks, (Im in NY)a small bit on a tux and call it a day. The meaning of the blusher in the end will be completely up to you... ugly bride, I am sure you will not be... being sold from your father.... doubt it....so do what feels right. I just think they can look odd, I dont know. I put a few on yesterday when I tried on my dress for the first time... the longer one felt fine, the blusher was awquard. FEEDBACK.. please