The wedding veil should, or shouldn’t you wear one? a question I see being asked by more and more brides so let’s delve a little into the history of the veil, as I feel most brides these days don’t even know where the tradition even started.

First thing I found out is that it’s the oldest part of the bridal ensemble, dating back to “ancient roman” times when people wrapped brides from head to toe to represent the delivery of a “modest and untouched maiden” the added benefit being that it also hid her from any “evil” spirits who might want to thwart her happiness, (wow people sure where gullible back in the “ancient” days) ,then there was this ,a more practical reason, is said to stem from the days of arranged marriages ,they used the veil to hide the brides face from the groom as they believed it was bad luck to see the bride before the ceremony( so many thoughts running through my head on that one…oh the practical jokers out there) and the final and I must say my favourite one , Queen Victoria was married in a white dress and a veil cascading down her back , making her the first “modern monarch” to be married in a veil and at that moment , the image of a bride was defined for centuries to come.

So In these more modern times its becoming less and less of “a must” due to meaning or tradition and more of a fashion accessory that compliments the dress , not to mention it makes for a fun piece of material for the photographer to play and get creative with (well that might just be me), but not to stress if you are a bride that doesn’t want a veil but desires the “romantic veil shots” then you can still have the best of both as ( I would think it’s safe to say well I certainly have one) most photographers have a piece of veil material in their kit that can be used to get the shots without you having to have one as part of your ensemble

In the end of the day the decision is still completely up to you as the bride with all the fun and inventive styles available it really can be the ultimate complimentary “end piece” to your dream dress or maybe you want to use it as the “something borrowed” from your great grandma with the added sentiment that she also wore it on her wedding day eons back but hey whatever your reason ,to have or not to have a veil is, as long as it’s YOUR decision as its YOUR big day and you get to live it however you want. 😉