A Quick Guide to Wearing your Veil
One thing you may not really consider on your wedding day is when to wear your veil. When you’re juggling thousands of details, it’s hard to know exactly when to factor this one detail into your day. Many people have a good idea of what to do for your veil, but here we can go over some of the important things you should know about putting on your veil and when you should wear it on your wedding day.
How to Put on your Veil
If you have a hair stylist with you, I would recommend passing this off to them since they will likely have the most experience. If you aren’t able to do that because your hair stylist isn’t going to be around after you get dressed, you’ll have to learn how to do it yourself. Make sure the comb is fitting or matching the curve of the person’s head first. It may feel like you’re putting it on upside down, but you can flip the actual veil to be “the right way”. Once you have it in position, you should first push the comb into their hair about half an inch “up”, toward the top of the person’s head. Then, push in the comb downward towards the nape of their neck the rest of the way in. After that, you’re all set! It’s important to start by pushing upwards for more security and so it doesn’t fall off.
When to Put on your Veil
When to put on and take off your veil is entirely up to you, but most people put it on after they get dressed and before they go to the ceremony. Many couples like to have the veil on for the photos you’re likely going to take with your wedding party, but you could even put it in before you get dressed if you wanted to wear it for some “getting ready photos”. Also, if you’re planning on doing a first look, generally people have everything ready by that time including jewelry and your veil. However, you can actually wait to put your veil on until right before your ceremony as well. This would make for a “change” or addition to your look that really can surprise your future spouse down the aisle.
When to Take off Veil
Many people will leave their veil on immediately following the ceremony for photos, but typically will take it off after photos and during cocktail hour. This is also typically done while getting dresses bustled since you’re already going to be standing around for an extended period of time. If couples forget and I notice, I will usually ask if they’d like it removed before any grand entrances into the reception. You can also keep your veil in for some sunset photos as well. Many couples really like the veil shots that you see with the couple underneath it or it being thrown in the air so it looks like it’s floating, so it’s definitely something to consider for when you’re taking photos too! Sometimes, couples will forget about the veil completely and leave it on during dinner and the first dances, and typically will remember to remove it once open dancing starts. I actually was guilty of this and I left it on myself!! This is also up to you on if you’d like to follow any of the rules!
Wearing a veil should definitely be a fun thing, so don’t stress too much about all of this. I’ve had couples bring it to the getting ready suite and forget to take it to the ceremony, or remember in the minutes leading up to the ceremony, so don’t fret too much about its whereabouts if you do forget it or keep it on “too long”! It’s not a big deal and no one is going to talk about how they can’t believe you didn’t have a veil or they thought you wore it too long. It is what you make it and hopefully you can enjoy yourself no matter what!
If you’d like someone with you to help you put your veil on, remind you when it’s a good time for it, or help you remember to take it off, that is the perfect small task a wedding planner like myself can do for you so that you don’t have to think about it at all! I would love to help you out with all of your small details which you can tell me about here.
