Veil Styles

Wedding veils can be styled to cover your face, be pinned under a bunch of curls, or flow along with your hair. Veils come in many lengths, designs, and fabrics. Finding the perfect style to match your wedding dress and hairstyle is not always easy, so allow plenty of time to look. Veils run the gamut from simple and sheer to intricately decorated with beading, lace, or ribbon. Visit these links for details on veil lengths; colors; shapes; materials; and edging or embellishments.

Birdcage veil

This veil is very short (just long enough to frame the face) and worn alone, without additional tiers or a separate blusher. The birdcage is made of coarse French or Russian-style netting rather than typical fine-mesh veil fabrics. Historically, the veil was attached to a hat. The modern bride, however, often prefers to wear her birdcage veil without a hat. Today, most brides attach this short, circular veil directly to their hair with a pin or comb, so that it hangs down around the head. The front part serves as a blusher over her face. As with the mantilla veil, there are no folds or gathers at the crown, and it can be folded back to create a two-tier veil. To make your own, see our How to Make a Birdcage Veil page.

Blusher

The blusher is the short part of the veil that covers the bride's face during the ceremony. Many brides wear a blusher over the face in deference to their cultural heritage. During the ceremony, the blusher is lifted back over the head to reveal the bride. 

The blusher is an elegant veil, softening the bride's features. The shorter, top layer of a circular tier veil may be used as a blusher, or you may have a separate blusher attach to your veil. The length generally ranges from very short to shoulder-length or longer. Standard length is about 18-25 inches, but as you can see in the left photo, longer blushers are also attractive.

Tier veil

A tiered veil is one with more than a single layer. While four-tier veils exist, double- and triple- tier veils are most common. The top layer of a tier veil often serves as a blusher. The more layers your veil has, the fluffier looking it will be. So, for a very rich and full veil, wear three or more layers of the same length.

Mantilla veils

In general, there are three types of mantillas, all with lace as their central feature.

• Handmade Blonda lace mantillas, where the designs are crafted from two types of silk: A thin thread for detailing and a thicker one to add depth, more details or color. These are often floral-themed veils. See an example from the Mares Lace Museum through the link above.
• Chantilly lace mantillas, heavily embroidered with vegetable, fruit, or floral designs. They are named for the town in France where the lace originated.
• Lace-embroidered tulle mantillas, with designs reflective of the Chantilly and Blonda lace. Brides, today, most often wear this type.

Some modern mantilla veils have a wide lace edge, while others are full lace with a scalloped or other edging. In either case, wear the mantilla so the lace edges softly frame your face and upper body.

Vintage veils

Vintage or antique veils can be the perfect "something old" or "something borrowed" to uniquely complete your wedding ensemble.

Special thank you to writing coach, editor, and ghostwriter Bobbi Linkemer, who contributed the original material throughout MyOnlineWeddingHelp.com.

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