To Veil or Not To Veil: Every Brides Big Question. Should you or should you not wear a veil on your wedding day?

Every bride asks this question at some point during the wedding planning process. It usually happens around the time of selecting your wedding dress when your use the power of the veil in your wedding dress selection process. But it can often be something that needs a little more thought and time to consider. Should you or shouldn’t you wear a veil on your wedding day?

If you haven’t been dreaming of yourself as a bride since you were old enough to walk than this question may be harder to answer for you than most. Not every bride chooses to wear a veil on their wedding day. And that’s OKAY! I am going to share with you the power of the veil and how it can affect your wedding photos. But please note that every brides taste is completely different. At the end of the day, you need to decide what kind of look best resembles who you are as a bride and embrace it!

Why I Love Veils

As a wedding photographer, I absolutely LOVE the look a veil adds to any bridal portrait! When I show up in the bridal suite and see a stunning cathedral length veil hanging beside the wedding dress, I actually experience butterflies! I get so excited and filled with creativity that I can barely contain it!

In order for you to understand where this obsession comes from I am going to share with you the benefits a veil brings in terms of your wedding photos. A lot of my style is defined by the veil. Even though I am more than capable of capturing a wedding without a veil, it always amazes me how much more in love I am with wedding galleries that had the power of the veil.

Benefits of The Veil

1.It softens an image

I pride myself in being a light and airy photographer who creates romantic, candid and timeless images, One of the ways I create that style if by using what I call “softeners” in my images. These softeners often spring up out of creativity while I’m shooting. When a bride is wearing a veil, it automatically creates this soft feel in each image just because of the light and flowing fabric it consists of. I also love being able to use the power of the veil as a backdrop for bridal details. Not only does this create consistency in your image gallery, but it also create this beautiful soft, light and airy feel to all your portraits.

2. The Veil adds foreground

If you have spent any amount of time looking through my portfolio than you know I love to create foreground in many of my images. This makes me feel creative, if makes my images have a lighter, soft feel to them, and it really is a big part of my photography style. Having the power of the veil to bring into the foreground of your images helps to keep that consistency in your galleries and adds that beautiful foreground you will find in many of my portfolio images.

3. Veils add creative composition

The key to any great image is good composition! This is they way an image is laid out. Having a veil swooping across an image tells our eyes where we should look. It allows our brains to process an image with the full beauty that it is. Any great photographer uses creative composition in their images. The is why some images you look at are more appealing than others. It is more often than not a great use of composition. By having the power of the veil to guide your eyes through an image, it creates that creative composition so effortlessly and leaves you with a stunning, well composed gallery of images.

4. Detail Shots are more cohesive

If your getting ready space is at all separate from your venue, then the overall feel of your getting ready photos may be less than cohesive compared to the rest of your gallery. The power the veil has over your getting ready space is endless! Being able to capture details, add foreground, and tie together the getting ready space with the rest of your gallery is such a great tool.

5. They are TIMELESS!

As someone who loves to create timeless images that never go out of style, having a veil just makes things so simple as they themselves are timeless! Trends will come and go but your wedding photos are forever! They should ring timeless no matter what decade you are looking at them in. Veils will always be timeless. Although some brides opt not to wear them, they are still one of the most iconic features of any bridal look throughout the decades.

The power of the veil is truly evident when it comes to wedding photography. Which is why I get so excited when I see a beautiful veil hanging beside the wedding dress. It makes my job so easy to create those timeless wedding portraits in the exact style my brides fell in love with when they booked me as their wedding photographer.

With all that being said there are some rules when it comes to veil selection.

The Power of The Veil Selection

When it comes to deciding what type of veil to select there are some key things you will need to be aware of in order to create those powerful veil portraits I rave about.

Not all veils have the power to FLY

It’s true! Some veils do not fly or even photograph well period! It’s actually very disappointing for a bride to realize on her wedding day that it’s impossible to capture the power of the “flying veil” shot she always dreamed of because she selected a veil that has too much detail and is too heavy to fly! So, if a flying veil shot is very important to you, here are some tips for selecting a veil that can easily go airborne and is extra photogenic!

1. AVOID HEAVY BEADING

and any detail that weighs down your veil.

2. ONE LAYER IS BEST!

Multiple layers of tulle can be hard to toss.

3. OFF-WHITE IS BEST.

Some veils can actually photograph “blue” if they are a pure white and that is very hard to hide in editing! This is also true for stark white dresses as well. Off-white, light ivories and creams are actually better for pictures!

4. FINE TULLE FLIES MORE FREELY

Stiff tulle is a little more rigid.

5. CATHEDRAL LENTH IS BEST

If your veil is too short, it will be impossible to create those beautiful shots with the veil swooping into the foreground.

The the Power of the Veil fades

Now that you know how to shop for a powerful veil, we need to chat about when to wear your veil on your wedding day. I can’t tell you how many times I have had brides ask me when is the right time to put their veil on and when they can take it off.

When should you put the veil on?

This step is done as part of the getting in the dress portrait time. I always have mom or the maid of honor help the bride do up the back of her dress. It creates some beautiful portraits and usually has some emotional candid moments as well. Once the dress is on I love to photograph someone placing the veil. It is the final piece of the getting ready process and the last item added on. If you are doing a First Look with your groom, it may be fun to save the veil for when you walk down the aisle. It will add another surprise for him he wont see coming.

When should you take the veil off?

If you have never worn a veil before, let me just tell you that it is not the most comfortable accessory. Having a veil on for any amount of time can be a little uncomfortable so I always recommend that my brides remove the veil before entering their reception. By this time, majority of the portraits are over and it will only get in the way or wrecked during the reception.

I don’t want to wear a veil, but I want veil photos!

This is SO common! Brides love the look of the veil in photos but don’t actually want to wear the veil for their ceremony or at all on their wedding day. My suggestion is simple! Go on Amazon, spend less than $30 on a flying veil. And wear it only for some of your portraits! This means you will have options! You can have options with your bridal details and with your portraits. It is better to have options you don’t use then to wish you had something. Here is one of my favourite Amazon Veils that has been tried and true for many of my brides who just wanted something affordable to add onto their wedding day portraits.

Is the power of the veil for you?

I hope you found this helpful in your decision making process! Veils are such a beautiful touch and great to have in some(if not all) your wedding portraits. But I understand they are not for everyone! So I would love to know, will you embrace the Power of the Veil on your wedding day?