I didn’t even consider my ‘unveiling’ till I sat down for dinner on the big day and accidently dipped the edges of my veil into balsamic vinaigrette.
No one warned me about this conundrum…just when is the best time to take off your veil?
Of course, the answer to this question lies in the type of veil {if any} you opt for. A blusher or birdcage veil will most certainly need to be whipped off or swept back before dinner if you intend on eating any of it! But mid length ~ long {fingertip, chapel and cathedral} veils can be worn all day and night if you want.
I had a full on pouffy, cathedral length, two tier veil with lace trim and how I loved it so. BUT I must admit it was rather annoying to wear, I kept standing/sitting on it and so did our guests! In fact, one of my oldest and sweetest friends stepped on it as I was making my graceful exit as the new, classy Mrs Elizabeth Muhmood ~ which wasn’t such a graceful exit after my head jerked back and I stumbled backwards!
During our reception, in the grounds of Grove House, my veil kept billowing in the wind {which was actually rather romantic and lovely} but it also required an army of bridesmaids to lay it right for photos.
Photo by Hannah of Funky Photographers
Just before dinner I asked my maid of honour, Kelly, to accompany me to the little bride’s room so we could take off my veil and make sure my hair still looked picture perfect. But when I got in front of the mirror, and looked at ‘the bride' staring back at me, I wasn’t so sure I wanted to part with my stunning {and excruciatingly expensive} veil. What did she think?
Kelly replied: “You’ll never get to wear a veil again in your life. EVER. So you should make the most of it!”
She did make a very good point. A veil is by no means an everyday accessory so I decided to keep my veil firmly on my head. But, as I mentioned earlier, it was very awkward during dinner {especially as there was a lot of standing up then sitting back down involved in the speeches!}
Photo by Hannah of Funky Photographers
I knew for a fact that Zee and I would both be tripping over my veil for our first dance {which I was already horribly nervous about} so I took it off just before we headed onto the dance floor. I’m really glad that there are some shots of me dancing without my veil. The back of my dress was so utterly lovely it deserved to be seen and admired, at least for a little while.
However, when Kelly got married in Thailand earlier this year she kept her own long veil on for her first dance ~ she had to sweep it up in her arms as she danced but it looked so romantic…
Photo of Kelly and Kenny by Zee
I posed this question on the Bridal Musing's Facebook page and the general consensus was that it was best to take it off before dinner or the first dance. It's a surprisingly tough decision but I do recommend thinking about it before your wedding day and having one of your bridesmaids on hand to help you unveil!
