The Veil

Ah, the veil. Such a simple, seemingly insignificant, little piece. But without it, we wouldn't have had the incredible moments of spontaneous laughter during the ceremony, and I wouldn't have ended up with the photo above--my absolute favorite.

As you can see, the wind and my veil weren't exactly cooperating during the ceremony! It had to be reigned in on multiple occasions, throwing off my uncle (the officiant) in the most hilarious way.

For brides out there trying to get a handle on the budget, know that the veil is a great place to save. I considered skipping it completely, but there's a reason those sales girls insist on putting them on you in the bridal salons--it completes the look. You go from "yeah, this is a pretty dress" to "OMG, I'm getting married" with the addition of one little piece of fabric.

If, like me, you can't skip it, there are options other than forking over a couple hundred extra dollars at the salon. Borrowing is, of course, a favorite. Making your own is also quite popular, and you can find instructions on blogs everywhere. But I was making so much myself that I really needed to limit my projects. And it's so inexpensive to by a handmade veil on Etsy, I figured this was one area where it made sense to spend and support a handmade business woman.

Here's my advice--don't object when the sales girls want you to try on various veils. Let them help you find your favorite style. Make note of what they call it for future reference. Don't give in! Then when you get home, try to find that same style being sold on Etsy. Can't find it? Convo the seller and see if they can custom make one for you. Chances are they can--and it will still cost significantly less.

I found my veil on Etsy at BellaBridalVeils. Mine is a one tier, ivory, fingertip length veil, with a pencil edge, in a cascading waterfall style. The same style can be found here. It's very simple, and exactly what I was looking for. In the salon, it would have cost me over $200; on Etsy, it cost me less than $30, including delivery!

BellaBridalVeils has an extensive selection and welcomes custom orders, so I highly recommend checking out their shop before splurging elsewhere!