Are you worried about a long bridal veil covering up the back of your wedding dress? We have the answers and advice for you on what to do if you want to wear a long bridal veil, but you don't want to cover the back of your wedding dress.
One of the most popular bridal accessories is a wedding veil. At Lovella Bridal, we love to help our brides accessorize and style their dream wedding dress. After a bride has found “the one”, adding a wedding veil and other bridal accessories is the fun way to complete your bridal look for wedding day and have a chance to express your unique personality. As expert bridal stylists, we love to help brides select the perfect wedding veil to complement their dream wedding dress.
One of the most common questions we get asked at our LA bridal boutique is about the different styles and lengths of wedding veils. A cathedral length wedding veil is a style that will give a lot of drama to a bridal look but many brides often wonder if a long wedding veil will cover up all the detail on the back of their wedding dress. We’ll share all the tips and advice you need to know about choosing a wedding veil while still showcasing the back of your wedding dress.
VIDEO: Does A Cathedral Veil Block The Back Of Your Wedding Dress?
We hear from brides all the time asking about how to choose a wedding veil and wondering what style wedding veil is best for their particular wedding dress. If you are ready to accessorize your wedding dress or are debating if you should wear a wedding veil or not on wedding day, don't miss our video discussing wedding veils and if cathedral veils block the back of wedding dresses.
Love The Front Of Your Dress
When it comes to choosing your dream wedding dress, a bride certainly wants to love her gown from all angles. While deciding on which wedding veil is right for a certain style wedding dress, we often hear from our brides that they don’t want to cover up the back of their dress with their wedding veil. Whether they have a bow detail on the back or an illusion lace detailing on the back or have a low cut back, whatever the drama is that is happening on the back of the dress, they want to be able to show it off. It may seem like a catch 22 to some brides, they want the drama of a long wedding veil but also want to showcase the back of their wedding dresses.
The back of your bridal dress is certainly going to have a moment when you walk down the aisle. But the back of the dress, whatever detailing is happening there, should not be the prime reason to purchase your wedding dress. A wedding day goes by so fast and at the end of the day, your wedding photos and videos are going to be what lasts. The majority of your wedding photos are going to be taken from the front so you want to be sure you love the look of the front of your wedding dress. You will certainly have some photos from the back, particularly when you walk down the aisle, and maybe some portraits if you do have a particularly interesting detail on the back of your dress, but those from behind are most likely not going to be the photos you hang up in your home. Choose your wedding dress based on the front and a dramatic back detailing is just a really great bonus element.
Cathedral Length Veils
We always encourage our brides to at least try on a wedding veil when they are accessorizing their bridal dresses. This is one of the top regrets we hear from brides after their wedding day - they usually wish they had worn a veil for a more complete bridal look. You may not think you are a veil person, but when you see one on with the complete look, it may change your mind, so try to be open minded when you are wedding dress shopping.
Our go to wedding veil for brides would be a cathedral length veil. It offers the most drama for brides while also being versatile. It might seem counter intuitive, but a cathedral length veil will stand out more than a short veil, especially in your photos. A shorter wedding veil will actually create an interruption in the overall look of the back of your dress and your wedding dress train. On the other hand, you have a dramatic, long veil that just flows all the way down in a seamless look.
There is also a lot that you can do in your photos and video with a long veil. We’ve all seen the great photos of brides with their veils flowing in the breeze. You can have a lot of fun tossing your veil into the air or even have photos of you and your partner taken under your veil. There are so many creative options available that you just can’t do with a short veil.
Detailing of Veils
Once you have decided on the length of your wedding veil, you will also have to consider the detailing and style of the veil. If you are trying to really showcase the back of your dress while still having the drama of a long wedding veil, we would recommend a cathedral veil that is completely plain. There are so many different options now when it comes to wedding veils, including sparkles, lace and even pearls. But if you really want to show off the back of your wedding dress, opt for a plain veil with a raw edge. This means a veil that has no trim on the edges, just a plain piece of cathedral length tulle so you will have the drama of a long veil with no interruptions in the back of your dress or distractions from details on the veil. It will allow your back detailing on your dress to shine through, while giving you more dimension and depth to your bridal look. It won’t take away from the bow on the back of your dress or low back you want to show off, it adds another layer to your bridal style.
Only Wear For Ceremony
As expert bridal stylists, we recommend your wedding veil to only be worn for your wedding ceremony and some of your wedding day portraits. So if you think about it, you will only be wearing your wedding veil for about 30 minutes to an hour or so, maybe a little more for portraits and depending on how long your ceremony lasts. While you won’t be wearing the veil for that long, it really does add a lot of dimension and elevates your bridal look, especially in your photos, so it’s worth it to have a veil.
A piece of advice when it comes to picking your wedding veil, choose your veil based on the photos you take when trying on dresses and veils. Your wedding dress you should choose based on how you feel in the dress, but the same rule doesn’t need to apply to veils. Pick your veil based on how it looks in photos and now how you feel when you’re wearing it because you are only going to be seeing the front view when you try on veils.
Once the veil comes off, everyone will get to see that bow or illusion lace on the back of your dress and then there’s an element of surprise to your wedding day look. You get to easily change up your bridal style just by removing the veil for your wedding reception.
Blusher Veils
One last piece of advice when it comes to wearing a veil on wedding day is if you opt for a blusher veil. A blusher is the style of veil that covers your face as you walk down the aisle and then can be lifted to reveal the bride. This can be a great moment for brides and make for some really nice photos but you need to make sure you make this transition correctly. If you are wearing a blusher veil, we encourage you to flip the veil back when you get to the end of the aisle. Don’t do your entire wedding ceremony with the veil covering your face because then your face won’t be seen in any of your photos.
When you do flip it back, make sure that person or a bridesmaid, whoever will be up at the altar with you, ensures the veil is laying flat. You don’t want to flip the blush back and have parts sticking up in the air as that will ruin your ceremony photos. Make sure the veil lays smooth once it is flipped back. Having your face visible in your ceremony photos is going to be more important than showing off the back of your wedding dress.
More Helpful Wedding Dress Styling Advice
We hope you have found this advice helpful when it comes to deciding if a cathedral length wedding veil might be right for your bridal style. For even more helpful advice when it comes to shopping for your dream wedding dress and finding your bridal style, be sure to check out our past posts:
- How to Choose the Right Wedding Veil
- Why You Should Wait to Try on Veils When Wedding Dress Shopping
- How to Maneuver in a Wedding Dress & Veil
About Lovella
If you're shopping for your perfect wedding dress, come visit us at Lovella Bridal in Glendale, CA. We carry wedding dresses in all sizes and styles, including plus-size bridal gowns and a full selection of veils and accessories. Lovella Bridal is the premier, luxury bridal wedding dress shopping boutique located in Los Angeles, California. Lovella features couture, feminine, modern and chic bridal gowns in all sizes from the best wedding dress designers. Schedule an appointment to find the wedding dress of your dreams at Lovella Bridal. We can't wait to help you!
About Wedding Fashion Expert
Our wedding dress shopping tips and advice are from Nayri, Lovella's own, in-house wedding fashion expert. Nayri is truly the expert when it comes to bridal fashion and wedding style. As the Wedding Fashion Expert, Nayri is the top bridal fashion stylist and the best-selling author of the book "I'm Getting Married And I Have Nothing To Wear," the ultimate guide to helping brides find their wedding day style and their perfect wedding dress. You can subscribe to her YouTube channel or listen to her podcast for more helpful and practical advice on wedding dress shopping.
