How to Choose a Veil to Go With Your Wedding Dress

Match your veil with your wedding dress.

The style of your wedding dress and the style of your wedding both influence the style of the veil you should choose to match your dress. Your height should also influence the style of veil you choose. While there are not any rules as to which veils you can wear with which dress or which type of wedding, USABride provides guidelines for choosing the right length and style of veil to go with your wedding dress.

Instructions

1. Identify the length of the veil that matches your dress, your height and the embellishments and design of your dress. You should consider all three factors when choosing a veil. The three primary lengths of a veil are 30 inches, 36 inches or floor length. The 30-inch veil, or elbow length veil is for dresses without a train or a gown with a full skirt. This veil is worn for either formal or informal style weddings. The 36 inch, or finger length veil, is for gowns with a train and can be worn at both formal and semi-formal style weddings. Floor length, or cathedral style veils, are only appropriate for formal weddings and typically complement a cathedral or semi-cathedral wedding gown.

2. Consider the embellishments and details on your dress. A wedding veil should complement your wedding dress, which also means that you want to choose a veil that does not cover or draw attention away from the details of your dress. For example, if the bodice of your wedding dress is where the embellishments, design and detail of the dress are, then avoid choosing a veil that ends at the bodice.

3. Match the color with your dress. Take a sample swatch of the material and a picture of your dress with you when shopping for the veil. Hold the veil up against the material swatch to make sure that it is in the same color genre as your dress. For example, you want to match a white veil with a white dress and an ivory or champagne veil with an ivory or champagne.

Tips & Warnings

• You should also consider your height when choosing a veil. If you are 5'7" or taller then you should choose a finger-length veil. If you are 5'4" or shorter then you should choose a 30 inch or elbow length veil. You can wear any length veil if your height is between these two heights.

References

• USABride: Selecting a Wedding Veil