Every young girl has the illustrious bridal veils daydream… Walking down the church aisle on her father’s arm, swathed in a mysterious swirl of white netted lace. She arrives at the alter and is handed from her father to her husband to be, where the veil is lifted and her beauty is romantically revealed to her betrothed. Okay, perhaps this dream is a little tarnished and old fashioned, but there are millions of brides each year that still continue the age old tradition of wearing a bridal veil on their wedding day.

There is something utterly enchanting and completely dreamy about wearing a bridal veil. Depending on the time of year and where the wedding takes place, a bridal veil may not be practical for all brides. However, if you are getting married in a church or cathedral or wearing a traditional wedding gown with a very long train, a veil is perfectly at home walking down the aisle.

When you are looking at bridal veils, it is very important to keep the details of your dress in mind. A bridal veil should always complement your wedding gown and not overshadow it. It is also important for your wedding veil to be in correct proportion with your wedding dress. For example, if you have a simple, sleeveless, tea length wedding dress, it would not be appropriate to wear a full length veil. In addition, unless your wedding dress has a long train at the back, a cathedral length veil is not appropriate and will look out of place. Confused about the different lengths of bridal veils? Don’t be! Essentially, there are three common lengths of bridal veils – elbow, fingertip and cathedral lengths.

Elbow length is approximately 30 inches long and falls just at your elbows – this is generally the most popular bridal veil length. Most commonly worn with a wedding dress that has no train, an elbow length veil will accentuate detailing on the dress around the bodice. Perfect for formal and semi-formal wedding dresses, an elbow length veil is best suited for a full skirted wedding dress.

Fingertip length is approximately 36 inches long and falls just at your fingertips. Sometimes a fingertip veil has a finger loop so that you can control the veil. This length of veil is appropriate for any full length gown, from informal to formal in design. A fingertip veil is not appropriate for a wedding gown with a train and looks particularly lovely with sheath style wedding gowns.

Cathedral length is floor length and is the most dramatic of all veil lengths. Reserved for formal weddings only, this length of veil should only be worn with a wedding dress that has a significant train. For the best look, a cathedral veil should extend about six inches past the length of the dress train, onto the floor.

You should always choose a bridal veil that doesn’t cover up the best parts of your wedding gown. For example, if the décolleté area of your wedding dress is hand beaded with pearls and Austrian crystals, you will want to select a short veil so the lovely embellishments are not covered up. If you are wearing a veil on your wedding day in combination with a tiara or an elaborate headpiece, be sure the veil is pinned at the back of your head behind the headpiece. This will make everything look more balanced and still allow you to pull the veil carefully over your headpiece or crown, if you so choose.

Bridal veils come in snow white and off white and can be custom dyed to match a wedding gown that is a non-traditional colour. Veils can be purchased plain and simple, with scattered pearl or floral embroidered details, or with lovely satin ribbon edge. Hems can be plain, scalloped, or double border in gold or silver thread. The options available are virtually limitless. If you cannot find a veil to perfectly match your wedding gown, many brides will purchase a plain veil and have a local seamstress hand sew the embellishments onto the bridal veil for a perfect match.

Originally I wanted to only have a string of pearls in my hair. I have curly blonde hair and I thought that having a loose up-do with some curly strands hanging down at the base of my neck would look nice with pearls in it.

I don’t want to wear a tiara because if I wear both a tiara and pearls in my hair, it will look overdone. That was also why I didn’t want to wear a veil. I thought that the veil would just hide the pearls and I also thought that veils are outdated. But when I went to the bridal store where I bought my dress, I thought that I might try on a veil just to see what I would look like. I looked so beautiful.

So, here’s my plan. I am still going to wear a string of pearls in my hair but I am also going to wear a veil but only during the ceremony. I don’t know why, but for some reason I forgot that a bride is only supposed to wear a veil during the ceremony and take it off at the reception. So it works out perfect. I’ll look classically beautiful during my wedding ceremony by wearing a veil and still look stunning without it during the wedding reception.

The only problem is, is that the veils that I’ve found are over $100. That’s a little much if you think about it. I mean, all a veil is, is just mesh white fabric tied to a small comb. So, since I already love bargain hunting, I looked online for some nice, but reasonably priced veils. That’s when I found the Continuous Pearl Edge Veil.

It works great because it’s a great price plus it has a pearl trim which is perfect for me. I highly suggest looking in both stores and online for great prices when it comes to veils, jewelry, garters, and shoes for your wedding. There is a lot of nice stuff out there for a great price, you just have to look.

What’s a wedding without a wedding dress and veil? I already bought my dress but I still haven’t bought a veil yet. Whenever I pictured my wedding growing up, I never wanted a veil. I thought they were too outdated. I wanted a tiara instead. Now that I’m older, I like the traditional look of wearing a veil.

Each dress calls for different types of veils. The problem is, is that they are SOOOO expensive. At one bridal store I looked at, the simplest looking veil was over $100. The veils I found in this website are a lot more reasonable in price and they look exactly the same as the ones in the store.

I personally like the Double Border of Satin Ribbon & Pearls Veil. I like it because I have pearls on my dress and my future mother-in-law bought me a pearl necklace and earrings to wear on the wedding day. I also like this one because the satin border looks so beautiful. I tired one like this on at the bridal store I mentioned, and the ones with satin border look really nice around your shoulders.

>>> More expert articles on bridal accessories in Canada.