The Story of the BRIDAL VEIL

Step into the past and discover how this accessory became part of the wedding tradition

Your big day is looming and you're excited! No doubt you'd have worked out your wedding attire, and whether you decide on an elegant lacy veil or a gorgeous antique that has been in your family for years; the wedding veil is more than just a head covering.

In fact, the wedding veil has a history all of its own.

The veil has now become a traditional part of the ‘white wedding,’ but in olden days, brides wore their hair flowing down their backs to symbolise their youth and virginity. Of course, these days, not everyone has long hair; so it's the white diaphanous veil that represents this. Back then, the veil also purportedly helped the bride to remain modest, while protecting her from jealous spirits.

Some say that the uncovering of the veil during the marriage ceremony is a symbol of what will take place later in the marital bed. Just as the two newlyweds become one through the words of their wedding vows, the words are the precursor of the physical oneness they will consummate later on.

Others say that a veil was necessary because it was ‘bad luck’ for the groom to see the bride before the wedding itself, and a veil was used to hide her. In fact, in the old days of arranged marriages and dowries, the groom rarely saw his bride at all before the wedding day!

Cynically, some say that if the bride was really ugly, a veil would prevent the groom from seeing her and running away while he still could! Unfortunately for Jacob (of the Old Testament), because his bride wore such a thick veil, he couldn't see that it covered the face of the wrong woman!

Because of this story, Jewish grooms now lift their brides' veils before the ceremony!

Other cultures follow similar practices. Even today in some Muslim countries, the young man is not allowed to see the face of his bride-to-be until after they are wed. For the wedding ceremony, the bride wears a head covering called a dupatta, and both she and groom don a sehra or a veil of flowers around their foreheads.

In Poland, the unveiling of the bride signifies her transformation from a girl to a woman. The single women in the wedding party circle the bride, and the maid of honour removes the bride's veil. Only when a married woman pins a cap to her head, she is officially married. Often the bride will throw her veil, rather than her bouquet, to her unmarried female guests.

In the old days in Japan, hair was thought to be unclean; so a headdress was one way to hide it. Until the 1860s, brides in Japan wore a wataboshi hood which was supposed to hide the bride's face from everyone except the groom. At Japanese weddings today, the veil stays lowered until the end of the ceremony when it's lifted by the groom as his first action as a new husband.

White or off-white veils are common today, but in ancient times, throughout much of the world, brides actually wore brightly coloured veils! Early Christian brides were even known to wear blue veils to symbolise the Virgin Mary.

It was believed that a brightly coloured veil would protect the bride from the ‘evil eye.’ Greek and Roman brides wore yellow or red veils (representing fire) to ward off these demons, and Roman brides were completely covered with a long red veil just to be doubly sure. Even today, a Chinese bride wears a red veil over her face, and red shoes to match.

This idea of a veil hiding the bride from demons was a prevalent one. The wedding party knew that the veiled figure standing next to the groom was the bride, but families nonetheless supplied bridesmaids as decoys. These ‘bride's maidens’ would not wear veils, but would be dressed attractively and be prepared to sacrifice their souls, if necessary, so the bride could be married. Surely this makes being a bridesmaid somewhat unattractive - no wonder most don't tell their bridesmaids this! Superstitious nonsense, we might think, but having bridesmaids is a tradition that continues to this day.

Opaque veils were often worn in early Europe - some say to prevent the groom from seeing the bride until after the ceremony was over. Romantic as it may sound, it meant that the groom could not see in and the bride could not see out! As a result of this, the bride had to be escorted down the aisle by her father, so he could literally ‘give the bride away’ to her husband- to-be.

The wearing of the first white lace veil has been credited to the daughter of Martha Curtis Washington, Nellie Cusis. It is said that her suitor, Major Lawrence Lewis, President Washington's aide, had first seen her through a lace curtain!

Here's to hoping you find your perfect veil!

- Sheila O' Connor