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We don’t doubt that simple is sometimes best when getting a wedding dress and matching veil made. A plain wedding veil can still bring out a bride’s beauty, even if the dress tends to be the star of the show. But other times, people will look to pull all the stops.
If we’re being honest, it’s hard to blame them. A momentous wedding only occurs once in a bride’s lifetime so such a special day deserves investing in as many things as their budget allows, maybe like a luxurious bridal veil that’s roughly seven km long.
Perhaps you don’t need to go that far, but there are other ways to make your wedding more enjoyable. For starters, how about spicing up your wedding veil with accessories like lace, sequins, or even pearl? Pearl veils are nice, and we may be able to convince you to at least consider wearing one for the following reasons:
If you frequent our blog, you may know that we’ve recently gone over the timelessness of pearls. They’ve been around for as long as the shellfish that make them, which means for millions of years. It wasn’t much, much later when we decided to add them to our clothes and jewellery – and much, much later in wedding veils.
Because of how difficult getting one’s hands on them was back then, natural pearls were rare and extremely valuable. Only the most affluent could afford them for their clothes and jewellery, cementing them as symbols of wealth.
How valuable were they, you ask? At one point, Cleopatra crushed a pearl from one of her earrings before her lover, Mark Antony, and mixed the powder into a goblet of wine – which she drank afterwards – in one of the most incredible flexes of wealth in history.
With the advent of pearl culturing in the 1900s, cultured pearls became a more affordable alternative to natural ones. Today, most pearls used in clothing – and, in this case, wedding veils – are cultured pearls. That said, many people either don’t mind or pay attention since the beauty of cultured pearls is virtually indistinguishable from natural ones, at least to the naked eye.
Depending on the culture, a pearl’s symbolism can be interpreted in multiple ways. As far as weddings go, however, many agree that pearls – whether in a dress or veil – represent a happy marriage.
This interpretation dates back to the ancient Greeks, who also associated pearls with the tears of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Contrary to what some believe, these tears aren’t one of sadness but of joy, according to several accounts. And what other significant event in a woman’s life brings her tears of joy than marriage?
In fact, some brides choose to wear pearl veils in hopes of helping them hold back their tears of joy on their special day. Their effectiveness in that regard varies, but regardless, shedding such tears during a wedding is nothing to be embarrassed about. Be it joy or sadness, to feel is human.
While we’re firm believers that “simple is best,” it doesn’t make us inflexible to a bride-to-be’s preferences. Some will find a plain bridal veil lacking and want to spruce it up, which we’re always happy to oblige. Pearls are among several options.
We’ve previously talked about the various ways veil designers arrange the pearls across the tulle. Whether a classic spread or illusory floating pearls, it’s hard to deny the rich details pearl veils offer over plain ones.
“Wait, won’t too much detail take attention away from the dress?” Good question. These designs have taken that into account and ensure the wedding dress remains the pièce de résistance of a bride’s outfit. Besides, you wouldn’t want your fingertip length veil, for example, to be studded with too many pearls, as they’ll weigh your head down and impede your field of vision.
“But I’ve seen veils studded with pearls at fashion shows!” Another good question (though not technically a question). Fashion shows usually showcase proofs of concept more than practical wear, and the models only wear those veils for a few minutes. On the other hand, you’ll wear your veil for the rest of the wedding day (or only during the ceremony, if so inclined).
Like any other form of accessory or embroidery, pearls can be installed on wedding veils of any length. We also talked about adding pearls to various types of veils in a previous blog post, from the vintage sophistication of the birdcage veil to the regal and elegant cathedral veil.
Naturally, the number of pearls used varies by the veil’s length (more length means more surface area). As mentioned earlier, too much can be an inconvenience to you on your big day. This is especially the case for short veils like birdcage and flyaway, as the excess weight risks tearing the delicate tulle.
Then again, having too few for the veil’s length won’t make the pearls stand out as much as you expect. Designers calculate the amount of pearls needed not only on the veil’s length but also on the design and material. You can probably get away with a bit more pearls with heavyweight fabric like our nylon tulle, with the added benefit of stability on windy days.
Speaking of windy days, we advise having fewer pearls on your veil than normal if you’ll be tying the knot outdoors. There are accounts of pearl veils messing up the bride’s hair with a strong enough breeze. Alternatively, you can settle for an elegant shorter veil to reduce the surface area your hair can get tangled on.
Pearl veils are a great option if you’re the kind of bride who wants something more than a simple veil. Between the timelessness and elegance of the pearls lining the tulle and their versatility to go with any length, it’s hard to go wrong with such veils as a choice. They can become even more beautiful when crafted with the hands of an experienced designer.
