My Wedding Veil & Headpieces

When I first started looking for wedding dresses and veils, I have to be honest ... I was blown away by the cost of veils.  Don't get me wrong; I think a veil is one of the prettiest parts of a wedding ensemble.  It can be fantasticly dramatic or it can be sweetly demure.  I appreciate all of the handiwork that is put into some really intricate veils.  But what I was seeing ... was mainly plain-jane veils with almost no intricacy whatever that cost a staggering amount.

Mom casually mentioned to me one day that perhaps I should look at hers.  YA'LL.  I'd seen it before, but I'd never really looked at it as a bride-to-be.  One glance and I was head over heels in love.  I knew that I would wear it for my wedding day.  It is the most beautiful veil I have ever seen.

Mom purchased the veil in 1979 in Fayetteville, NC.  She can't recall the name of the shop, but she did purchase the veil before she even had a dress selected!  And.... would you believe that she actually paid more for her veil than she did for her dress?  I think she said it was around $250 at that time.  My Aunt Beth also wore the veil for her wedding, which I believe was in 1988 or 1989.

Mom's veil was mounted on a cap, which was very stylish during that time.  Prior to my wedding, we hired someone to gingerly remove it from the cap and attach it to a comb.  It was just perfect with my all-lace dress.

Because the veil is fragile and sentimental, I opted to change out of it after the ceremony.  And I changed into not one, but two different headpieces!  I actually made them both.  The first is a birdcage veil which I just adored:

You can see a hint of yellow at the back.  I attached the veil and clips to some light yellow flowers.  Yellow was one of my wedding colors and it is also my favorite color.  Even my dear friend who is with the Peace Corps in Africa now (and was unable to attend the wedding) emailed me to say she'd seen the picture of that veil and was so happy to see that I snuck my favorite color into the design of it!

The birdcage veil was worn for our entrance, dinner, cake cutting, and first dance.  While Ian was dancing with his mother, I was whisked away by my wedding planners for a change into this sassier peony clip that I also made:

I loved how this one turned out.  I also changed earrings that point into some stunners that belonged to my grandmother.  They were clip-ons but I converted them into post earrings since I have pierced ears.

I was recently contacted by a blog reader who asked me if I'd be interested in making her a birdcage veil for her wedding.  Of course I said YES!  I am so excited to be part of her beautiful wedding day later this summer.  Here is a picture I sent her of the finished product:

It's on the way to her now.  And for anyone else interested in the how-to on this birdcage veil, I'll be posting a tutorial soon!  And of course if you'd like for me to make one for you, just say the word.  :)

Okay, off to the wonderful city of Memphis for work -- have a great day!