A Long Story About a Short Veil

A Long Story About a Short Veil

June 15th, 2010 @ 10:45 am by Mrs. Lobster
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Have I told you the veil story? I have not. Why? Well, there isn’t much of a story. A couple months ago I decided it was time to buy a veil. I had low and simple expectations. I wanted a raw edged, waist length veil, no satin trim, no beading, no fancy comb. Just a veil to have pictures like this:

Sweet Monday Photography

Note: When I bought my wedding dress, I totally forgot to try it on with a veil. I would highly recommend NOT doing what I did. Anyway, back to the story.

So I meandered down to the bridal shop one day (OK, I had make an appointment and they were booked so I meandered for about three weeks). I knew in advance they didn’t have my dress in stock to try on with the veil, so it was just me in my work sweater, work skirt, and Uggs. Not so glam.

The sales associate was very friendly. I told her what I wanted. She kept bringing me long veils, with blushers, beading, lace, etc. I said no I want plain and simple. She brought me the plainest one, exactly what I asked for raw edge, fingertip length. I put it on my ponytail. It looked…

OK. Kinda blah. It rested on my shoulders funny. I felt like a nun.

Then, she brought out a “bubble veil.” Having done NO research ahead of time, I hadn’t heard of a bubble veil before. It’s a 2 layered veil made of one piece of fabric, hence shaping a bubble that kinda poofs out from your body. There’s no blusher which is good for me because I don’t need more stuff to hamper my vision anymore than my -6.00 prescription contacts.

See? I wasn’t lying. Awkward in Uggs.

This is how a bubble veil *should* look. Different kinds of bubble veils:

Source, Source

Sara Gabriel

The sale associate put on her best sales pitch and said that a bubble veil would match the style of my dress because of it was very modern blah blah blah. I tried it on. It looked not bad, was kinda different and so I decided to buy it.

Oh yeah, then I asked for the price. Duh. She said, “$X hundred and fifty dollars.” Huh wha??

I have heard some horror stories on veil prices including Miss Scissors’ sticker shock. But I then heard some stories of simple veils for reasonable (in the bridal industry) prices. Sooo, yes, I was thrown off when my piece of tulle was more expensive than someone else’s even though it was less tulle. Maybe the air in the bubble is fancy air.

It was the fastest $X hundred fifty I’d spent. I felt silly because up until then I’d been so careful about our wedding budget. But, I like the veil enough. I hope it matches my dress. We’ll see next month!!

Lesson: do your veil research. Try a veil (any veil) with your wedding dress. Look online for pre-owned ones. Don’t just buy it without thinking like I did. Please.

Did you impulsively or reluctantly buy your veil or other accessories? Do you wish you had shopped around more?

Tags: brooklyn, veil |

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24 Responses to “A Long Story About a Short Veil”

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Bee

Mrs. Hamster (message) 4,046 posts, Honey bee

I like the bubble veil! Very cute. I also purchased my veil from the same store as I purchased my gown - out of convenience and laziness.

6/15/10 @ 10:48 am (reply)

Member

Miss Pinot Grigio (message) 1,410 posts, Bumble bee

I love the bubble veil look - very simple, yet super chic. I’m sure it’ll look great!

Another idea for brides still looking for a veil - check around for local seamstresses - there’s minimal time and material required in making a veil, so most will do it for surprisingly cheap.

I was lucky enough to have an amazing seamstress back in my hometown that help with my alterations - and was also able to make a custom veil for me. For about 1/20 of the the bridal shop price. *phew*

6/15/10 @ 11:07 am (reply)

Member

Miss Root (message) 1,014 posts, Bumble bee

I love that Sara Gabriel Joy veil! (Probably because it’s MY veil!) I totally feel like wedding day Barbie in it. It’s 100% GORGEOUS… and the thing is, I had ordered a couple of cheaper veils off Etsy, and you really do get what you pay for. The tulle on the cheap $40 veil that I bought is just stiff and looks, well, cheap… meanwhile, my beautiful x hundred dollar veil looks like a million bucks.

6/15/10 @ 11:13 am (reply)

Guest

Jennifer

I like that bubble veil!

My mom made mine with $3 of tulle, a plastic hair comb, and some strong thread. We had a nice breeze the day of the wedding, so I got my veil-blowing-in-the-wind pics and I was happy. I also didn’t feel bad when I threw it away the next day. (Can you tell I’m not really the sentimental type?)

6/15/10 @ 11:25 am (reply)

Member

santababs (message) 61 posts, Worker bee

Eek, is it too late to return it? I wanted a very simple veil and got just that (for $40) at the veilshop.com after buying the color sample page. But I had tried a few on. Are those the only two you tried on? The first one might be causing problems because it is very gathered at the top and has a rounded edge, which might do weird things at your shoulders. For what it is worth, I love the bubble veil! Very cool look. I’d also recommend trying on veils at brideshead revisted (at the wedding library). They can really break down the various elements!

6/15/10 @ 11:29 am (reply)

Bee

Miss Cardigan (message) 8,645 posts, Bee Keeper

I like the bubble veil - it’s a unique look that you don’t see very often!

6/15/10 @ 11:31 am (reply)

Member

meggyo (message) 323 posts, Helper bee

you can definitely find veils online for cheap. i wanted something super simple too, but cathedral length. i was quoted in the store like $300, but ended up getting one custom made (slightly shorter than cathedral) on etsy for $29. i love it!

6/15/10 @ 11:38 am (reply)

Member

mander411 (message) 735 posts, Busy bee

um yea I spent $325 on my fingetip veil from Kleinfelds, oh well, I love it.

6/15/10 @ 11:39 am (reply)

Member

alivoo01 (message) 2,622 posts, Sugar bee

I wish I would have shopped around for my veil, but due to convenience, I bought mine at salon in which I bought my gown. It’s an elbow length 2-tiered veil for $100 (originally $200 something, but since I bought my gown that day, I got half off. Thank goodness!).

6/15/10 @ 11:52 am (reply)

10.

Member

TheFutureMcBride (message) 4,479 posts, Honey bee

I’m actually making my veil because I refuse to pat $100+ for it, so when I went to the fabric store, tulle was 40% off and in a color to match my dress. My veil, with comb, cost less than $10. It’s so simple to make. Must post a DIY.

6/15/10 @ 12:32 pm (reply)

11.

Member

TheFutureMcBride (message) 4,479 posts, Honey bee

And I did try veils on with my dress, but I went to the Kleinfeld’s blowout sale and their veil selection during that was really weak.

6/15/10 @ 12:33 pm (reply)

12.

Member

Lizzle101010 (message) 35 posts, Newbee

I totally spent like $200 or so on mine - and it’s so not worth it!! I meant, it’s really pretty and has little rhinestones in it… but I think the salesperson took advantage of me when I was buying my dress…

6/15/10 @ 1:00 pm (reply)

13.

Bee

Mrs. Parfait (message) 1,755 posts, Buzzing bee

Aww, it looks pretty! My hairstylist puffed up my veil as if it were a bubble veil (I smoothed it down later), so if you like the look of the other bubble veils, you could probably recreate it! Not the plain/simple look you wanted, but those photos are pretty cute!

6/15/10 @ 1:07 pm (reply)

14.

Member

jen and jakes wedding (message) 274 posts, Helper bee

good story, and good tips! i did try on a veil to get an idea of what i wanted mine to look like (i am making mine). i still haven’t made it yet, but now i’m contiplating a different style, mantilla, to give complement to my mother who is a hug part of my life. i was going to use her mantilla veil as my “something borrowed and/or old” but unfortunatley the colors did not match. i hope your looks good with your dress! post pics please

6/15/10 @ 2:01 pm (reply)

15.

Member

Skywalk (message) 87 posts, Worker bee

I wanted a long veil, with a blusher and some sort of edging though I was waiting to decide on the dress before the edging. I fell in love with a gorgeous veil that had been brought out to try on with a dress in one of the stores. At the end of the appointment, I wasn’t settled on the dress but asked for them to write down the information for both the dress and veil. Right about now, extreme SHOCK set in! The veil was nearly $600 PLUS there would be an extra charge for adding a blusher. It was a long veil with a bit of beading on the edge but give me a break!
Having now settled on my dress at another store, I went back to have a look at the veil again. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, the veil had been sold and was no longer available to order in time for my wedding.
Disappointed, I returned home and flipped through the wedding section of the phone book. I came across a discount bridal store and decided to give it a shot. While the store was jam packed and no where near as glamorous as the other bridal stores, I managed to find a long veil with a blusher that had light beading along the edge for only $120! While it is probably still overpriced for being a couple pieces of organza and some tiny beads…it sure beats paying more than $600 for the same thing somewhere else!

6/16/10 @ 3:04 am (reply)

16.