Manolo for the Brides

When I saw this Maison Michel Uffie miniature top hat with its gauzy veil on The UnBride, I just had to throw it in the LOVE/HATE queue.

Because, oh goodness, I cannot stand it! While it may indeed be offbeat and thus perfect for the unbride, it looks to me too much like something worn by those old timey cartoon characters. You know, the dumpy fellow with the big head and the tiny hat? Plus, as miniature top hats go, this one is booooring. Plus, the attached veil is just a little awkward. The bride who wants to wear the tiny top hat should look instead at Bubbles & Frown, purveyor of totally sweet mini hats that go for about $100… compared to $645 for the Uffie, which I hate.

What say you?

Cathedral length veils and their slightly shorter counterparts, the chapel length veil, take an already feminine bridal ensemble and make it dreamier and more romantic. Dramatic and elegant, bridal veils of length typically only appear at very upscale and/or very large weddings. Why? Read on for the answer as well as tips on wearing and making the most of a chapel length veil or cathedral length veil.

At anywhere from 108″ to 120″ or longer, long veils play a starring role in the bridal ensemble. While a bride can wear a cathedral length veil with almost any wedding dress other than a very short gown or a ballgown, the longest veils are properly worn with wedding dresses with extremely long trains. In fact, the end of the bridal veil should extend six inches or more past the end of the train. Cathedral veils pair well with wedding dresses that are embellished simply, but if you decide to pair an ornate gown with a long veil, be careful of hiding a beautiful dress behind one or more layers of lace or netting.
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You all probably know I’m not a huge bridal veil or headpiece fan, since I’m all for big bridal hairstyles that serve as their own showpieces. But for real, I cannot deny that I am madly in love with Sara Gabriel Veiling & Headpieces. I want to get married all over again so I can pair one of these veils with a plain sheath wedding dress and big sparkly jewels.

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When I announced my engagement, several people told me there are two things ‘every’ bride does: grow her hair long and go on a diet. Me? I did neither. I admit part of the reason I didn’t grow my hair out was…well…it was already as long as it goes, which is about hip length. That seemed like plenty of hair for my purposes, anyway.

Still, in reaction to comments like that, a tiny piece of me wanted to go out and get a buzz cut.

I didn’t, though I’ve had one before and rocked it pretty well, actually. But that gives you an idea of just how much it annoyed me to be informed that only long-haired women were welcome at the altar.

The attitude seems to carry on to this day, too. In a google image search for ’short-haired bride’ I found three measly pages of images. In one for ’short hair’ + ‘bride’ I got a lot more pages…and at least 90% of them were of long-haired brides. One image presented for my consideration was of Nicole Kidman’s wedding to Keith Urban, where his hair wasn’t exactly short, either. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got nothing against long hair on a man. In fact, Mr. Twistie’s hair has been considerably longer than mine numerous times. It’s just that wasn’t what I was looking for.

What I was looking for was images of brides rocking the short locks and looking fabulous – particularly if they did so while not adding hairpieces or making faux long styles. Well, I found a few. These I pass on as inspiration to brides who wear their hair short and don’t want to grow it out for the wedding.

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Not a veil person? Or a fan of bareheaded brides? You’ll be happy to know that there are in-between options out there that aren’t yet another bridal tiara or pillbox hat. Tosin Trim, designer for the UK’s Hennumi,creates whimsical and beautiful head pieces for brides using materials like recycled and off-cut fabric, fresh water pearls, Swarovski crystals, feathers, and vintage mother of pearl buttons. The prices are a little steep at around £200, but you can bet that no other bride in your social circle will be wearing the same top o’ the head accessories.

Start talking about weddings, and chances are pretty much everyone gets the same initial image: a woman in a big white gown with a veil on her head.

Of course, you will be wearing something (unless you are having a full-fledged naturist ceremony), but what is actually necessary? What’s optional? What do you really have to wear on your wedding day?

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A recent article by my most esteemed collegue garnered a lot of anti-veil (or at least veil? meh) comments by our readers. On the other hand, while many seemed more than ready to give up veils, most brides want something to replace them.

So I went looking for the perfect replacements this morning, and lo and behold, I found a positive gold mine.

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I was browsing Manolo for the Big Girl just the other day when I came across this comment posted by one prowlcat:

ah yes! the poor taste in wearing bare-shouldered, backless, plunging-neckline wedding dresses in religious ceremonies. vera wang what have you wrought? also brides with crowns or tiaras. brides rejecting the veil, but keeping everything else. its all symbolism; borat will not put you in a sack and carry you away if you wear a veil. its traditional. dyed to match shoes, however, are not. and no flip flops at weddings, even in the jungle!

Now I do detest dyed-to-match shoes — though I’ll admit to fancying them when I was eight or so — and wedding flip flops, particularly the ones embellished with all manner of lace and rhinestones are indeed an abomination. But I can’t say I harbor any vitriol toward brides who choose to walk bareheadedly toward matrimonial bliss.

It was Vera Wang who said, “Other than the wedding ring, [the veil] is the most symbolic accessory a woman will ever wear.” I believe it was Never teh Bride (hey, that’s me!) who said, “Tradition be damned — honey, you’ll be just as married if you say ‘I do’ while wearing jeans and a bad case of bed head.”

There are as many reasons to ditch the headgear as there are to wear it proudly. I, for example, can’t stand having stuff in front of my face or flipping about my head, and thus find anything remotely veil-like entirely uncomfortable. Some brides don’t care for the potentially patriarchal origins of the veil tradition, whether or not it actually has its origins in bride-nappers tossing blankets over the heads of their prey or fathers tricking gullible young men into marrying the wrong sister. And I’m sure there are brides out there who think veils are just plain unattractive.

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