Veil Information
See also How to Wear a Veil and Tiara
and How To Select a Veil. These two pages answer
more specific questions about choosing a veil based on your physical characteristics and gown, and fitting a veil to
your hairstyle and/or tiara.
This page answers most of the questions that we
receive about the quality and size of veils that we sell. We started
making our own veils because we couldn't find any for our shop that went
well with nicer gowns. Most of the veils on the market are made from an
inexpensive tulle that doesn't hang well and just looks cheap. We found
a very high quality tulle that hangs nicely and had a local seamstress
make the veils for us. A veil must be judged by how it contributes to the
overall look. It really needs to be seen in conjunction with everything
else in the ensemble. Over the years, we have found what works best in a
complete outfit with different bridal gowns, tiaras, and hairstyles.
 Our veils come in three lengths, elbow, fingertip, and cathedral. We are
currently using 72-inch wide tulle, because we feel that it's the most
flattering and doesn't make the veil too super poofy and thick. We
don't use a 108-inch wide veil because in our experience with brides,
once they see the 72-inch they always go with that. We
phased out the 108-inch years ago because it is too full, it obscures
the back of the gown and overshadows the bride.
Our elbow length
veil is thirty inches long, the blusher is 26 inches long. This can vary
by an inch because each is hand cut for us. The fingertip veils
are 40 to 42 inches long for the bottom piece and 31-33" long for the
blusher. The fingertip veil ends approximately at the
fingertips.
The veils
have been hand-made by a local seamstress to specifications that we
have found work the best with current gown styles. We match veils with gowns
all day long, and have found what
works best and is the most flattering. After thousands of brides, we have found
that 99% of all brides choose these lengths when
they try them on with their gown.
Our veils come in white,
diamond-white or ivory.
Diamond is just barely off-white and matches most modern gowns that are
called off-white, natural, pearl-white, or diamond-white. The ivory
veils match most modern gowns called candlelight, ivory, or cream.
 The 601 shimmer veil is a one piece veil, cut in a
circle, with the comb attached near the middle and the tulle is folded to form the two layers of the veil.
The ends of the tulle are not hemmed or corded. This is called a European Cut and is the most
flattering way to wear a shimmer veil because it hangs differently, it
isn't quite as full or poofy as it would be with an oval fabric that has
been hemmed. This design seems to work best for this shimmery material,
and keeps it from being too showy and overshadowing everything else. The shimmer material
is so attractive. No one else makes
this veil, it was designed entirely by the collective efforts of my
seamstress and our gown specialists here in
Cincinnati.
The photo at right shows the shimmer veil as it would appear in direct sunlight or under the flash from a camera.
The photo at left, below, shows the shimmer veil as it would apear in normal room light--barely any shimmer at all!
 The shimmer effect needs to be described fully. The
manufacturer takes a standard, high-quality bridal tulle and applies a
glazing to it that causes the shimmer. We specifically asked for a
glazing with a very subdued shimmer. We did not want the veil to sparkle
like a tiara because this looks really tacky. We experimented with
different levels of shimmer and found that too much shimmer simply
overwhelms the rest of the outfit. What we wanted was a very
understated, subtle effect. When you are in a fairly dim light
situation, there is no shimmer at all. When you exit the church, chapel,
or hall into the sun, you are suddenly surrounded in a halo of shimmer.
The effect is surprising and quite dramatic. Also, the shimmer shows up
well in flash photography, but your guests won't see it until they see
their photos. If you are in a hall where there are a lot of bright
lights, the veil will pick them up and show a little shimmer. The entire
effect was designed with elegance and good taste in mind, and was not
meant to upstage the rest of your outfit. Some customers have complained
that there wasn't enough shimmer, but they didn't give the veil a chance
or take it into the sun to see how pretty the tulle becomes in bright
light.
 The tulle that we use for our veils is cut on the bias, which makes it hang more nicely than most veils, and is cut from an eighty-inch wide piece. The
final result is less than eighty inches, because again, it was designed to hang nicely. There is nothing worse than a veil that has
been left too wide and doesn't hang properly. For years, veils were unpopular because they were too poofy and distracted from
an elegant gown.
 Our veils are attached to a comb and can be worn in the front or back of the head. If you want to wear it more forward, you
can attach it directly to a tiara with snaps, one side sewn to the veil at the edge of the comb and the other snap sewn with
invisible thread to the tiara. Some of our brides use velcro if the tiara is wide enough (we are unable to alter our veils; you may take the veil to a seamstress to achieve this effect).
Thin strips of velcro are sewn on the tiara.
This way the veil can be removed for the reception and the tiara still worn. If you are going to wear the veil the entire night, you
can sew the veil to the tiara with invisible nylon thread.
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