veil validation

I never thought of myself as a veil girl. I hate the ones with blushers and I loathe the ones that poof up to give the appearance of a large bubble attached to the brides head. Okay, I should clarify. I hate those veils on me. On other people, they look great. But blushers and bubbles just aren't me. So early in the wedding planning process, I had decided that I didn't want one. Just a flower or something simple in my hair would do.

Then I heard the stories. All the wonderful stories about the veil that made me change my mind. There are articles, blog posts, forum posts and epic poems all over the internet written by brides who love their veils. And after reading these stories, I went from thinking of veils as an overpriced piece of transparent fabric to believing that the veil will make all the difference.

Did I fall prey to the wedding industry? Did I let them convince me? Let them make me feel like I needed something I didn't really need? Maybe a little.

But honestly, I think it's more than that. I think the veil does complete the look for a lot of brides. And while I understand why a lot of brides remain veil-less, I think it's exactly what I need. My dress is a bridesmaid dress ordered in white, it doesn't sparkle or have any lace on it; I can pee by myself and it's flowy and comfortable. Pretty much everything the wedding industry wants, my dress lacks. And for that, I love it. But at the same time, it is very simple. And I want to be at least a little glam for our big day.

But I still didn't want a blusher, a bubble and I definitely didn't want to pay upwards of $200 for a piece of tulle. DIY-ing the entire veil was out of the question for me. I have no desire to make my own veil. Nor do I think I would get the results I want. So, since I didn't want to hate my veil, I needed another option outside of the walls of the bridal salon. Thankfully, I found it.

After reading this article from APT 345, I completely fell in love and knew I needed to have a veil. It's just so gosh-darn pretty. Simple and non-obstructive but definitely beautiful.

{photo from Apt 345}

Brooke, the author, like so many other brides talks about the difference the veil made to her:

I considered skipping it completely, but there's a reason those sales girls insist on putting them on you in the bridal salons--it completes the look. You go from "yeah, this is a pretty dress" to "OMG, I'm getting married" with the addition of one little piece of fabric.

As much as I love my dress and as happy as I am that I went with something simple, I want to have the "OMG, I'm getting married" feeling too! And while I may be jumping the gun a little since I have yet to try on my dress with a veil, I have this feeling in my gut that's telling me its the right thing for me.

Another part of me, however, is reminding me that there isn't $300 in the wedding budget set aside for a veil. So I'm turning to my best friend, Etsy. After I try some on at the salon to get a better idea of what goes with my dress, I'm going to scour Etsy for something similar but much more cost effective. In fact, I have a feeling that I'll end up going with something very similar to Brooke's veil which can be found in Etsy seller BellasBridalVeils' shop here. How does $29 sound, instead of $200? Um, hell yes.