Wedding Veils - Choosing your Style

The wedding dress is an iconic image of beauty, but just as important to that image is the bridal veil. A lot of brides don't think as hard about their veil as they do their dress. When they've got their dream gown picked out, they hit that "huh"-point when their salon consultant says "now, what are your thoughts on your veil?"

Let's start off with a little education. There's many types of veils, many different lengths, embellishments, and characters.

Veil Length
There's many different lengths you can choose from with your veil, and they are traditionally decided by the location of your wedding. Your smallest veil is the birdcage veil (see my previous post). This veil just hugs your face, generally no longer than mid-neck.

The fly-away veil is the next longest. This veil brushes about the shoulders, and traditionally is a bit poofy in the back, like a bustle. (Bustle as in early 1900's bustle, not what today's bridal salons refer to).

Next is the elbow length veil. This is one of the big popular lengths. It's easy to manage for today's bride, and is just enough veil to be a presence without being it's own major piece in the bridal outfit.

After that is the finger-tip veil. The second most popular length. Again, easy to manage, but a little more formal.

Then we get into some serious length. The next veil on our length-based tour is the ballerina veil. These veils cover any range from the knee to the ankle. They get into the formal arena, without demanding floor space on the aisle.

Last, is the cathedral-length veil. These veils demand their own attention, trailing behind you from any range of length you want - just a couple short feet to dozens of yards, as seen by many a fairy-tale princess. These veils demand use in a very formal setting, traditionally in a large cathedral church or major synagogue, and a couple cute little girls helping you through doorways. Think Princess Diana's whopping 25 foot veil. These veils make for incredibly dramatic photographs, and trust me - that baby's coming off before you take one step into the reception.


Princess Diana's dress and veil, from the back. The scalloped lace is her veil.

Parts of the Veil
Parts? Yep, the veil has more to it than just length. The veil is traditionally made up of two parts, the blusher, and the back (known just as the veil). Not all veils sold in bridal salons are two-part veils including the back and blusher. Many salons today make an extra buck selling a basic blusher as a separate piece. The blusher is that pretty bit covering your face that your husband lifts in order to give you your "you may now kiss the bride" kiss. A definite must-have for romantics! The blusher can range from just below the chin, to just above the waist (so not to get in the way of the flowers). Though they're uber romantic, they aren't required!

Other popular types of veils are multi-tiered. These tiers are just adding to the look of your veil. Styles with multiple tiers can be used in combination with different lengths. Many cathedral gowns are three-tiered with elbow and fingertip lengths.

Veil Styles
Once you've chosen your veil length, you need to choose your style. There's lots of choices out there. First, there's the raw edge veil - just a simple cut tulle, no stitches or embellishments of any kind. Very bold. Next is the simple-stitch veil. The edges are just rolled and stitched, giving a simple, finished look. Then, we get into it. You can get ribbon-edged veils - ribbons of a variety of width, color, or design can be stitched on the edges of the veil. You can also get lace matching your dress to trim the tulle.

More popular right now are beaded veils. A separate strip of tulle, generally with smaller spaces, is covered with beads, or have a beaded design sown on. This strip is then sewn onto the veil around the edges. I must say, when I was trying on my gown last week, I saw a beaded-edge veil that matched my dress perfectly! Yes, I bought it. (Pictures soon)

Another veil style is the mantilla lace veil. Instead of using tulle for the veil body, the entire veil is made of lace. These veils traditionally cover the top of the head and frame the face; no blusher. Very beautiful, and the kind of veil that became popular in Spain and was huge in the 1920's.

My last bit of advice for you - make sure your veil fits your gown and your ceremony venue. Your veil should accent your gown, and enhance your look, not dominate or take-away from people looking at your glowing face. Above all, make sure you love it - it's part of your special day and is worth the time it takes the find the right one.


Mantilla veils, a beautiful way to frame the bride's face.

Happy planning!
Rebekah Ross
Weddings & Events

Rehearsal dinners - not just about the food

Yesterday was the wedding of a client-couple of mine, and it was just beautiful. The bride was stunning in her gown, her daughter and flower girl in a matching version of her dress was ridiculously adorable. And best of all - it went off without a hitch. Thanks to a successful rehearsal dinner the night before, that is.

Rehearsal dinners are a great opportunity to put your feet up before the stress of the big day, but it's not just a meal and opportunity to be with your family and friends. It is incredibly important to take advantage of the 'rehearsal' part of 'rehearsal dinner'. This is your opportunity to walk through everything, from who goes in what order, when you pass your bouquet to the maid of honor, to the groomsmen practicing their "woops, where's the ring?!" bit. But most importantly, it gives you and your officiant an opportunity to ensure everyone is confident for the big day.

Most brides and grooms are very nervous during the actual wedding ceremony. Yes, even couples who "never" get nervous with public speaking. Honey, this ain't public speaking! Even if you don't want to spend the money on one more meal for the wedding process, take the time to get together with your officiant - and please not the day of the wedding - to walk through the ceremony physically. Just talking it through isn't good enough, you need to stand before the officiant, practice the walking down the aisle, practice lighting unity candles, having your maid of honor fix your train, etc.

That way, on the big day, everyone knows what to expect. Everybody's confident, excited, and they know exactly what to do. Trust me - a little rehearsal goes a long way.

Happy planning!

Spotlight On: Trophy Cupcakes

The day before Easter I finally had an opportunity to go to Trophy Cupcakes and try their oh-so-famous, and really quite cute, cupcakes. When I got there, there was a very impressive line of eager customers. I wondered to myself "is this an every day occurrence?". I soon found out, to my happy surprise, that I happened to go to Trophy Cupcakes on the one day of the year that they sell a cupcake called a hi-hat. It was a sugary heaven. Marshmallow icing dipped in chocolate atop a chocolate cake. Trust me - one cupcake is good for 2 or 3 people.

We ended up getting a couple different flavors to take home, and I must say - I like this part of my job! In the end though, I found I didn't come across one flavor that really nocked my socks off, but I did enjoy the tasty journey. If you like gourmet flavors with incredible ingredients, they are very much worth it.

If you're considering the cupcake route for your wedding or event - do yourself a fun favor and go try a couple flavors, from a couple different places, before you place your order. Yum!

Where not to scrimp on your big day

Wednesday I gave you a lot of fantastic tips for helping you save money on your wedding. But there were a few tips I didn't give you, and for a very good reason. Here are the top three things for your wedding day that are just too important for you to scrimp on.

#1 - the most important thing - the photography. Your cousin Billy who took a photo course at the art annex doesn't have the skill to get you those incredible photographs you really want. He also doesn't have the quality equipment. And what if his camera battery dies mid ceremony? What if he likes taking pictures of his kids more than photos of you cutting the cake? If you're really looking to save, and don't want to go for an all-out professional, at a minimum, check with your local art school and talk to the photography students who are in their senior year. There's a huge difference in what student in their senior year and students in their sophomore year have learned - don't learn that the hard way. But honestly, if you can only spend the extra money on one thing - spend it on your photographer.

#2 - the dress. Let's face it, most girls dream about their wedding day growing up. And there's a certain image that comes to mind with that dream - the dress she'll wear. You'll only wear it once, but it'll be for the most special day of your life - why not wear something you feel magical in? Trust me on this one. This is something you want to look back on and not regret.

#3 - your choice. When you're doing your wedding budget, there's something you tell your planner that is very important to you; a priority. If it's that important, don't let it fall to the way side. Put the money aside so that when you look back on your wedding it's everything you wanted it to be.




Happy planning!
Rebekah Ross
Weddings & Events

Resessionista Wedding Tips

For the past few weeks I've been tweeting some "Recessonista Wedding Tips", ways to save money in today's economy. They've been so popular I wanted to share a blog post with my non-twitter followers, and expand on the list! These ideas are fun, romantic, and so simple. So here we go!

1. Have your bridesmaids carry a single flower instead of a whole bouquet. Simple, romantic, costs lots less

2. Send an e-card instead of a big save the date card. There's lots of free options, and some great cheap ones

3. Skip the inner envelope with your invites, or better yet, make them yourself with a small square of paper or doily.

4. Have your florist use more filler in your arrangements, centerpieces, and attendant bouquets.

5. Cut back your guest list. Your dad's college roomie he hasn't seen in 25 years doesn't need to come.

6. Provide free drinks for the first hour, then switch to cash bar.

7. Get married on a day other than Friday and Saturday. You'll save so much on venue costs, and some vendors even offer off-day discounts!

8. Hit up the local music school for musicians, local bar school for bartenders, beauty school for hair and make-up, fashion school for bridesmaids gowns (not bridal gown). Get my drift?

9. Hold both ceremony and reception at the same venue. Save on additional site fees, transportation fees, and it's so much easier on your guests.

10. Instead of a gourmet rehearsal dinner, get your favorite take-out! It's fun, it's laid back, and new family can bond easily over the shared love of pad thai.

11. Skip the tiered cake. Other options? Try a sheet cake, or the popular cupcake route. The best part about cupcakes? No cake cutting fee from the caterer.

12. If you've got lots of friends you want to share your big day with, throw a low-key party a day or two after the wedding (or after the honeymoon) for your friends. Make the invitation BYOB and just order some pizza to cover the food. As a friend to host at their home. You've spent $50 and your friends feel like they've been part of the celebration.

13. Take up one of those great free trip packages, you know, the kind where you have to listen to a 4-hour lecture on buying a time-share? The trip is still free, and you get an additional 3 lecture-free days.

14. Enter those free-stuff competitions. Most bridal shows give away gowns, photography, cake, even a great planner's services. It's worth entering, you may win some great stuff.

15. Use family heirlooms. If your fiance has a beautiful ring from his great grandmother, it's an incredible wedding ring for you. Antique cake toppers are incredibly popular right now - does someone have one to gift you? Sit down with your families and ask them what they have that would make your day even more special.

To get your thoughts going, here's some beautiful centerpiece ideas that are surprisingly inexpensive:



On Friday, I'll tell you what not to scrimp on.

Happy planning,
Rebekah Ross
Weddings & Events

Wedding Ceremonies - Do What You Want

Yesterday I attended a beautiful wedding ceremony for my dear friends Tracy and Bill. They didn't have loads of money to spend on their wedding, but they knew what they wanted, and that was for the ceremony to be true to their beliefs. They are part of an alternative religion, and had had a difficult time finding an officiant who would either give then a civil ceremony, or perhaps even something akin to their beliefs. Unfortunately, most commercial officiants were of specific beliefs, and refused to do their ceremony.

Luckly, they had me. I sat down with Tracy and Bill and we talked all about what they really wanted. If money was no object, what did they want their ceremony to be? And then we talked about all the ways we could go about getting what they wanted. Who did they know? Who could they introduce themselves to in order to find more information? What did they already possess, both with their beliefs and with the items needed for the ceremony, to make this happen? And you know what it came down to? The insta-ordination power of the Universal Life Church. The ULC has a blanket belief system, letting anyone of any faith become a licensed minister legally able to do weddings.

So Tracy, Bill, and I had a fun time finding a good friend of theirs whom they shared their deepest beliefs with, and asked them if they would consider becoming a minister and administering their wedding ceremony. And it was just beautiful. It was everything they wanted their wedding to be, full of the meaning and commitment they wanted. Their families gained a greater understanding of Tracy and Bill's beliefs, and were able to share something very spiritual with them.



Happy planning!
Rebekah Ross
Weddings & Events

Mmmm Cakes!

One of my favorite things during wedding planning is shopping for the cake! Yum! Cakes are one place that a bride and groom can really cut lose on personality, especially if the rest of the wedding is traditional. There's so many options out there now for wedding cake, and even non-cake options like cupcakes, and even pie. But no matter what your cake or non-cake decision, you'll need to have a good discussion with your baker about what you're getting.

Most bakers are wonderful, honest people, but I've seen some instances in which a couple really got swindled from some shady tactics, so the three big things you need to cover with your baker:
1. Have a sit-down with your baker, your fiance, and anyone else you want to include (me!), and decide on the flavors and the design of your cake. Bring pictures or sketches of what you're interested in, and keep an open mind as your baker may have great ideas that would fit your budget better.
2. Make sure your baker has a detailed sketch of the cake before the meeting is over. If there's something you're very specific about wanting, and it's new to them, give them as much information to refer back to as you can.
3. GET IT ALL IN WRITING!!! If you only follow one bit of advice from me, please let this be it. In your contract you MUST detail everything: what each tier consists of with flavor, height, and layers, how names or any writing needs to be spelled, the height of the cake overall, delivery, everything. The contract also needs to detail everything your money pays for. I have literally seen bakers charge to assemble the tiers, and even to put piping on! If you have structural elements (and you will if it's got any kind of tiring or height), make sure that's not an additional cost.

Have fun with your cake. Nothing says you need to have four round white tiers with a monogram. Bakers are coming up with the most interesting ideas, and each so exciting and easy to tailor to your wedding. Here's some fantastic ideas to get you ready:



Happy planning!
Rebekah Ross
Weddings & Events