The Bridal Veil: Beautiful and Timeless

The Bridal Veil: Beautiful and Timeless

Earlier this week we discussed ways for the bride to style her hair for her wedding day and one of those options is to wear a veil. However, we didn't go into great detail on the reasoning or history of why brides are traditionally meant to wear a veil. Brides have been wearing veils since ancient Greek and Roman times. The veil was said to be able to protect the bride's purity - the bride being at her purest on her wedding day - from jealous spirits. At its beginnings, the veil was worn in bright reds and yellows because those were the two dominant colors that would scare away evil spirits. Then, the veil also symbolized protecting the bride's modesty from the view of the husband. In ancient times and in some cultures today, during courtship, the bride would be veiled as a way of protecting her modesty and purity. The bridal veil tends to have more particular meaning in religions, though despite the many various faiths, the meaning of the bridal veil seems to come down to the same idea: To protect or cover a woman's purity. 

In today's culture the weight of that meaning is often dismissed and is instead exchanged for being a fashion accessory the bride can choose from. This isn't a cut and dry negative and neither is it entirely a positive transformation. What it does do is it give brides a lot more options. By not being limited to the symbolic nature of the bridal veil it frees the exact style or design of the veil giving brides a wide selection of veils. This does not mean that the veils beauty and meaning is completely lost, but it may mean that brides that do have the desire adhere to the traditional use and symbol of the veil will need to make the extra effort to emphasize its importance and meaning.