The Veil

Traditionally brides have been thought to be particularly vulnerable to evil spirits. The veil was originally worn by Roman brides and was thought that it would disguise the bride and therefore outwit malevolent spirits.

The veil became popular in Britain in the eighteen hundreds and in this country it is associated with modesty and chastity.

Now veils are far more a fashion accessory and an extension of the wedding dress, there are various styles, lengths and embellishments available.

Bird cage: A small net veil that is worn closely to the face usually with a headpiece or small hat, perfect to complement a quirky or sleek dress.

Shoulder: Short and covers the head and neck, very sweet and looks great with tea length dresses and simple clean lines.

Elbow: Falls half way down the arms, a very popular choice, not to heavy but long enough to make an impact, normally single tier.

Finger Tip: Reaches down to cover the hands, comes in both single and double tier, works really well with large ball gowns and those with lots of pouf at the back.

Chapel: Floor length, this is extremely romantic and is an excellent choice for a church wedding and with a princess or A Line style dress.

Cathedral: Trails behind and reaches to the train of your dress. The ultimate in ‘veil’ it makes a huge statement and impact.

Accessories

Remember less is more; think about your height, your overall style and embellishments on your dress.

Wait until you have brought your dress before buying jewellery and wait until after your hair trail before buying head pieces and veils so you know exactly what is going to work. Nothing worse than spending lots of money and realising its not quite right for your over all look.

Apart from how beautiful the bride looked and how great the food was, the most talked about by wedding guests are the speeches! The most anticipated being the Best Man’s speech of course!

General etiquette for speeches is the following and in this order:

• Father of the Bride (or close family member): Thanks guests for coming, compliments and praises the bride, welcomes new husband to the family and toasts the bride and groom.
• Bride Groom: Thanks guests, thanks both sets of parents, complements his new bride, thanks bridesmaids and toasts the bridesmaids.
• Best Man: Reads messages from absent friends and relatives, comments on the bridal couple (in particular the groom) and toasts the bride and groom.

It is becoming more popular for the bride to give a speech; there are no expectations as this is not traditional. But some words of thanks and praise for her new husband after the groom’s speech would be a nice touch.

Here are 3 key areas for making a great speech, especially if you are the Best Man!

Practice; don’t try to speak off the top of your head, rehearse at least 3 times and in front of a small audience if possible. This will give you more confidence for when the time comes.

Know your audience; it’s important to set the right ‘tone’ to your speech. Rude inappropriate comments etc may go down well with some but not all so be mind fall of ages and attitudes of some guests. Bringing humour to a speech doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be crude.

Keep it short; Leave your audience wanting more.

Tips: use props, get the wedding party involved, use pictures/visuals, have a check list, remember etiquette, do your research, use cue cards, makes jokes tasteful and lastly relax, just enjoy the moment!