Why are wedding veils so expensive? I hear this complaint all the time from brides. Many brides have the following distasteful experience when they go to the salon.
- You try on a wedding veil at the salon
- You fall in love with it
- You look at the price tag
- You suffer from SERIOUS sticker shock
Your wedding veil does not have to blow your budget! I want to give you hope! You do not have to spend all your budget on your wedding veil. There are clever ways that you can stay cost-effective and still have a quality piece that will last for generations to come. Continue reading for ideas to keep more of those hard-earned dollars in your wallet.
1. Make Your Own Wedding Veil
I know, I know, this may sound like a disaster waiting to happen! But if you have just a little bit of sewing knowledge then it is totally possible! This is especially a good idea for those of you brides who want a fairly simple veil. Just think of how proud you will be when you are able to tell your guests that you (possibly with some help from your mom) made your stunningly gorgeous wedding veil!
I would recommend following a tutorial or design from a professional who has done this before so that you avoid needless stress and so that you do not waste materials and fabrics. For example, a really easy pattern that I recommend for my DIY brides can be seen HERE.
It is meant for beginners who have no sewing experience. Best of all, it requires no sewing machine!! The huge benefit to following a pattern such as this is that you are able to ask the designer questions along the way if you run into any snags.
2. If you order your veil from a designer or salon, then don’t skimp on the quality of the materials and workmanship. Instead, cut back on the embellishments.
Coco Chanel says that “simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance.” And the same is true for your wedding day style. Try cutting back on a bit of the beading, the lace, the embroidery, or the glitter to keep your wedding veil more affordable. The embellishments are nice to have, but are not required for a gorgeous and sophisticated wedding day look. For example, look at how elegant this very simple raw edge cathedral length wedding veil is. No embellishments needed!
But what you NEVER want to skimp on is the quality of the material that is used or the workmanship of the accessory. You will be able to see if the tulle that is used on your veil is cheap or if the beading is plastic rather than glass or Swarovskis. You will be able to see if your veil is not finished correctly with the proper hair comb or if the edges are not cut with precision.
So my recommendation is to go with a more simple design, but a design that uses high quality fabrics and materials. It should be designed with meticulous attention to detail.
My bride, Emily, is the perfect example of how not to cut costs when you are purchasing your veil. She ordered 4 different veils from Ebay and Amazon hoping to find “the one”. They were all less-expensive options (under $50), and unfortunately, not even one was up to her standards. They looked stiff and awkward on her. Even more surprising was that there were sections where glue could be seen on the fabric. So she ended up paying several hundred dollars in her search for a wedding veil, and not a single one of them ended up working for her! It would be better if she started off with her budget in mind and invested in a single quality piece from a designer who she trusted and who stood behind their designs.
Avoid Emily’s mistake – cut some of the embellishments and don’t skimp on quality of materials and workmanship.
3. Wear Your Veil Twice
Many brides are sad that they can only wear their wedding veil once. Maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll end up wearing it twice if you have a separate photography session for your bridal portraits. But this still doesn’t feel like enough.
What do you think of this idea….
How would you feel about sharing your wedding veil with a trusted friend or family member who is also getting married? You can split the cost, and your veil will look vastly different on you both as you can style them differently and since you will be wearing different dresses.
Want to see an example of how this might work? My clever brides below are identical twins who were engaged at the same time. So funny, right? The one down side was that they both had a more limited budget. They had been sharing their clothes all their life, and they trusted each other. So they decided that they would split the cost of their wedding veil of their dreams and that they would both wear it on their wedding days! They wanted a long, showstopping cathedral length veil with French lace trim. This style is timeless and goes with many different styles of dresses.
Don’t they look alike? I still have to do a double take when I look at their photos!
If you have a trusted friend or family member who is engaged, then you may want to discuss sharing certain wedding accessories like your wedding veil. This can be your “something borrowed”. The one downside is that you then have to figure out who gets to keep the wedding veil!
4. Buy a Simple Dress and then Accessorize it to the Max
This is one of my favorite recommendations because it is just so fun! What girl doesn’t like her accessories? These days, I am seeing many budget-conscious brides who are purchasing understated, simple dresses with the intention of accessorizing the heck out of it. Your dress is your “blank canvas” – you then have the opportunity to totally dress it up with your bridal veil, your decorative beaded hair piece, your wedding belt, your jewelry, and maybe even a bridal cape. Ooooh and don’t forget the shoes! You can’t forget those lovelies.
You can find some beautifully understated, budget-friendly dresses that exude quality and class in every stitch. Since your dress is simple, it will be less expensive. Brides then use the money that they saved on their dress to have fun dressing up their look with all the sparkly accessories.
Check out my bride below who chose a simple silk gown without beading, and paired it with a lace bolero, rhinestone sash, lace cathedral veil, and a breathtaking winter-inspired bouquet. Her style comes together in a stunning symphony of style and grace.
5. Payment Plans
Many designers offer payment plans where you can pay for your wedding veil over time. At the very least, many salons and designers will allow you to make a down deposit on your wedding dress and veil and to then pay the remaining balance after it is ready to be picked up or shipped. This makes it easier for you to budget for your veil as you can pay for it in smaller increments.
At One Blushing Bride, I offer a payment plan where my brides can pay over the course of time. The only requirement is the initial $99 down deposit. You don’t even pay any additional interest or fees! Contact me if you are interested in learning more.
But this offer is not unique to me. More and more salons and designers are making this available to their brides. So make sure to ask.
6. Add Your Veil to Your Bridal Registry
This is one of the cleverest idea that I “borrowed” from my bride. She was on a tight budget, and was not able to afford the embroidered fingertip length bridal veil that she envisioned in her mind since she was just a little girl.
So she added it to her wedding registry! After all, you can only request so many pots and pans. Why not request a gift that will become a future heirloom that can be passed on to your children and grandchildren?
So to wrap things up, there are many clever ways that you can economize. Some of my favorite ways are by making your own veil, by skipping some of the embellishments, by sharing your veil with a friend, by choosing a simple wedding dress, by purchasing from a designer with a payment plan, or even by adding your veil to your bridal registry.
The best first step when it comes to picking a veil is to decide what your budget is, and to then go from there. There is no right or wrong answer.
If you want to learn more, then make sure to find out what the average cost is of a wedding veil HERE.