Covering a bride's head with a veil or a
hat today is purely an aesthetic decision but the history of bridal head
decoration is a lot more complicated and quite bizarre.
Imagine your hair twisted and waxed into a
punk-like spire coming straight from the top of your head; an attractive look
for your wedding day? Well, ancient Romans used to do this to the bride in
order to protect her from 'horned demons' and keep her pure. Funnily enough the
trend never really took off.
Historically, hair was considered unclean
and headdresses were often used to hide it since it was only fairly recently
that regular bathing caught on. In the 1600s conical headdresses were placed on
the bride's head, possibly in place of the ancient Roman 'spike' look, and a
full-length veil was attached at the tip.
The historical significance of the veil is
three-fold. Firstly they were worn to confuse evil spirits and goblins which,
for some odd reason, were thought to hang around brides on their wedding day.
Secondly, as most marriages were arranged, the veil was used so that the groom
wouldn't bolt before the ceremony if he didn't consider the bride attractive
enough. It was also considered bad luck for the groom to see the bride before
the ceremony so the veil helped obscure her from his vision. This latter
superstition is something that many brides still adhere to today.
Time has dictated the trends in terms of
what is hot for bridal headwear. In the 1920s the cloche cap veil was popular
and was decorated with lace and satin or velvet ribbon. During this time,
headpieces were generally more elaborate because the dresses tended to be more
simple and formless.
The flappers of the 20s were fond of floral
wreaths.
Veils today come in different styles,
including centre-gathered, oval-cut, mantilla or drop.
All good wedding shops will offer advice on
an appropriate hats or veils to complement your wedding dress.
