Embroider Your Veil

Selected detail shots of one brave bride's DIY veil.
Selected detail shots of one brave bride’s DIY veil.

Brides and wedding trends seem to change year after year. The past few years, however, brides have decided to bring out their creative side for their nuptials. Thanks to Pinterest, a do-it-yourself (DIY) wedding is all the rage. This industry has never seen so many people try to take their wedding into their own hands. This trend even applies to as small a detail as your bridal veil — no longer are women simply buying a beautiful pre-made lace veil, they’re trying to make it themselves.

Making a wedding veil is not as simple as it looks! There are various YouTube tutorials that show you how to hand-stitch cut-edge tulle onto a comb, which actually does only take a few steps. However, if you want a fancier edge to your tulle, you can’t show that kind of detail work in a simple video. You will need much more than just a thread, needle, and some lace. You’ll need ample time, patience, and quite possibly an embroidery machine.

Embroidering your veil has been making its way into the bridal look for many years. Recently, celebrities have been catching on to this trend. Angelina Jolie had her children “embroider” her veil with artwork for her marriage to Brad Pitt. Making your own gauzy hairpiece adds sentimental value to your ensemble and gives you a sense of accomplishment and creativity.

There are myriad sites out there that show you how to create veils with lace, beading, etc. This girl put together a beautiful look complete with lace scalloping and delicate beading. She gives great advice to girls who are looking to put together a piece like this.

She began working on the project well in advance in order to make the best product she could: “If you’re going to roll with a DIY veil, start early. Look, I love crafting, and I have some (limited) time to do it, and I really enjoy knocking out projects, but if I was trying to make this thing one month before our wedding, I would have lost it. The details are tedious and totally boring. Sewing beads onto tulle? Aw-ful.”

This woman embroidered her veil using a machine, and the end product looked very skilled. She chose to glue on her pearl beading, because she did not have tons of time to utilize sewing techniques. She finished her veil the Thursday before her wedding. No one would advise you to add that kind of stress into the week of your wedding, though!

On the site, she remarks, “And of course, with all the many crafty projects for our wedding, I thought, ‘sure, no problem, a DIY veil, easy-peasy!’ Uh, yeah. There’s a reason why veils are so expensive. They’re hard to embellish!”

There are many types of veils you can create if you have a little extra time and some sewing skills (or a really good machine). However, if you want to put together that breathtaking look you saw at the bridal salon, most women would tell you that — albeit very worth it in the end — a lot of time, effort, and work must go into it. Some women simply choose to let the professionals do what they do best, and they purchase a veil from a salon. So whether you’re crafty or not, you can actually construct your own veil; just make sure to start early and be tolerant of your end result!