We receive emails everyday from brides trying to pick out just the right tiara that will make them shine on their special day. Many assume that the dress is the deciding factor, but it really isn't -- it's the face shape. You will want to match color tones of the tiara with the dress (silvertone with white and off-white and goldtone with ivory gowns), but the face shape determines the best match for the bride.
For a round face a higher peaked tiara, which will elongate the face, is the most flattering. A person with a longer face will want to choose a headband style or a very low peak in order to not elongate the face more. A person with an oval shaped face can wear most styles of tiaras.
These simple tips can help you choose the right headpiece that will make you look stunning on your wedding day.
There are many things to think about when choosing a veil -- length, color, style, and placement.
Length The basic veil lengths are chin length (with cage veils), shoulder length, elbow length (typically falls at a bride's waist), fingertip length (falls at the hips), and cathedral. A bride should pay attention to the decorations on her dress that a veil's length may either accentuate or cover up. She should also understand that her height plays a factor, as fingertip length gowns on petite women tend to make them appear cut in half, which is unflattering. The cage veil is both a new trend, yet also gives an air of nostalgia. While the elbow length veil is our most popular veil for its versatility, nothing beats the drama of a cathedral shimmer gown.
Color Many brides asks us for swathes. We stopped sending out swatches because it is impossible to tell anything about the color or the way the fabric hangs from a small piece of fabric. In order to tell anything about the true color, you have to fold up many, many layers (usually the whole veil), put it next to another piece of fabric, and take it out into bright light. In other words, you have to have the whole veil on hand to see any color in it at all.
This inability to see the color well makes it match just about any gown as long as you stay within these basic parameters: the white veils will go well with any white gown, the off-white or diamond-white veils go well with off-white gowns, that is, gowns that are just barely off-white, and the ivory veils go well with light ivory, dark ivory gowns or some brightly colored gowns. The only place you can see any real color when you are wearing the veil is up near the comb where the fabric is all bunched together. Also, any tulle will tend to pick up the color of the fabric underneath it.
Style The shimmer needs to be described fully. The manufacturer takes a standard, high-quality bridal tulle and applies a glazing to it that causes the shimmer. We specifically asked for a glazing with a very subdued shimmer. We experimented with different levels of shimmer and found that too much shimmer simply overwhelms the rest of the outfit. What we wanted was a very understated, subtle effect. When you are in a fairly dim light situation, there is no shimmer at all. When you exit the church, chapel, or hall into the sun, you are suddenly surrounded in a halo of shimmer. The effect is surprising and quite dramatic. Also, the shimmer shows up well in flash photography, but your guests won't see it until they see their photos. If you are in a hall where there are a lot of bright lights, the veil will pick them up and show a little shimmer. We offer cut edge (no edging) on our shimmer elbow and fingertip lengths, and offer a slight pencil edging on our elbow, fingertip, and cathedral length veils for that final finish.
The tulle is cut on the bias, which makes it hang more nicely than most veils, and is cut from an eighty-inch wide piece. The final result is less than eighty inches, because again, it was designed to hang nicely. There is nothing worse than a veil that has been left too wide and doesn't hang properly. For years, veils were unpopular because they were too poofy and distracted from an elegant gown.
We offer both below in our video slide show and on our website step-by-step guidelines on how to where a veil in order for you to look your best on your special day.
If you've picked up a wedding magazine in the past year, you know that hair jewelry is the current trend. While you shouldn't let that deter you if you want that Carrie Underwood crown, you can certainly shine and show great understated elegance wearing hair jewelry.
