When to Take Your Veil Off on Your Wedding Day
In short
Most brides take their veil off after the photographs and before the wedding breakfast or dinner. Some keep a short veil on until the first dance, and a few wear it all night. The blusher comes back first, during the ceremony. Take out the pins before easing the comb out, and hang the veil straight away.
Most brides take their veil off after the photographs and before the wedding breakfast or dinner. Some keep a short veil on until the first dance, and a few wear it all night. There is no rule. Keep it on for as long as you love wearing it, and take it off when it starts to get in the way: when you sit down to eat, or once the hugging and dancing start. If your veil has a blusher, that comes back first, during the ceremony.
A simple timeline for the day
The ceremony
Wear your veil for the whole ceremony. If it has a blusher, it is lifted back either at the altar, by whoever walks you down the aisle, or after the vows, by your new husband or wife. Our post on who unveils the bride covers both. Once the blusher is back, it stays back for the rest of the day.
Confetti and the walk out
Keep it on. The confetti photographs are some of the best of the day, and tulle catches the petals.
Couple photographs
This is when a long veil earns its keep. Most photographers want twenty minutes with the veil on, ideally outside. If it is windy, magnetic veil weights clipped to the hem help.
Drinks
This is the first point most brides think about taking it off. A cathedral veil gets stepped on in a crowd, and every hug pulls the comb. If you are keeping it on, ask a bridesmaid to watch the train for you. A long veil can also be bustled up out of the way; our post on how to bustle a veil shows how.
The wedding breakfast or dinner
Take it off before you sit down. A veil does not mix with gravy or candles, and it snags on a chair back. You will also want to lean in to talk to people. This is the most common moment brides choose.
The first dance
Some brides put a long veil back on for the first dance, for the photographs, then take it off for the rest of the evening. A short or elbow length veil can stay on all night.
How to take it off without pulling your hair
- Find the bobby pins across the comb and take them out first. Your hairdresser can tell you how many there are.
- Hold the comb at both ends. Tip the teeth slightly up, away from your scalp, and ease it out backwards. Never pull it straight out by the tulle.
- If it catches, stop, and ask someone to free the hair from the teeth.
- Smooth your hair over where the comb sat, or pin a hair accessory there.
Plan your evening look
A veil comb leaves a small dip in your hair. The easiest way to cover it is to wear a hair vine or a hair comb from the start. A bride who wrote to us planned exactly this: her hairdresser pinned her hair vine in first, the veil went on top for the church, and she took the veil off at the venue with her hair still finished. Ask your hairdresser to set both at your trial, so the vine does not have to come out when the veil does.
Where to put it once it is off
Hang it up straight away. A veil thrown over a chair at a wedding gets sat on or spilled on, or goes missing. Give it to a bridesmaid with one job: hang it in your room or in the bridal suite. Our veil hanging hook and storage bag set has a clip for the comb and a hanger, so it can hang from any hook. Our post on hanging and storing your veil explains how to keep it safe afterwards.
Choosing a veil you will want to keep on
If you would like to wear your veil all evening, choose a shorter, lighter one. An elbow or fingertip length veil on a single comb is easy to forget you are wearing. A two tier veil gives you the blusher for the ceremony and still sits neatly once it is back. You can see them all in our wedding veils.
Sarah Jane x
Your questions
Can I wear a hair vine under my veil and take the veil off later?
Yes. Ask your hairdresser to pin the vine in first and set the veil on top. When the veil comes off, your hair stays finished.
Which veil can I keep on all day?
A short, light veil on a single comb, such as elbow or fingertip length. It is easy to forget you are wearing it.
How does the blusher work during the ceremony?
It stays over your face until it is lifted, at the altar or after the vows. Once it is back, it stays back for the rest of the day.
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