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Where the bridal veil comes from, from the Roman flammeum and the Jewish bedeken to Queen Victoria, plus what veils and head coverings mean in other cultures.
The bridal veil is older than the white dress by nearly two thousand years. Roman brides wore a deep yellow veil called the flammeum as a sign of fidelity. In Jewish tradition the groom veils the bride before the ceremony, echoing Rebecca in Genesis. Christian veils came to stand for modesty, went out of fashion in the 17th and 18th centuries, and returned after Queen Victoria wore one in 1840. Other cultures use very different head coverings, from Japanese hoods to Scandinavian crowns.
Bridal veils and head coverings through history: Ancient Rome, Flammeum, a deep yellow veil, Lifelong fidelity; Jewish tradition, Veil placed by the groom at the bedeken, Recalling Rebecca; often read as valuing the bride's inner beauty; Christian tradition, Veil, often white, Modesty and chastity; 17th and 18th centuries, Europe, Veils largely out of fashion, A fashion lull; Victorian Britain, Veil returns after 1840, Length and quality signalled status; Scandinavia, Veil worn under a bridal crown, Hangs down the back, not over the face; Japan, Watabōshi hood or tsunokakushi, Part of the traditional kimono ensemble.
The Roman bride's veil, the flammeum, was deep yellow, the colour of flame. It borrowed from the veil of the Flaminica Dialis, the high priestess of Jupiter, and so stood for lifelong fidelity to one husband. It's a reminder that bridal veils were not always white.
In Genesis, Rebecca takes her veil and covers herself when she first sees Isaac. Many Jewish weddings recall this with the badeken or bedeken, when the groom lowers the veil over the bride's face before the ceremony. It is often explained as the groom showing he is marrying her for who she is rather than how she looks. See Jewish wedding traditions and a guest's guide to a Jewish wedding.
In Christian tradition the bridal veil came to signify modesty and chastity, especially when white, drawing on Paul's teaching on head coverings in 1 Corinthians 11. Lifting the veil has also been compared to the temple veil torn at the crucifixion, symbolising direct access to God. Face-covering veils were rare before the second half of the 19th century.
Veils largely fell out of fashion in the 17th and 18th centuries. They came back after Queen Victoria wore one with her white wedding dress when she married Prince Albert in 1840. In the Victorian era, the weight, length and quality of a bride's veil showed her family's social standing. Victoria's wedding also popularised the white dress, and the two have been paired in the West ever since.
Japan. A traditional Japanese bride wears either an open white watabōshi hood or a tsunokakushi headdress with her kimono. See Japanese bridal kimono. Scandinavia. Brides traditionally wore veils under crowns, hanging from the back rather than over the face. See Scandinavian wedding traditions. South Asia. Many brides cover their head with the end of the sari or a dupatta rather than a separate veil. See Indian wedding traditions. West Africa. Yoruba brides wear the gele, a head tie, rather than a veil. See Nigerian bridal fashion.
There's no rule. Some brides wear one for the ceremony only and take it off for the reception. Others wear a family veil, a mantilla, a headpiece or nothing at all. If your faith or family has a custom, such as a bedeken, a veil for a church ceremony or a head covering for a mosque, ask early so you can plan the look around it.
Reasons differ by culture. Roman brides wore a yellow veil as a sign of fidelity, Jewish tradition recalls Rebecca veiling herself before meeting Isaac, and Christian tradition links the veil with modesty. Today it is mostly a matter of taste.
Traditionally the groom, either at the end of the ceremony or before the kiss. Some brides lift it themselves or have a parent do it.
After Queen Victoria wore a veil and white dress for her wedding in 1840. Veils had been out of fashion for much of the previous two centuries.
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