It’s a modern day anomaly from the old world – the bridal veil – more often than not it is bought and then pops up on wedding day prepared to go, but there’s always a lingering question on whether it will be confirmed for the main event at the last minute or not. We feel for the veil as often its staring role is left in the hands of the hairdressers: will it go with the desired hairstyle or be up staged by a glittery hairpiece or fresh flower? Or will mother of the bride or the bride herself deem it uncomplimentary to the final overall look? Or will the bride’s modern accustomization to ease-of-movement and easy-to-wear banish the veil to the never-to-wear realms of the corset, garter belt and the crinoline (the highly flammable petticoat that killed thousands of women in the Victorian era)?

And if the veil does make the cut, the second question is, how do I wear it? And then when do I take it off? So before we analyse what our brides have been doing today, in our Cinque Terre Wedding Fun Facts*, let’s jump back in time to find out what our brides of yesteryear did.

So super interesting fact is that the wedding veil is the oldest member of the bridal ensemble, going back to ancient tribes who would wrap the bride head to toe to represent the untouched maiden and protect her from prying eyes and evil spirits. We also know, over 1,000 years ago, in the Middle East, bridal parties traveled beneath a protective canopy. The modern veil is thought to be a miniature version of this. Symbolic of purity, privacy and concealment, it has always been reserved for brides marrying for the first time.

Photo: Reproduction of a terracotta slab from Campania during the Roman period, of the Marriage of Peleus and Thetis. Source: Mikimedia Commons

Historically the veil has also been used for practical purposes. In the days of arranged marriages, which were very common around the world until the 1700s, the veil was used to hide the bride’s face from the groom and only to be raised after the vows had been said. With many couples not having seen each other before the wedding day, this was a way of stopping the groom from reneging on the deal, in the case he found his new wife not pleasing to the eye.

And in the past, different cultures used the veil in different ways. The ancient Greeks wore scarlet coloured veils, representing Hymen, the god of marriage and after the ceremony offered up their veils to Hera, the goddess of women, marriage, family, and childbirth. While the ancient Romans wore vivid saffron coloured veils over braided hairstyles or garlands of wildflowers.

Perhaps due to the cost of creating the sheer veil, it lapsed in popularity from the early anglo-saxon brides of the 400s until it disappeared completely by the 1700s. But two important events brought the veil back into fashion in the 1800s, firstly advances in technology brought the mass production of tulle to the market and secondly Queen Victoria decided to be the first modern monarch to marry in a veil. Apparently not wanting to hide her face from her subjects, instead of wearing the veil over her face she wore it cascading over her shoulders and down her back. And if ever there was a love story to influence the ages it was the love story of Victoria and Albert so it’s not surprising that her legacy still carries on today.

Painting of Victoria and Albert Wedding by Sir George Hayter.

In the 1930s Vogue magazine declared the practice of wearing the veil over the face “outmoded” but for religious ceremonies and romantic-minded brides we still see some brides celebrate the lifting of the veil as one of the high points of the ceremony. Think Duchess Kate and Meghan – “outmoded” we think not!

Photo: Dominic Lipinksi/AFP/Getty Images                                        Photo: Pascale Le Segretain/Getty Images

So what are brides today doing? To veil or not to veil? Well, our Cinque Terre Wedding Fun Facts show that around half, 51 per cent, of brides are still wearing veils for the ceremony.

And for those who are wearing the veil, the majority are wearing it Queen Victoria style, face exposed, cascading down back. In fact, just 14 per cent are opting for the long-held tradition of wearing the veil over the face when walking down the aisle, Kate and Meghan style. Notably, 83 per cent of those covering the face are religious weddings.

Real Cinque Terre Wedding of Kelly and Ross.  Photo by  Pure Wedding Photography.

And when it’s time to partay? The majority, 70 per cent of brides, remove the veil for the reception part of the wedding.

And for those brides going without the veils, what seems to be the popular alternative? Well, around 16 per cent of our brides are wearing hair pieces such as decorative hair combs, vines or tiaras.

Real Cinque Terre Wedding of Jess and Dan. Photo by Facibeni Fotografia. 

While 10 per cent are wearing floral crowns and 9 per cent are wearing fresh flowers.

Real Cinque Terre Wedding of Dominique and Rick. Photo by Ed Peers.

And if in doubt, a small number, around 14 per cent of brides, are opting to go naturale with no veil or hair embellishment, at all.

So by the looks of things we are still, in the main, carrying on the traditions of our ancient tribal ancestors, wearing veils for the ceremony and then offering them up to the goddess Hera, before partying on at the reception. Literally, following in the footsteps of women who have walked down the aisle before us as brides for thousands of years. Kind of makes every step all the more special, right? We think so.

Real Cinque Terre Wedding of Marianne and Andreas. Photo by Miriamo Rossignoli.

Written by Melina Nicholson. Feature photo: Real Cinque Terre Wedding Stephanie and Ben. Photo by Facibeni Fotografia. 

*These Cinque Terre Wedding Fun Facts are based on 82 destination weddings held in the Cinque Terre, Italy, with couples from around the world including but not limited to: Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America.

In the purpose of recognising and respecting cultural diversity, we acknowledge that this article is Anglo-Saxon focused, written from the insight of destination weddings in Italy, and does not explore veil wearing traditions at weddings that could be practised in many other parts of the world by many other different cultural and religious backgrounds.

Reference: I do! I do! By Susan Waggoner, 2002.

The post The great unveiling – should I wear a veil? appeared first on Cinque Terre Wedding.

Cause let’s face it, it was a bit of destination wedding for American Meghan Markle who we watched do what a lot of destination wedding brides do: fly in their family and friends from a country far, far, away, fuse together the bride and groom’s cultural heritage and traditions and embrace the local culture.

So our top 5 destination wedding ideas from Harry and Meghan’s Royal Wedding are:

Destination Wedding Ideas Number 1: Simple Wedding Dress.

Or should we say dresses. 5 meter veil aside, (although we loved the symbolism of the embroidered flora from the 53 commonwealth countries) both of Meghan’s dresses were simple, fresh and classic. Meghan’s ceremony dress, designed by Clare Waight Keller of Parisian label Givenchy and her reception dress, by British designer Stella McCartney, were both pared down and relaxed – just perfect for a destination wedding. Think more luggage space, less time in front of the steamer and freedom of movement to explore the exotic location for your photos and most importantly to kick off your shoes to partay.

Photo credit: Glamour Magazine 

Photo credit: Hello Magazine

Destination Wedding Ideas Number 2: Incognito Cake Stands.

Allow us to drool at the cake for a moment please. Thanks. We just love, love, love the clean, fresh, semplicità of this cake. According to our Italian bakers it’s an easy cake to make and there’s even this nifty behind the scenes video on how it was put together but we’ll leave the baking to the experts.

Instead, what about the presentation? Of course, genius! Why should tiers sit squishy on top of one another when they can all have their own little perch of space to breathe and swing their arms around in joy and say: “look at me, ain’t I sweet!” We love this deconstructed approach to the traditional tiered cake, which is in fact a British design from the late 1700s inspired by the spire of St Bride’s church in London.

But enough of our geeky wedding history facts, what we love best about the cake is not the clean exterior, the deconstructed tiers or the glorious ruffled peonies (but how heavenly are they?) it is the wizardry of re-purposing the pedestal vases as cake stands that makes us gawk in holy moliness. Just when we thought we couldn’t get enough of metallic pedestal vases out they come masquerading as cake stands – you cheeky little vases, we see what you’re doing and we love it!

Photo credit: Hello Magazine

Destination Wedding Ideas Number 3: Going Han Solo.

It takes a bucket load of courage with a very big straw for a bride to walk down the aisle by herself. And Meghan did it with the eyes of the world watching. Thanks to this gutsy young lass, now brides around the world will find it easier to do the same.

Today, with nuclear families being less common, we often see brides and grooms juggle the emotions and expectations of split family dynamics when planning their big day. As a result, the tradition of the bride’s father walking her down the aisle and giving her away is becoming more and more outdated. Going solo is a diplomatic solution for many brides who would prefer to forego this tradition, a tradition that derives from, fact alert: ancient times of arranged marriages. Going solo instead brings the focus back to the bride and groom. So thank you Meghan for gifting us with a get out of jail free card for all couples who want to break away from tradition.

Photo credit: Andrew Matthews in the Times

Destination Wedding Ideas Number 4: Posey got back.

A pocket full of posies… or a bouquet full… whatever your poison, Harry and Meghan have bought posies back! Meghan’s discrete posey embraced the current wildflower bouquet trend and included white forget-me-nots, sweet peas, lily of the valley, astilbe, jasmine astrantia and a sprig of myrtle to symbolise love.

Posies, most easily described as a small bouquet of scented flowers or herbs, are an English invention, yes, fact alert on its way: popular in Harry’s great, great, Grandmother Victoria’s era. The posey, also known as a nosegay or tussie mussie was popular in the early 1800s, when bathing opportunities were limited, so were carried to mask odours.

However, according to Hello Magazine, Buckingham Palace has 74 bathrooms, so we imagine Meghan’s bouquet choice was less to do with fragrance and more to do with taste. Or Harry’s taste to be more exact, cause here’s the real humdinger of the bouquet, Harry apparently picked the flowers himself!

This is a first! We are yet to have a groom pick the bouquet for his bride and we are hedging our bets on this becoming a top bridal trend. And why wouldn’t it be? It’s a clever way of multi-purposing the bouquet: “tadaa! Here’s your bouquet, but not just any old bouquet, it’s a bouquet with benefits: a wonderful gift, a super special gesture of love from your husband-to-be.”

So challenge to you all you up and coming grooms: Have you got what it takes to pick the bouquet of your bride’s dreams?

Photo credit: Jane Barlow – WPA Pool Getty Images in Glamour Magazine

Destination Wedding Ideas Number 5: Marry a Redhead.

(no, just kidding, though according to National Geographic redheads are said to be an endangered breed that could be extinct in the next 100 years, so not such a bad idea, after all). Anyway, let’s try that again…

Destination Wedding Ideas Number 5: Electric Wedding Car.

Our final O moment from Harry and Meghan’s royal wedding was when the couple left Windsor Castle in a Jaguar E Type Concept Zero. Yes, it was an iconic English automobile and yes, it was a little strange that the steering wheel was on the left hand side, more strange for Harry than Meghan of course, so perhaps it was a symbolic fusion of England and America, but the most trend forecasting joy was that the car was zero-emissions and battery-electric powered.

So for your destination wedding in Italy how about arriving in an electric Vespa, Ape or mini Fiat 500, or if you want to get to the chapel on time you may like to consider a Lamborghini, Maserati, Alfa Romeo or our nonno’s favourite, the Ferrari? If there’s one thing Italians do well it’s cars, well, that is, aside from destination weddings, food, wine, fashion… ow, the list of what Italian do well is actually endless, so we’ll stop now and leave you to dream about the destination wedding ideas from the Royal Wedding. Sweet dreams!

Photo credit: Getty Images from Town and Country Magazine

Written by Melina Nicholson

The post Top 5 Destination Wedding Ideas from Harry and Meghan’s Royal Wedding appeared first on Cinque Terre Wedding.