Monday 17 February 2014

Holy Matrimony

I never tire of gazing at Wedding veils and I'll have been married 19 years this October! On one of the most special days of her life, the bride approaches the Altar of God and her husband-to-be full of joy and peace. Dressed usually in pure white, she will have her hair covered in modesty and reverence to God and her bridegroom.




The stunning Grace Kelly on her Wedding day - she chose a Juliet cap (made famous from Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet') decorated with orange blossoms and the  circular veil, with lace motifs, was 90 yards long.



Another Juliet cap style veil- this one is handmade by 'Kelima K' in New York and is made of vintage lace and beaded trim. 



A glistening, fully beaded long mantilla.




Crocheted white Wedding veil, absolutely glorious!




Elegantly simple, traditional style mantilla.



Veiling the sacred - in Judaism at the 'bedeken' ceremony the bridegroom places the veil over the bride's face and recites the blessing given to Rebecca by her mother and brother before she left for her marriage to Isaac. 




“When a man loves a woman, he has to become worthy of her. The higher her virtue, the more noble her character, the more devoted she is to truth, justice, goodness, the more a man has to aspire to be worthy of her. The history of civilization could actually be written in terms of the level of its women.” 

+Fulton J. Sheen







11 comments:

  1. Fantastic pictures and quality captions, certainly going to inspire me to adorn my future daughter's heads. Thank you

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  2. Love your blog!

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  3. An interesting side issue: the veil covering the face. I was told that in Anglican weddings, the veil is lifted after the vows are exchanged, but in Catholic weddings, the veil is lifted when the bride arrives at the side of the groom before the priest, so he can see who he is marrying!

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    1. Interesting, and actually the notion of checking the bride is the right one stems from Judaism. The Bridegroom is actually taken and shown his wife before the ceremony and then again just before the vows are made!

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    2. In every Anglican wedding I've been to (including my own!) the veil was lifted when the bride arrives at the side of the groom. I don't know if that's a recent innovation, though. (As in the last 40 years or so!)

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    3. Having been kept apart for a week, there's nothing as beautiful as the look between bride and groom at the bedeken as he lifts her veil. xx

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    4. Bedeken! Thank you, Irim, I couldn't recall the word. I found a photo of this and thought it was such a beautiful act I would add it to the post. I think this must take place publicly or in private.

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  4. Where is the picture of you in your wedding mantilla?? That one is gorgeous too. :-D

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  5. Wonderful! Grace Kelly was such a gorgeously modest bride!

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    1. Princess Grace was one of the most exquisite brides there ever was! She had to be included in the post, it was just a matter of choosing between all the beautiful photos of her!

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