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I know that it is "traditional" to wear the veil over your face when you walk up the aisle and then to have your father lift it over your head when you reach the end of the aisle, but...how many of you are doing this?  Why or why not?  Can we talk about the pros and cons of covering your face with the veil to walk up the aisle? 

I don't think I want a veil. I'll try some on when I go shopping for my dress, but I just don't think I want anything covering up my face. I think it might irritate me. LoL. I don't know. I'm weird.

I'm going to do the traditional route with the veil covering my face down the aisle and father lifting it at the end. The veil is so sheer I'm not worried about my face being obscured for those 30 seconds down the aisle, and the symbolism is worth it to me.

I am, it's called a blusher and it's a seperate piece from the actual veil so it can be later removed. It's also good, because blushers are seamless and so you don't have anything that actually blocks your face - like sparkles in the line of vision. Or a line of satin along the bottom kinda "chopping" you in half there.

I'm doing it because I think it's a sweet tradition and I know my dad is looking forward to it. I've considered being funny and wearing "Big Bubba" fake teeth so that when dad lifts it he cracks up....I think I'll skip it though.

I'm still trying to determine whether I want a blusher.

I spoke with my officiant who has been officiating for decades and he said in my deliberation of whether to use one or not, he told me that people used to do it back in the day when the groom would not see the bride until they married. It was used to cover her face (just in case she wasn't esthetically pleasing...) so that the groom would not change his mind prior to saying I do.

Interesting!

First off, Candie1024, I think the veil looks beautiful on you.  However, to me the whole tradition is just kinda icky.  I think it gives the wrong message.  One that I'm hiding something, I'm either not walking into the marriage proudly as an equal, or I'm hiding something from the groom.  The second part, the idea that I belong to my father, and I am a gift to be unveiled at the altar also seems icky.  I too struggled with the idea of just my father walking me up the aisle, I would have preferred both my parents walking me up, because they both raised me, rather than just my father.  Anyway, I won't be covering my face as I walk up the aisle (except with makeup, which, come to think of it . . . )

I think wearing the veil is a personal choice but deciding to wear one or not based on the old symbolism is kind of silly...almost EVERYTHING in a wedding has a connection to old sexist symbolism.  So if you don't wear a veil cause you think it has weird symbolism then by the same logic you really shouldn't wear a white dress, or carry flowers cause that use to symbolize fertility, or  have a bouquet toss, or garter toss, and don't even think of cutting the cake and feeding each other cause that has all sorts of crazy fertility symbolism as well. 

There is just no way to get around the fact that a wedding use to be a business transaction where ownership of a woman was passed from one man to another.

The point is that none of these things mean what they use to so I wouldn't get caught up in it.  No one sees you in a white dress and veil and thinks "oh look a virgin!"  It's pretty much a fashion choice now. Do you like the way it looks and do you feel comfortable? If not don't wear it.  If so, go for it.

It was because of a lot of that symbolism that we didn't do any of the things mentioned, BB.  Maybe a wedding used to be a transaction, but eliminating certain aspects of it isn't really futile either.  Kind of like how some women choose not to change their last name upon marriage because of what it used to mean.

And many people still do associate the white dress with a woman's sexual status.  (I got a lot of flak about my non-white dress and what it might cause people to think of me *insert eye roll*)

I'm all for if you like it, go for it, but there's also nothing wrong with objecting to something on principle.

What I find amusing is how much the symbolism of many of these traditions have changed over the years.  What was primarily a practical matter has been romanticized or given a religious context.  One can say that the veil is about virginity and purity, but looking back to the business arrangement aspect of weddings, and it becomes a handy tool for hiding unsightly merchandise or pulling a bait and switch, as JCM and ju1244 have noted.

Most modern wedding traditions, at least their current symbolisms, are relatively new.  For example, the white dress.  In western Europe, the traditional wedding dress was actually blue.  Queen Victoria popularized the white dress that we know today. 

What it all boils down to is that you can basically pick and choose whatever traditions you want to include, and you can assign your own symbolism to them.  Make it your own!  If that means having a hybrid wedding of cultural traditions around the world, with modern romantic interpretations of old customs, go for it.  :)