How to Make a Bridal Veil

Making your own bridal veil is easier than you may think. To get started, you will need the following materials; all of these items can be found at an art supply store or a fabric shop.

1. Tulle in 108" width - Tulle is sometimes referred to as "bridal illusion". Tulle is recommended because it requires no finishing. You can use other fabric, but you'll have to finish the raw edges. The length of tulle needed depends on your height and the style of veil. Use the following guidelines to get the perfect length, keep in mind you may want to purchase extra: Shoulder Length ("blusher") 18" - 24", Waist Length 30", Fingertip Length 38" - 40", Floor Length ("chapel") 60" - 72", Cathedral Length 108" or longer.

2. Needle and Sturdy Thread - Make sure the thread color matches that of your tulle.

3. Fabric Scissors

4. Dressmaker's chalk or a soft pencil

5. Weighted objects such as books - These will be used to anchor the tulle while you work with it.

6. An Attachment - This is a mechanism such as a comb, clip or headband that will be used to secure the veil.

7. Adhesive - This can be either a hot glue gun, glue sticks or fabric`glue.

8. Decorative Elements - Items such as pearls, beads, sequins and crystal can be used to make your veil beautiful and one of a kind.

To get started on making your veil, lay the tulle on a clean, flat surface. Fold the tulle in half lengthwise, and place weighted objects along its edges to keep it still. Use the dressmaker's chalk trace a curve along the bottom edge of the tulle. Use the fabric shears to cut along the line you drew, then unfold the tulle.
Next take the needle and thread, and sew the top straight edge using a running stitch across the entire length. Once you have reached the other end and stitched across the full length of the top edge of your veil, you want to cinch the two outer edges together by pulling the thread out and pushing the tulle in. After the tulle is cinched, knot the open end of the thread securely and cut off the excess. This step is important because it will make the top of your veil small enough to fit securely on your attachment comb or headband. The next step is to glue or sew the top of your veil to the attachment mechanism.

The structure of your veil is now complete, the final step is to decorate it! This is your chance to be creative and customize your veil. Save leftover material from your dress, if you have alterations, to decorate your veil; this will allow you to match your veil to your dress. You might also want to use a ribbon, fabric or extra beading to cover the comb or headband on your veil to make it look polished.

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How to Address You Wedding Invitations

Addressing your wedding invitations can be a tedious and time consuming task. It is best to start the process about 3 months before your wedding date, and possibly earlier if you are using a calligrapher or have a guest list above 200. If you are not planning on using a calligrapher, it is appropriate to ask your bridal party for help with addressing your wedding invitations. This can be done in a party format, where you serve snacks and beverages. You can also ask your wedding consultant for help with this task.

There are typically 2 types of envelopes that need to be addressed in a wedding invitation, an outer envelope with a guest name(s) and full mailing address, and a smaller inner envelope with only the guest name(s). The inner envelope, which fits inside the outer envelope, remains unsealed and is positioned with the flap away from the person inserting. The inner envelope contains the wedding invitation and all of its enclosures facing the back flap.

The following details are a guide for addressing the inner and outer envelopes of your wedding invitations for your different guests.

Husband and Wife with the Same Surname

Inner Envelope
Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Outer Envelope
Mr. and Mrs. John Smith

Husband and Wife with Different Surnames

Inner Envelope
Ms. Johnson and Mr. Smith (wife's name first)

Outer Envelope (wife's name and title first)
Ms. Emily Johnson
Mr. John Smith

Husband and Wife with Children Under 16 Years of Age

Inner Envelope (list children in age order)
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
John, Richard, and Mary

Outer Envelope
Mr. and Mrs. John Smith

Single Woman of Any Age

Inner Envelope
Miss/Ms. Johnson

Outer Envelope
Miss/Ms. Emily Johnson

Single Woman with Guest

Inner Envelope
Miss/Ms. Johnson
Mr. Smith or "and Guest"

Outer Envelope
Miss/Ms. Emily Smith

Single Man

Inner Envelope
Mr. Smith

Outer Envelope
Mr. John Smith

Single Man with Guest


Inner Envelope
Mr. Smith
Miss/Ms. Johnson or "and Guest"

Outer Envelope
Mr. John Smith

Unmarried Couple Living Together

Inner Envelope (list names alphabetically)
Ms. Johnson and Mr. Smith

Outer Envelope
Ms. Emily Johnson
Mr. John Smith

Two Sisters Over 16 Years of Age

Inner Envelope
The Misses Johnson

Outer Envelope (list names in age order)
The Misses Emily and Elizabeth Johnson

Two Brothers Over 16 Years of Age

Inner Envelope
The Messrs. Smith

Outer Envelope (list names in age order)
The Messrs. John and Michael Smith

Brothers and Sisters Over 16 Years of Age

Inner Envelope (list girls in age order first, then boys in age order)
Mary, Jane, John and Richard

Outer Envelope (list girls first)
The Misses Smith
The Messrs. Smith

Widow

Inner Envelope
Mrs. Smith

Outer Envelope
Mrs. John Smith

Divorcee

Inner Envelope 
Mrs. Smith

Outer Envelope (list maiden name first, then former husband's surname)
Mrs. Johnson Smith

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Wedding Toasts and Selecting the Perfect Bride and Groom Wedding Champagne Glasses

Speeches and toasts are a key component of any wedding reception. Classic wedding toasts are often rousing, funny, thoughtful and sentimental. As you are planning the sequence of events at your wedding reception, keep in mind that you will want to allow time for at least one of the following toasts.

The Best Man's Toast: The best man's toast is a wedding staple. If you only want one speaker at your wedding, it should be the best man. The best man should try to make people laugh a little bit, and maybe even cry, as he talks about how much he loves the couple and adds some wise thoughts and hope for their future.

The Maid of Honor's Toast: It has never been traditional for the maid of honor to speak at a wedding, however, it's becoming increasingly common for both the best man and the maid of honor to offer a toast. The maid of honor's toast is similar to that of the best man, but may include some unique anecdotes about the couple.

The Parents: If the bride's father pays for the wedding, as the host he should offer a brief toast to welcome everyone and thank them for attending. If both families contributed to the wedding expenses, both sets of parents may stand together as one of them offers a welcome on behalf of all of them. If the couple has paid for the wedding entirely, then they can give a welcome without toasting.

The Bride and Groom: This should be a brief speech, that allows the couple a chance to thank everyone for coming, and to thank their family and friends for their love and support.

Be sure to ask anyone you would like to speak at your wedding far in advanced. This will allow your speakers time to prepare their toasts and practice orating. You might also want to request that they bring a hard copy of their speech with them to your reception, so that each speaker has something to reference.

You will also want to invest in a nice pair of champagne glasses for your wedding reception. Bride and groom champagne glasses are a traditional part of most wedding celebrations. These glasses make wonderful keepsakes that can be used in anniversary celebrations for years to come. These are sometimes thought of basic and traditional, but modern bride and groom champagne glasses come in many styles and themes to provide the perfect accent to the rest of the wedding reception decor.

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Create the Perfect Website for Your Wedding

While creating a website for your wedding is not mandatory, in today's digital age it is a great way to keep your guests informed of details for your ceremony and reception. You also don't need to be a technical genius to create a wedding website; there are many web services, such as Wedding Wire, that will provide website templates and hosting for free.

Below is a summary of content to include in your wedding website; organizationally, each of these items can be on a separate page of your site.

Date and Time - Include a separate for the wedding ceremony and reception

Ceremony Location - Be sure to include a street address, directions, and any requests you may have for your guests. If your ceremony venue has a website, you might also want to include a link to it on your website.

Reception Location - Like the Ceremony Location page, be sure to include the full street address and directions to the Reception Location. If your reception venue has a website, add a link to the site on your wedding website. If your wedding ceremony and reception are at the same venue, you can combine the content in one web page. You can also inform guest of the attire for your wedding reception here.

Hotels and Accommodations - Most couples have out of town guests attend their weddings, however, it can be confusing for guest who don't know the city where the wedding is taking place. Help them out by posting travel details (i.e. how to get to your wedding by train, bus or plane), and which hotels are close by the wedding venues. If you have arranged for a group rate at a certain hotel, be sure to inform your guests here.

Bridal Registry - While it is not good etiquette to include details of your registry in your wedding invitation, your wedding website is the perfect place for it! Most retail sites have online registries where gift availability is current; be sure to include links to all the stores you are registered at here.

About The Bride and Groom - Personalization is always a nice touch. Consider including something about you and your partner, such as how you met. You may also want to include some photos of the two of you together.

Be sure not to include anything too personal in your wedding website. Remember it can be viewed not just by all your family and friends, but anyone in the world can access it.

The last thing to consider is that you need to find a way to inform your guests of the address of your website. You might not want to use social media to inform people of your wedding website, as it may reach too wide an audience and you can risk offending people who are not invited to your wedding. An easy alternative is to include the URL to your wedding website in either your Save the Date or as an insert in your Wedding Invitation.

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