Mantilla Wedding Veils

For the modern wedding, a bride may choose from a number of different types of veils. They vary in style, length and by the type and amount of fabric. Veils can be very short or very long and made from materials such as tulle or lace.

A mantilla veil, cascading about your hair and down over your shoulders is a beautiful way to frame your face during your wedding ceremony. These veils are traditionally made of delicate white Chantilly lace and are perched atop an ornate head comb called a peineta. While popular in Spain and Latin America, as well as among persons of Latino descent, a mantilla may be worn by any woman that wants a traditional, semi-formal look.

Historically, mantilla veils were more often of black lace instead of being white. They were originally worn by women of the Andalusia region of Spain. This may be due to some Arab influence in the early years of their use, as Spain had many Arabian visitors.

As can be seen from paintings of Velasquez, a Spanish painter of the 1600's, some women wore these lace or silk head scarves but it was not prevalent. Generally the women of this time period wore mantillas only during special occasions. As Spain explored and brought its cultural ways to South and Central America, so came the mantilla veil to Latin America.

In the mid-1800's Queen Isabel II of Spain encouraged women of her court to wear a black lace mantilla. After her death, the custom subsided except during Holy Week (the week leading to Easter) bullfights and weddings (a black mantilla would be worn by the bride's mother and possibly some other women). Also a black mantilla is traditionally worn when a woman, has an audience with the Pope.

Now, a white mantilla is appropriate for a church wedding but can be worn at other ceremony locations as long as it coordinates with the wedding gown. Available lengths for this type of veil range from shoulder length to below the knee.

The peineta comb gives the mantilla height. It could be made of tortoiseshell, be encrusted with jewels, or be of another simpler yet elegant material. Together with the lace mantilla veil, women adorned in this way appear especially feminine, royal and stately. While very lovely, the mantilla may be removed entirely after the ceremony. Depending on her hairstyle, the bride may keep the peineta or replace both with a tiara.

If the veil is custom made, a second layer of veil can be created to be used as a blusher. The blusher is a short, single layer veil that covers the bride's face during the ceremony and is lifted back at the point in the ceremony when the groom "may kiss the bride".