Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – Restoring wedding veils to their former glory
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle…. 3 important ways that we can make a sustainable fashion choice. But can you really wear a wedding veil that has been recycled? We spoke to Rebekah McCann-Williams, Creative Designer at Visionary Veils, to find out.
Visionary Veils are passionate about restoring existing wedding veils to their former glory. So, if you are planning a sustainable wedding, then you will love their veil restoration service – a design service that offers you the unique opportunity to restore veils to their former glory by breathing new life into existing veils.
Sustainable bridal wear is on the rise
All hail the return of slow fashion. In the age of fast fashion many brides have hit the pause button. Online searches for sustainable fashion are on the increase, and many brides are now looking for more eco-friendly bridal fashion.
There are many bridal designers now offering beautiful wedding dresses with sustainability at the core of their work. Eco-conscious Brides will be inspired by the sustainable credentials of UK based bridal designers Luna Bea and Indie Bride London.
Choosing a sustainable wedding veil
Extending the lifespan of a garment is one of the key elements of sustainable fashion.
Stored in lofts all over the country are beautiful wedding veils – once cherished as a precious garment and now almost forgotten and hidden from site. With the expertise of a wedding veil designer, this can be a wonderfully creative way to continue your sustainable wedding planning, by choosing to restore an existing wedding veil to its former glory. Imagine the impact if only a small percentage of brides choose to repurpose an old wedding veil rather than buying new.
In September, “vintage fashion” generated an average of more than 35K monthly searches, while online fashion searches for second hand-related keywords increased 104%. Brides-to-be were looking for eco-friendly options too, as online searches for “vintage”, “second hand”, or “pre-owned” wedding dresses collectively jumped 38% year on-year.
Published by Global fashion search platform Lyst, 2020 fashion report.
What can I do with my old Veil?
One of the most precious gifts you can give to a bride to be, is the gift of your once loved wedding veil. Reusing a wedding veil not only extends the life span of the fabric, making it more environmentally friendly, but also breathes new life into the existing veil.
Family Heirloom Veil – Your Something Borrowed Veil
It has always been traditional for brides to choose something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue to wear on their wedding day.
As a wedding veil designer, it is such a joyous experience to take something that was once so precious to one bride and to rework, redesign and recycle the existing wedding materials to create a family heirloom for the next generation. There is such an emotional investment that the process of restoring the wedding veil becomes a very precious part of the bride-to-be’s wedding journey.
How do you restore an old veil?
There are so many ways that a wedding veil designer can restore an old wedding veil, and there are different levels of work that the veil may require, depending on the age and condition of the fabric.
Can you repair a damaged wedding veil?
Yes, a wedding veil can be repaired. This can be a simple project that involves repairing some stitching or adding/replacing a comb on the wedding veil. If the wedding veil has been damaged, this process might involve re-cutting the length of the wedding veil or changing the shape to remove the damaged section.
Sarah wore he mothers wedding veil on her wedding day. By redesigning the shape of the original veil, it worked perfectly with her floral crown. A repair was also made to the existing silver thread embroidery edging.
Can you restore a wedding veil?
Yes, this can involve adding a bespoke design to an existing wedding veil to cover damage such as small holes or tears in the fabric.
Olivia was excited to wear her sister’s wedding veil, but on close inspection the veil was damaged and torn. A new design was created to complement the detail on her wedding dress and to cover the fabric which has been repaired on her sister’s veil.
Read more about Olivia’s veil restoration…. My sister offered me her veil to use as my “something borrowed” and it was just beautiful!
Can you redesign an existing wedding veil?
Absolutely, the design process involves reworking the veil to reflect modern bridal trends and the Bride’s personal style. This is one of the most emotionally invested designs. These beautiful veils have been created from lace, beading and crystals of pre-loved wedding veils and dresses – all lovingly handpicked from gowns and veils and sewn onto the new wedding veil design.
Photos courtesy of Epic Love Photography
Natasha’s grandmother’s veil was redesigned to create a stunning vintage cap design. The fabric had an amazing lace edging which was used to edge the cap detail. The rose detail was also created from the original fabric.
As much as possible of the fabric and the embellishments are recycled and reused in the process of restoring a wedding veil, creating a unique and sustainable option for the environmentally conscious bride. Without this work, hundreds of wedding veils would languish unloved and unused in lofts of homes all over the world.
Eco-friendly wedding veils
If you would like to discuss ways you can restore your existing wedding veil, and wear a sustainable veil for your wedding day I would be delighted to hear from you.
Rebekah
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For more wedding veil advice and to see Rebekah’s bespoke wedding veil designs visit Visionary Veils at visionaryveils.co.uk | Instagram @visionaryveils | Facebook @visionayveils