Every bride-to-be is quick to learn that choosing a veil is an additional journey on top of choosing a dress. Making sure that your special day comes together perfectly can seem stressful during the planning stages, but feeling confident and satisfied with the way you look at your wedding is a special moment (reserved for once or twice in a lifetime).
Once you have made your fateful decisions about your bridal accessories, it is easy to stash them away until the final fitting — out of sight, but not out of mind. So during this time (and of course, while wearing your gorgeous gown and veil), it’s essential to make sure that you are prepped and ready for the worst-case scenario: dust, dirt or spills on your bridal outfit.
In order to help ready you for such a disaster, we’ve taken inspiration from our fabric restoration toolkit. Here at Madame Tulle, we spent a lot of time around heirloom fabrics and pieces during the design process of our mantilla veil. While restoring antique veils is another matter entirely, we’ve put together the best ways we know to keep your accessories pure white and perfect.
Easy steps to clean a wedding veil
Step 1 - Don’t panic
We know it’s easier said than done, but the last thing you want to do is to permanently ruin your veil in your venue’s bathroom while your bridesmaids try to calm you down. Weddings are emotional for all parties involved, especially the blushing bride, so it’s essential to try to keep your head up high and proceed through the following steps which are sure to save your day.
Step 2 - Blot the spill or stain ASAP
The first thing to do is remove the piece from your head (with assistance, naturally), as any residual liquid or dirt could transfer onto other parts of your outfit. As soon as you have done this, place one clean cotton towel under the stain to help it absorb from underneath. Then, blot the affected area gently with a second towel with a light dabbing motion.
The key trick to saving your veil is acting as quickly you can while remaining calm. After all, there’s always a solution to spills and stains — you simply need to know what to do.
Step 3 - Wash when you get home
The last thing that anyone wants to be doing on their wedding day is washing, so this step is perhaps more an aspiration than an expectation. We just want to stress the importance of washing your piece as soon as possible after the big day in cold water and gentle detergent (think hypoallergenic or lingerie-specific wash).
Remember that this fabric, netting and lace are all constructed from the most delicate of materials, so they should never see the inside of a washing machine or hot water, both of which could cause shrinkage, tearing or other damage to your headpiece.
So take a deep breath and don’t start freeing in advance about damage to your day. Worst comes to worst, there’s always the dry cleaner’s to salvage your wedding veil.
