Deciding My Workshop Format — and the Veil Style I'm Starting With

The Veil Workshop vote closes on the 17th July. And then I'm going to have to make 10 decisions.

The same 10 every bride making her own veil has to make. Fabric type. Fibre. Colour. Quantity. Width. Comb style. Gather. Length. Coverage. Volume or drape.

Some of them will be decided by whichever style wins. The rest I'll have to figure out the same way you will — by working through them one by one before I touch a single metre of fabric.

That's kind of the point. We're making this together.

Why I'm not deciding the veil style myself

I've been a fashion designer for over 20 years. I've made veils, capes, belts, dresses, and an entire made-to-order clothing business. I know exactly what style I'd pick.

But this workshop isn't about what I'd make. It's about what you want to learn to make.

So I put it to a vote — three styles, three embellishments. Whichever combination wins becomes the first workshop I build. Not because it's the style I'd have chosen, but because it's the one most of you actually want to make.

That feels like the right way to start.

The three veil styles on the vote

One Tier A single layer of fabric, gathered or ungathered, falling from a comb. The most versatile and the most personal — it's the style that lets everything else take centre stage. A one-tier veil can be as simple or as embellished as you want it to be.

Juliet Cap A structured cap that sits close to the head with fabric falling from it. More vintage, more intentional, more architectural. It doesn't move the way a gathered veil moves — it stays exactly where you place it, which means your hair and the cap have to work together from the start.

Drop Veil The drop veil is exactly what the name suggests — fabric that drops. It sits flat against your head, covering your face, and falls from there as though it simply descended from above and landed perfectly. It can be the same length all the way around, or shorter at the front and longer at the back — that choice changes the whole silhouette.

Unlike a gathered veil that has volume and movement built into it, the drop veil has none of that. It's flat, clean, deliberate. The drama isn't in the fabric — it's in the moment it's lifted back. Everything about wearing a drop veil is quieter right up until that point, and then it isn't.

The three embellishments on the vote

Pearls — quiet and timeless, or dramatic and clustered around your face. A single scattered pearl is barely-there. A dense sweep of pearls from comb to hem is a statement. Pearls can do both.

Lace — delicate and heirloom, or bold and impactful trailing behind you in deep colour. The same technique, completely different results depending on what you choose to do with it.

3D Fabric Flowers — a few tiny petals almost hidden in the tulle, or giant blooms that stop people in their tracks. The beauty of making it yourself is that you decide exactly how much is too much — and then you make it yours.

This is the thing that doesn't get said enough about DIY embellishment: every single one of these options can be dramatic or quiet, bold or subtle. What makes it personal isn't the embellishment you choose — it's what you do with it.

What happens after the vote closes

I'll announce the result, and then I'll start building — making the decisions I've listed above, working through the fabric choice and the construction, and building the workshop around the winning combination.

The first beta cohort will make this veil alongside me. I'll be one step ahead — and you'll be following, with the workshop modules releasing weekly.

The vote closes 17 July. Cast your vote here and grab the free Pre-Veil Checklist while you're at it.

If you have voted — thank you. You're helping me build something that's actually useful, not just something I decided to teach.