When it comes to weddings, lots of people want the traditional trimmings; the white dress, a veil to go with it, the church.
But some brides prefer to eschew once-sacred wedding day traditions. Others prefer a new twist on an old favourite.
Take the veil for example.
Instead of the fine white net over their faces, some brides are choosing to go for headgear like flower crowns, headbands, and turbans.
The turbans are available online for nifty prices, so are we going to start seeing these headwraps in mainstream bridal fashion?
On Etsy, there are various turban style veils for brides who might want to wear it for cultural reasons, health, or just because they like the look of something unique.
Some turbans are advertised for women with alopecia, who may want to wear something white to go with their dress but cover their head at the same time.
For some, like Sikh, Muslim or black women, it holds religious or cultural significance. They may wear turbans and headwraps everyday but choose to wear a special bridal one for the big day.
On Instagram, #bridalturbans have over 700 results, with a large part showing black and Muslim women beautifully adorned with the headpiece.
There are over 1,000 results for #weddingturbans showing men who also wear a turban on their wedding day as is popular in South Asian and Afro cultures.
Though the idea is not new, it is now being adorned by both women and men of all different ethnicities and religions.
Western labels like Matches and Italian brand Bridal Turban are also offering turbans.
Some brides-to-be are all for it, others though had concerns.
Nina Frank said: ‘Not my thing personally, but I love when brides take a risk, show their individuality and wear something unusual, including things I wouldn’t wear myself. More power to you!’
Some were worried about cultural appropriation – when important parts of a group (usually a minority) are ‘borrowed’ from a dominant group for a short period of time without knowing its cultural significance.
‘They’re really beautiful, but make sure it’s not culturally appropriative,’ said one woman.
Emily Rogers added: ‘They can be very pretty but I do think the “why” and style is important – if you’re wearing it solely for fashion, just make sure you don’t pick a style that has important cultural significance for other groups’.
Others said it could be done beautifully and maybe even have a small veil coming down from the top to make it more traditional.
We spoke to wedding expert Siu Coll, from bridal fashion brand Liberty In Love.
‘Over the past few years, we’ve definitely seen brides embracing every type of bridal headpiece, so it’s little surprise that some brides have chosen to wear turbans or head wraps on their big day,’ Siu said.
‘I think the rise in popularity of social media, wedding blogs, as well as the boho wedding trend, have been big influences on encouraging brides to be braver in their style choices.
‘That being said, the classic veil shows no signs of being any less popular. Judging by our sales and inquiries so far this season, the classic veil will continue to reign in 2019, too.’
Veils will always be popular but maybe we’ll start seeing bridal turbans being embraced by all sorts of women.
Perhaps bridal fashion creators will start to include turban options to appeal to different groups to whom it has cultural significance.
Either way, it’s a style that will definitely continue to be popular.
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