Wedding trends come and go (we're glad those puff-sleeved dresses stayed in the 80s), but veils have stood the sartorial test of time.
Brides have been wearing them since Roman times, but it turns out the reason why is not quite as romantic as we thought.
Back then, women were covered head-to-toe by a red sheet called a 'flammeum'. This was supposed to make the bride look like she was on fire, thus scaring off any evil spirits looking to curse the couple, according to Bustle.
Over time, the veil became a common method to disguise the bride from those evil spirits and even keep her identity secret from the groom in arranged marriages.
Bustle also notes that veils and trains were used to weigh down the bride so she couldn't run away when meeting her new husband for the first time.
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More recently, the un-veiling of the bride by the groom symbolises that the 'ownership' has changed hands; from her father, to her husband. Yay, sexism.
However, as Metro reports, there is one non-horrifying reason for brides to wear veils. In the Jewish faith, veils act as a public display that the groom isn’t just marrying his bride for her looks.
Aw.
