Wearing gloves in the winter is a no brainer, but there used to be a time when a woman wouldn’t leave her house without a pair of gloves. When it comes to weddings, many brides opt to wear gloves to add a bit of elegance and glamour to their overall wedding day look.If you are still deciding if you should or shouldn’t wear gloves on your wedding day, I’m sure there are a number of concerns you have: How do you take them off with ease for the ring ceremony? Do you shake hands with your guests with or without them on? Nancy Jaeger, bridal stylist and founder of USABrideWeddings.com – a great resource for bridal fashion accessories – has some great tips to help you decide whether or not to wear gloves.
- Committing to the Glove
- How High or Low Do you Go?
- With This Ring
- On or Off?
- All Together Now
- Go Fingerless
For some, wearing gloves may feel a bit uncomfortable. However, bridal gloves really add mega-style and elegance to your bridal ensemble. Satin, silk, lace, beaded, fingerless, opera —there’s a wide variety of bridal gloves and options available. But how to choose the best pair for your big day? First, choose a glove style to match your gown color, fabric and design as closely as possible.
There’s one rule to follow: The more formal the wedding, the longer the glove. For a daytime or garden wedding choose a wrist length glove. But, if you are having a large formal evening wedding go for a dramatic look and choose opera length. When it doubt, choose a glove that hits just above or below the elbow, as those lengths are the most versatile and compliment most gown styles.
During the ceremony your husband-to-be will of course need access to your ring finger! One option is to slit the seams on the ring finger of your left glove, then just push the material back during the ceremony. Post-ceremony, swap those gloves out for an un-slit pair. Alternatively, you can choose to remove your gloves during the ceremony and hand them to your honor attendant. Ask your officiant to give you a moment to remove your gloves with your back to the crowd to avoid the appearance of a strip-tease.
It’s hard to know the right times to keep your gloves on or off. While greeting guests in your receiving line it is appropriate to keep your gloves on. While you are eating and during the cake cutting you should remove your gloves. At all other points during the reception—from your entrance, first dance, during the bouquet toss and beyond— feel free to wear your gloves.
If the bride is wearing gloves your bridesmaids can wear them too! Just make sure they have a unified look. Their gloves should all be the same length and match the color of their dresses. One rule for bridesmaids: Be sure that their glove length is shorter than yours. For example, if you choose opera-length gloves, your attendants should wear gloves that fall just above or below the elbow. You could also decide that only your maid-of-honor wear gloves.
More and more brides are choosing fingerless gloves. They are available in many different styles, so that your groom can easily slip on your wedding ring during the ceremony and you can keep your gloves on throughout the entire affair.
If you’re thinking of wearing glove, check out the USABrideWeddings.com site for a great selection!
