Review (4/5): Flower very nice, but birdcage veil difficult to handle
I purchased this for my upcoming wedding. The flower (called a "fascinator" in the bridal industry, I'm learning) is very nice, and I will definitely wear it. I may cut the wires with the bling off, but that's just me. I'm having a simple summer picnic wedding with a white, cotton halter dress, and the bling might be a bit too much. I am going to ask my best friend before making this decision. Either way, it's a nice piece.
The birdcage veil, though, wasn't really how it's pictured. In the photo it seems to have a lot more conformity to a human head than the actual piece that showed up in my mailbox. The real thing starts out unruly, and popped up in weird places on my head. I tried calming the thing down with bobby pins, but it still looked unshapely. Finally, though, after watching the company's videos (they give you a piece of paper with a link to some instructional videos) and keeping it near the shower for a few days to get it to calm down, it did actually look good. I have a large head with puffy hair, and I found that if I put the comb towards the back of my head on the right, and allow the veil to come up over top my head from the back right, hanging down around my face, that the veil's large size is actually an asset, because it covers my puffy hair without flattening it.
I was so worried about the veil that I ordered a separate, handmade birdcage veil from etsy for $30 (see it at pompandplumage.com) that I hoped would be more what I'm looking for. When it arrived, though, it was too small to wear without wearing my puffy hairstyle slicked back, which isn't how I plan to wear my hair. I actually went back to the cheaper veil I bought here on amazon.
Whatever you end up doing with the veil portion, the flower/fascinator is nice enough, and cheap enough, that it's still worth the purchase. The flower/fascinators on the same site on etsy where I purchase the other birdcage veil, pompandplumage.com, are $60-$70, and look similar, so even without the veil, this was a good deal.