Poskim differ regarding at what point a kallah has to start covering her hair, and practices among different communities and families vary accordingly.

Some say the obligation sets in immediately during the chuppah, upon completion of either the nisuin part of the ceremony or the kiddushin part of the ceremony. Practically, this would mean that the kallah would already have her hair covered before the chuppah.

Other poskim say the the kallah is required to cover her hair after the yichud room. For Sephardim, who generally do not observe the practice of the new couple secluding themselves in the yichud room after the chuppah, this would not apply.

Other poskim, including Rav Moshe Feinstein, rule that a kallah does not have to cover her hair at her wedding, and she begins to cover hair after the first night the couple have spent together. This is a widely accepted custom in the United States and Canada, and among most of the dati-leumi community in Israel. (Even in a case of a chuppat niddah, when the couple are not able to be completely alone, the obligation to cover the hair starts the morning after the wedding.)

Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach rules that a kallah's partial headcovering, such as a headpiece or veil, may be relied upon as sufficient for the wedding celebration. When leaving the wedding hall, she would put on her full headcovering.

Sources and opinions regarding this topic are brought in Responsa Bnei Banim by Rabbi Yehuda Henkin ztz"l (the former halachic adviser and posek of this website), Volume III, article 23, translated in Responsa on Contemporary Jewish Women’s Issues ch.18.

You can also find a detailed source-based discussion on the Deracheha website.

This response was updated on 16 December, 2025