This read offers a few of my favourite tips for helping you decide on a bridal hairstyle to fit you and your wedding day.
Who doesn't love a good hair day? And what better time for one than on your wedding day itself! A hairstyle can offer both confidence and character to a wedding look. Giving it some careful thought beforehand can mean it's then time to sit back, relax and enjoy all the other elements of your special day, while your hairstylist works on the rest!
During both my hair and makeup degree and my bridal experiences so far, I have gathered seven top tips that I hope can be found helpful by brides to be.
1: Your personal style
The simplest place to start. Firstly, consider the different elements of some hairstyles that you have tried before and which of these you've liked or disliked. A consultation session is the perfect time to express these preferences to your stylist, so that we can build an idea of your typical style and give some options of how that vision could develop, to reach the perfect bridal harmony.
My most important focus as a hair and makeup artist, is on you feeling confident and beautiful within yourself on your special day
2: Understanding your face shape
With so many styles to choose from, narrowing options down can be tricky. A nice place to start can be by working out your face shape. Both your bone structure and hairline contribute to this, by recognising these you can then look into which hairstyles may lend themselves to your very own features.
As someone with a square-like hairline, I find a lower placement more flattering for updos, as I'm able to direct hair to cover the more sparce areas, helping my face to mimic more of an oval shape. Whereas, the natural hair line of a heart shaped face may involve more of a cowlick (widows peak) parting. A hair down with a soft side part soft and root lift can work very well with the natural direction of the hair growth here.
3: Realistic references
Pinterest is a brilliant source of a variety of inspiration photos, but something that can be helpful when filtering through these is finding references that will look similar on yourself. Try to find examples of styles where the model's hair length, colour and texture is similar to that of yourself. This can help to pin point certain styles which work particularly well with your features.
An example I've seen is where a style has used a lot of detailed twists and tucks within the hair style. These will be much more visible on lighter hair, particularly where there is various colour tones in the hair. Whereas on a darker hair these may not be as visible, particularly from further away. However here, the detail can be added in different waves such as through the shape and silhouette of cascading curls.
When creating both of the above hairstyles I considered the hair colour when forming a design. The left image is an example of varying lightness within the hair and how this works well with helping the intricate details be seen more clearly. Whereas on the right, the models hair is one colour so the style uses silhouette as a detail instead.
4: Getting the most out of your bridal hair trial
Having an open mind with trying a few different hair variations can help you confirm what you like the most on yourself. Bringing a range of references to show your stylist can again help to us build an overall picture of your preferences, to help the vision come to life. In an upcoming blog post I plan to give some more advice on how to get the most out of your hair and makeup run throughs.
5: Complementing the dress
The best time to start thinking about how to approach both your bridal hair and makeup ideas comes after you have decided on the style of your wedding dress. Different neck lines can lend themselves well to different hairstyles due to complementary shapes and silhouettes.
For example, dresses with a higher neck or backless element may suit an up-do to offer balance, allowing the shapes of the dress to become a focal point. Styles with more detailing around the neckline, could lend themselves well to a half up style where the hair is kept more off the face, flowing down the back of the head, to allow eyes to be drawn to the dress detailing. Whereas an off the shoulder element or bateau style neckline can complement a hair down look to break up and balance out the straight lines.
6: Wedding day weather
Although this can't always be predicted (particularly for any UK wedding readers!), it may be helpful to have some weather proof hair tips on hand. Besides appropriate product usage, different hairstyles can offer different levels of hold depending on the weather conditions.
A hair down style can always be relied upon for a largely indoor wedding but if you know the weather is going to be particularly hot and humid, an off the neck updo can be great for keeping cool, reducing frizz and lasting your wedding from start to end. The same applies for windier destinations, a half up or full updo where the hair is off the face is a great for avoiding any wind struck moments making their way into the wedding album.
7: Steer clear of the steamers
Dress steamers around fresh hair and makeup are not a match made in heaven. The extra humidity steamers create (even by just being used in the same room as the getting ready station) can quickly cause frizz and encourage curls to fall. The best way to avoid hair mishaps like this is to do your steaming the night before, first thing or in a separate space completely.
A note from me
Hopefully these pieces of advice will help you feel one step closer to that extra special good hair day!
For anyone in the process of finding a bridal hair and makeup artist, particularly in the Devon or South West region, I would love to get in contact! For more information about what I offer and for further examples of my work, see my website link below.