Years ago, when I was planning my wedding, my mom and I were walking through the local flea market. We passed a stand that sold clip-on hair extensions and I jokingly told my mom that I should just "buy some fake hair" so I wouldn't have to worry about picking a stylist and getting my short, thick, shoulder-length, BORING hair (that doesn't hold any curl!) done on my wedding day. I playfully picked up a clip with big, chunky curls close to my natural light brown color and stuck it on the back of my head - not intending to be taken seriously.

My mom was surprised at how close the "fake" hair matched my real hair color and made me put my hair up in a ponytail to put the clip on the right way. The saleslady came over and helped me adjust it just right and handed me a mirror. I was taken aback by how quickly and dramatically my look had changed - and by how real the fake hair looked.

I started trying on different lengths and styles and found a clip with a loose bunch of shorter curls and tiny, dangling braids. The hair extension matched my hair color closely and the length/size was very close to what my hair would look like in an updo anyway.

So how much does a clip-on hairpiece cost? In my case, the price was right - only $20! My mom and I figured that an updo could cost anywhere from $40-$80 or more, and we'd probably have to have some kind of a "trial run" appointment at a salon to see what would work... or I could spend $20 on a fake hair thing. So that's what I did. One less thing to worry about on the day of my wedding sounded good to me.

I got a TON of compliments on my hair on the day of the wedding. Lots of people admired how thick, bouncy, and shiny my hair was, and quite a few people commented on "how long it must have taken" to get my hair done - with my perfect curls and my teeny tiny braids. Little did they know that all I had done was pull my hair in a ponytail and clip the hairpiece onto it! Nobody had any idea that it wasn't my hair, not even my husband! The hairpiece stayed attached all night long, all through mingling and dancing. I even took my hair on my honeymoon cruise and wore it on our more formal nights when we dressed up for dinner.

I recently suggested to a colleague that she should look into getting a hairpiece for her daughter for homecoming/prom since she was complaining about the cost of the dress, shoes, jewelry, and hairstylist appointments. She ended up finding a super-curly piece that matched her daughter's pale blonde hair exactly right for only $25 and the girl looked fabulous! Just like my wedding day, nobody knew that it wasn't real, and nobody could get over how gorgeous and curly her hair was.

So I say, if you're looking for an easy, less-expensive way to style your hair for your wedding day - just fake it! Nobody even has to know!