Wedding Hair Advice

Together with the gown, the bridal hairstyle often sets the tone for the entire wedding day look. No wonder then, that finding the perfect ‘do and the right stylist to create it is high on every bride’s list of priorities. Here are some frequently asked questions and answers to help make your dream hairstyle come to life.

Should you use your current hairdresser to style your hair for the wedding?

Absolutely! Your stylist already has a rapport with you. They know your hair and what you like, and they probably will have talked to you at length in the lead-up to the wedding so they know where it’s going to be, the setting and what the gown looks like. Plus, you feel comfortable with a stylist you know.

If your hairstylist isn’t able to do the particular wedding style you’re after, then talk to friends and colleagues who have been married. Usually somebody knows someone they’re happy to recommend. I know some brides who have gone through three different stylists before finding someone they felt comfortable with.

The stylist should start by asking key questions about the style of the gown, whether you are wearing a veil, jewels or flowers in your hair and what accessories. The answers give the stylist an idea of the bride’s style. If you have a plain gown and aren’t wearing a veil, then we can go really elaborate with the hair. If there’s lots happening or the neckline is high, then we would keep the hair quite simple. The bride also needs to think further ahead. Ten years down the track, are you going to say, ‘Oh my God, what was I thinking?’ So always try to keep the style really classic.

Not at all! It’s amazing how many women grow their hair for the wedding and then cut it off straight afterwards. Why? If you’re happy with short hair, and short hair obviously suits you, then let’s do something fabulous with it.

No, it’s not, but it’s amazing how many brides want to. I think they have a vision of being someone different on their wedding day, buy why would the groom want to marry someone they don’t recognize? Often grooms say, ‘Please make her look like her.’ They don’t want their bride to look like some over the top doll.

You can set short hair and piece it out, give it more volume, or, with a bit more length you can use clips and bring the sides back slightly or clip one side up. You can even put flowers or jewels in it. You can create just as many funky styles as with long hair and it can look just as feminine too.

From my experience, what works best is to blow-dry it and ten set the hair with hot rollers. This controls the curls and smoothes the hair down, while retaining the curl and the volume. Then, perhaps, I would just pull half of it back so it’s not too wayward and is still really soft.

Fine, soft, straight hair has to be one of the hardest hair types to put up. In this instance, I often pull it back and attach a postiche to it, which is like a hairpiece. Or else, I might set it and backcomb it to create some volume. Essentially, the bride just wants to look like she has tonnes of hair, so that’s what I’ll work towards.