Your hair on your wedding day is a major focal point for your entire look. Your face is in just about all your wedding photos so it’s so important for you to look your best. I met with Kimberly from Neroli Salon & Spa in Brookfield to get her advice on wedding hair. Kimberly not only does a lot of wedding hair, she’s getting married in a few weeks! Yeah!!! Needless to say we had a ton to talk about and she provided some great advice on things to think about when choosing your wedding hair style and overall advice when preparing for wedding hair appointment. (Photo courtesy of Matthew Bushey).
Deciding your Style
From bridal magazines to Pinterest, there are so many places available to find images of gorgeous wedding hair. Kimberly suggests that as you browse pictures of different hairstyles and try and pull together 7-10 looks that you like from different angles. Front, side and back profiles are important to remember – you’ll be having pictures taken all day from every angle you can possibly think of without even knowing it. Profile pictures like the ones below would be perfect.
Also, feel free to bring in a picture of your wedding dress, or something similar. The texture and style of your dress can really play into what hair style might look best to complete your look. If you are wearing a veil or headpiece, be sure to bring that along too – not only for inspiration, but for your styling test run. If possible, Kimberly recommends a wire-based hair clip - it’s so much easier to pin into your hair than a plastic comb.
Develop a Relationship
It’s ideal to have your wedding hair done by a stylist that you have an existing relationship with. If you don’t have a regular person you go to, or wedding hair isn’t your current stylist’s specialty, consider having your hair cut at least once by the person you decide to do your wedding hair. A well trained stylist will be able to study the texture and uniqueness of your hair and be able to provide more individualized advice about what works and what doesn’t for your hair type. At a minimum, be sure to schedule a practice run.
Be Realistic
Not all styles work on all types of hair. Heed your stylist’s advice on what will work best, and what will be tough to execute. If you go with a style that won’t hold long term for your hair type, you could end up a bit disappointed by the start of your reception, that your once curled hair falls flat.
Ask your stylist if you should wash your hair the morning of your appointment. In Kimberly’s opinion, that decision is really up to the bride. Many of us who wash our hair every day will feel more comfortable if we wash it the day of our wedding. If you do, Kimberly suggests adding some lightweight product to your hair such as mousse or phomollient, blow dry as usual, but don’t curl or smooth it.
Bottom line – your hair compliments your look, not overwhelms it. You want to be sure you still look like yourself, just with more finish and some glamour. Find some pictures of yourself where you feel your prettiest and work on recreating a special version of that look with your stylist.
If you’ve never been to a Neroli salon, you need to check them out. They are locally owned and have been around for almost 20 years. They have four locations and offer various services for your wedding, including many stylists who are experts in wedding hair. Check out their website for more info. www.nerolispa.com. All images are of styles done by Neroli; photos courtesy of CLIQUE Studio.
