I've had a lot of brides this past season who've wanted to wear their hair down on their wedding day. I can totally understand the appeal especially when hair extensions are so prevalent in today's hairstyles. It can actually be a really tricky thing on a wedding day especially in the Summer w/ so many variables that could make it a disaster - heat, hair texture, humidity, hair length/cut, hair fullness etc.
On one hand I always get a bit nervous when bride's show me pics of wanting their hair down on their wedding day and on the other I totally get it b/c to be honest I'd want to wear my hair down on my wedding day...and anyone who has worked w/ my poker straight hair knows I do not have ideal hair to wear down w/ curls lol!
The biggest thing I have to explain to bride's is to be realistic w/ their expectations. If your hair is thin and fine and you want big, voluminous waves guess what you'll need extensions to even somewhat get that look. If your hair gets frizzy in the heat...guess what if you want to wear it down there's a chance it's going to get frizzy!
I've collected a bunch of pictures of weddings I've done this past Summer where the brides wore their hair down or just a few pieces pulled up off their face either w/ a nice braid or just pins. I think all of these brides totally rocked the down bridal hair styling trend!
What's interesting is that I used different techniques for each one of the brides even though they all wanted their hair down w/ curls!
Jennifer was the quintessential surfer girl boho bride. She has naturally gorgeous curly hair and of course she wanted to showcase it in the most natural and easy going way possible. For her hair she defused it before I arrived (and she even taught me a think or two about defusing certain types of curly hair) after that I cleaned up certain pieces w/ a small barrel curling iron but not too many b/c we didn't want it to look too "perfect". I pinned back just a few pieces and gave a little volume through the top. The key to working w/ naturally curly hair is to not touch or play w/ it too much as it will bring out the frizz big time! For her makeup I kept it uber natural and glowing and just highlighted her already gorgeous skin!
Jennifer's pictures are courtesy of Dave & Charlotte
Denise was actually another bride that had curly/wavy hair...not as much as Jennifer but still had some natural curl to it. For Denise b/c of her natural frizz and the type of curl she had I actually blew out her hair straight first and then added a curl back into it. I think this was a great decision esp. on her wedding day b/c there was some definite rain and humidity in the air that day but I was so happy to see how well her hair and her makeup held up throughout! Like Jennifer, Denise wanted things to be uber natural which mean minimal volume through the top and still most of the hair left down on the sides and only a little bit pulled back.
Kristin's wedding was actually one of my "only hair" wedding bookings as I did hair for her and her bridal party. She has naturally straight hair and was looking for those big, voluminous curls on her wedding day. Additional clip-in hair extensions were added to create the volume and length necessary for her style and a soft braid was added through the front just to keep that bit off of her face and add a bit of "interest". I was really happy w/ how the layering and colour all blended together really well w/ her natural hair and the extensions!
Photos courtesy of Erin @ Renaissance Studios
Madeline was a "last minute" bride I worked w/ back in July. She was actually doing a City Hall ceremony on a Thursday and a "party/reception" on the Saturday. I couldn't do the Saturday appt. b/c of another wedding so one of my associates helped out w/ that one but I got to work w/ Madeline for the ceremony portion of her wedding and I'm so glad I did b/c she was so delightful to work w/. As I've mentioned before I've done quite a few City Hall style weddings. Just b/c a bride is getting married at City Hall doesn't mean she doesn't want or deserve to get her hair and makeup done on her special day! Now I'm not going to lie Madeline's hair was probably the most "challenging" for a down hair style out of the brides I've shown but that's just b/c it's so naturally fine, straight and more or less one length. She's a perfect example of why a trial is so necessary not only for the bride but also for the artist. July is hot and after the trial her and I both realized I was going to have to go A LOT tighter w/ the curl and set the hair beforehand for it even to stand a shot of holding on the wedding day. On the wedding day I set the hair w/ a smaller barrel than the trial and I'm really happy w/ the final result. It loosened to a beautiful curl and like Kristin, Madeline also wanted a nice braid to pull the bang part of her face and dress up the style a bit. I also did Madeline's makeup for the day.
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