Are you at the stage in your planning where you’re thinking about gettingyour wedding hair sorted?
A key part of your planning will be thinking about your preparations, and what you want to look like on your big day! As well as the all important dress, it’s worth thinking from early on what sort of styling you’d like to go for in terms of your hair and make up. I spoke to the amazing Claire from Barberella Bridal Hair, to find out her top tips for choosing your wedding hair stylist!
Having worked with Claire several times at different weddings and on different projects, and I absolutely adore her relaxed but beautiful style. She creates the most stunning styles with plenty of braiding and intricate details, but still creating a soft and natural look. I knew she was the person to give us the low down on tips for choosing your bridal hair stylist.
Here are Claire’s top tips for choosing your bridal hair stylist:
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The dress
Prioritise choosing your wedding dress. Once you have your dress sorted, then you can think about what type of ‘do’ will go with it. The cut of the neckline or back, for example, will determine if you want your hair up or down. Once you have some ideas, you can start looking at stylists.
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Do your research
Obviously you will have a budget in mind, but try not to let that be the only thing that determines who you choose. See if you actually like the work the stylist has done previously. If they have a Facebook or Instagram account, then it’s a good idea to follow them for a little while. You can get a real sense of what they are capable of from doing this, and if you follow a few different stylists, you can eventually narrow it down to the sort of thing you prefer.
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Questions to ask yourself…
Does your stylist’s work suit the style and feel of your wedding?
Do they offer a consultation? If so, that’s great, as it will give you a chance to get to know them. They’ll be spending the morning with you and your wedding party on the most important day of your life, when tensions can be running a little high, so you have to be comfortable with them.
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Have a chat!
It’s great to get in touch with your stylist to ask any questions you might have too help you make your decision about who to book. You can ask specific questions about the sorts of products that they use, and also about practical things. For example, do they work with hair extensions or padding, if you need that bit of extra volume? How would they work to the timings of your day?
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The finer detail
Chat to your stylist to see if they schedule an itinerary for the morning. You want the morning to run nice and smoothly no last minute panics, so get their advice and thoughts on how much time they will need for you and any bridesmaids or mums that will be having their hair done too.
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Book your trial once you’ve decided on your stylist
Sometimes people think that having a hair trial with a stylist is an opportunity to see if they like them, in advance of making a decision about who will do their hair.
Instead, make your decision about your stylist first (from doing your research and asking questions). If you’ve done your research on them and know you love their work, you can then use the trial to focus on determining your style and finalising what you want your hair to look like on the big day!
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Have an open mind, and don’t be afraid to say if you don’t like something
Your stylist won’t be offended if you aren’t 100% happy with the initial style, and should be happy to tweak it or try something new. Sometimes you nail it first go, but don’t be afraid to try a second style or ask for their suggestions if you’re not sure. It’s amazing how many times the style my brides have fallen in love with have been something they hadn’t originally thought of having. So try to have an open mind, and you may just be bowled over by the results!
Huge thanks to Claire for her invaluable insight and tips for choosing your bridal hair stylist!
Claire is an amazing stylist based in Stotfold, Bedfordshire, and covers Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire. You can view her website here, find her on Facebook here and also follow her on Instagram. You can also see some of her gorgeous work on real brides and at styled shoots that I’ve worked on here:
Katie and Richard’s Henry Moore Foundation Wedding