Choosing Your Wedding Hairstyle

Don’t date yourself with a trendy wedding hairstyle on your wedding day. Classic upswept styles – chignons, French twists, and ponytails – transcend decades. In general, it’s wise to wear your hair in a way that isn’t too far removed from your usual style. If you normally wear bangs or part your hair on a particular side, for instance, incorporate that look into your do. Schedule an appointment with your hairdresser at least two months before the wedding – that way, you’ll have enough time to work through any problems.

Bring your veil, headpiece, and earring to the appointment as well as a photo of your gown and magazine pictures of wedding hair styles you like. If you want to wear fresh flowers in your hair on your wedding day, talk to your stylist about how to coordinate this with your florist.

Below we’ve listed six perfect wedding hairstyles. These wedding hairstyles aren’t just great looks; some are also “convertible,” giving you the option of changing your style between the ceremony and the reception. It’s always quicker and easier to put your hair up in a loose ponytail or twist than to take out all those pins and let it down. Everyone’s hair texture is different, so give your style a test run before you decide. An updo is easy, elegant, cool and comfortable – especially if you plan on working up a sweat on the dance floor or your wedding is taking place in a hot, humid location; on the other hand, for some brides, nothing says romance like flowing locks.

The Chingon

A chignon is an easy, elegant wedding hairstyle for a more traditional bride who wants to look impeccably groomed. It’s also perfect if you’re a worrier – it’s a long-lasting style with great hold.

A French Twist

A French twist is a structured, sophisticated wedding hairstyle that keeps your hair off your face and works beautifully with a veil or tiara.

A French Braid

It may sound retro, but for a wedding, a French braid is a simple, romantic style that works well with straight or wavy hair (so long as your hair is not too thin).

Half Up / Half Down

This is a romantic, almost universally flattering wedding hairstyle. It’s less controlled than an updo, but still keeps your hair off your face.

Extensions

It used to be that women would start to grow their hair out for their wedding as soon as they got engaged. I still see many brides to the same – seems like there’s just something about a short, choppy do that doesn’t look right with a full-length ball gown. If you’re very patient or are planning on a long engagement, growing your hair out may work. But now there’s a much easier way: extensions.

Extensions are synthetic or real hair that’s braded, sewn, woven, bonded (glued), or clipped into your hair to make it look longer and thicker. There are extensions available for all hair types, from silky, strait Caucasian strands to curly African-American hair. Aside from clip-ons, popular for brides because they’re so easy to remove, extensions can be left in until they fall out or are cut out. Braided extensions have a shelf life of about three or four weeks, after which they need to be redone because they pull on the hair.

If you’re considering extensions, you’ll need to have an initial consultation with a hairstylist so that she can order them to match your hair. Extensions can take anywhere from one to six hours to put in, so you will need to book the hairstylist a few weeks in advance, and the cost ranged from about $75 to $1,200.

Loose Hair

Most stylists agree that loose, flowing hair is an extremely pretty, romantic look for a wedding. But it can be hard to control, especially if the weather is hot or humid, or if your wedding is at the beach. (Though nothing makes hair look thicker and sexier than sea air and salt water. If you’re going for a wildcat look – and you don’t put any styling products in your hair-that’s exactly what you’ll get!)

If you’re planning to wear your hair loose, consult with a stylist who will advise you on how to control your locks and create the best style for your hair texture. In general, heat-styling – blowing your hair out and making sure it’s not the slightest bit damp – will help control the texture and prevent frizz before you set it, curl it, or straighten it with a flatiron.