Hi Dolls,

Are you planning a wedding?

I’m sure you’ve realized by this point that not only do you get to choose your own venue, dress, shoes, hair, makeup, car, husband’s suit, food, photographer etc etc etc ETC! You also get to be the ultimate decider of what goes on your bestie-bridesmaids bodies, faces and heads. If so, I’m sure you’ve begun to peruse the inter-webs for all the things your bridesmaids should be wearing to ensure you aren’t upstaged on your wedding day.

So you’ve gotten to the big day and your hairdresser (cough…me) asks you “what have you and your girls decided for their usptyles”. Jeepers Emily, we didnt even LOOK at any, you reply.
My response is “that is totally fine, let’s jump on Pinterest now and have a look.” When really I mean “should have read that blog post I made in March 2018, girls you would have been SORTED!”

So here we go, all my tips & tricks on picking your bridesmaids best hair look.

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Dresses

I always take the dresses neckline into account before picking any event hairstyle. It is the simplest way to narrow down what you want.

High Necklines

As a general rule, high neckline dresses compliment full hair “up”-style, as to avoid the neck/shoulder area becoming too “busy”. The only time I’d recommend a “down”-style for these necklines was if your dresses are quite patterned, as the dress itself is the feature a “down”-style wouldn’t take away from the dresses over-all effect.

Strappy

Strappy dresses or dresses with a plunging neckline look great with most styles and can be chosen depending on how comfortable your bridesmaid is at showing off some skin. If you want to emphasize your neck/shoulders, an “up”-style would be a perfect way to bear more skin. In the same sense, to soften a shoulder or neckline, you could choose a “down”-style.

Strapless

Strapless dresses always look amazing with a “down”-style or a half “up” style, depending on material of your dress. If you wish to expose your shoulders or emphasis jewelry, you can definitely choose an “up”-style for this look.

In saying all of this…

Rules are also meant to be broken and can change depending on the over-all “theme” of your wedding. It is really important to recognize if your wedding has a theme, even if you have been very unintentional about it. Some brides I speak too don’t even realize their wedding HAS a theme and that’s totally OK. Let your dress’s do the talking, the style of the bridesmaid’s dresses will strengthen the overall look you might be channeling.

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Theme

To aid your decision making journey of all things hair related, here are some of my favourite hairstyles to suggest to your bridesmaids to tie in with your theme!

Boho

Fresh flowers, miss-matched dresses and so much print. What’s not to love about boho?

While flower-crowns may seem like “old news”, I feel like they still take out my number one favourite hair accessory when it comes to a boho-themed wedding. A common trend to compliment your flower-crown would be a soft textured wave for your maids. Keep it loose and bouncy for the perfect natural vibe.

If you aren’t into flower-crowns, there are plenty more styles to choose from for your bridesmaids while still maintaining a wedding that embodies your free spirit….

Take this gorgeous crown-braid for example – add some little flowers or baby’s breath through the braid to really channel your inner hippie.

For the long-haired boho-bridesmaids, I’d recommend a loose traditional or fishtail-braid if their dresses are backless or quite bare around the neck & shoulder line.

 

Or you could keep it simple and ask your maids to pony it up!

 

Vintage

Are you going for more of a vintage gal? You may be thinking your wedding is modern with a vintage twist. Either way, here’s some fantastic ideas for hair that suits this theme.

Tea-length dresses, boat-necklines and a-line skirts are anything and all things vintage!

You may never go wrong with a perfect, smooth vintage wave! A little bit of curl definition around the face will keep your maids looking elegant, while dappling in the vintage era.

If “up” is the way you want your bridesmaids hair, say they are wearing a beautiful necklace or have chosen a dress with a high neckline, a lovely vintage rollback (above) is what id recommend.

 

I always love a classic bun for a vintage-esque look. You can also choose a slightly modernised french roll to give your maids their vintage style.

Classy/Modern

Are you a classy lady? Of course you are, which means you surround yourself with equally classy ladies.

If you consider your wedding to be a classy/modern style, here’s some style ideas to suit your pretty ladies.

This rope braid, textured bun would suit most dresses you may purchase, especially those with a little hint of texture through them. It is super important not to “over-do” texture. If your dress is SUPER full-on, don’t pick an equally full-on hairstyle. Choose your focus and stick to it.

Twist buns are my favorite at the moment, very modern and very now! They suit most hair-types, colours and dress-types. My definite go-to for all things “modern bride”.

Always look at photos that relate to the colour of your bridesmaids hair. Looking at a blonde photo and a brunette photo are two completely different things! Blondes show more texture while brunettes give more shine.

Everything in-between

I love half “up”-styles, if you’d like to give your bridesmaids the option to wear their hair out this is a great way to make it interesting!

Curls, straight, fishtail, dutch, french…the world is your oyster when it comes to half “up”-styles.

And flowers…always flowers!

Tip: If you choose the same style for all of your bridesmaids, please take into account their hair length, thickness and colour. Each style will have a point of difference, expect it and embrace it! 

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Some brides-to-be choose to take reigns on all things styling, making sure the dresses, hair and makeup all tie in with the exact colour and style of the overall wedding ambiance. While others just couldn’t give two shits whether the bridesmaids show up in jeans and joggers, as long as they actually show up. Whichever end of the spectrum you sit on, I’m always here to lend a helping hand to match your bridesmaid’s dresses and your wedding theme to the hairstyle they should have on your wedding day.

For more hair inspo, head to our Instagram or Pinterest xo

Resources

Image #1 – Boy Burton

Image #2 – Pinterest

Image #3 – Dolls & Sailors

Image #4 – Pinterest

Image #5 – Pinterest

Image #6 – Verona Hair 

Image #7 – Pinterest

Image #8 – Pinterest

Image #9 – #12 – Dolls & Sailors

Image #13 – Pinterest

Image #14 – #17 – Dolls & Sailors

Image #18 – Pinterest

Image #19 – Pinterest

Image #20 – Pinterest