Wedding Style by Katie Pape

Planning your wedding can be overwhelming, details pile up and decisions have to be made on a constant basis. Here are a few tips that will help take the pain out of choosing your hairstyle for the big day.

Trial: Plan your trial for about 12-14 weeks before the wedding day. You want to ensure there is enough time if changes or adjustments need to be made, but if you schedule your trial any earlier your stylist may be thrown off by the change in length on your special day. If you have a stylist who you see on a regular basis, ask if they do hair for weddings, don’t assume. If you have pictures of your dress, hair accessories or a veil that you know you want to wear, bring them to the trial. Bring one or two people who’s opinion you trust the most, and who know YOUR sense of style. If you try to involve everyone you may feel overwhelmed and confused by differing opinions. ALWAYS take photos during the trial. Not only to remind you of how your hair looked but also to see how it photographs. Photos also allow you to make notes about any changes you may want your stylist to make. It’s especially helpful if you are able to plan a fitting after your trial so you can see what your hair would look like with your dress.

Vibe of the wedding: If you are having a casual beach wedding or a black tie city wedding, chances are your hair would vary greatly to reflect the mood you are trying to set. Just like your dress tells the tale of your wedding theme, so does hair and makeup. Sending mixed messages with your overall look can end up coming across as unplanned and thrown together.

The dress: I like my clients to approach their wedding hair and makeup as a frame to a portrait, the bride and her dress as the actual portrait. The frame is there to compliment and polish the overall look of the portrait, not to compete for attention. The more complex and dramatic the dress is, the simpler I like to keep the hair. If the dress is more minimalist, the hair and makeup can be more dramatic to create a stronger focal point, still keeping in mind that you want to flow of the bride’s look to be seamless.

Hair type: Hair length and texture can impact the type of hairstyle you should have on your wedding day. If you have extremely curly hair that tends to frizz and you are having an August wedding on the beach, you should keep some of your natural texture in place, even if the curls are relaxed and polished with a curling iron. If you have fine thin hair, talk to your stylist about incorporating clip in hair pieces or wefts of hair into your wedding style. Most stylists who do bridal work are excited to customize hair pieces and use them in the bridal style. They can easily add length and fullness allowing us to give you the look you really want.