For some brides, they’ve always dreamt of wearing their hair in a specific way for their wedding. For probably many more brides, they truly have no idea how they should style their locks. To be honest, you really can’t go wrong, though there is certainly value to styling your hair intentionally for your wedding.
I, Cavin Elizabeth, teamed up with my San Diego bridal boutique The White Flower and Alexis of XO Beauty to help you out if you’re wondering how you want your wedding hair styled. Together, we’ve created several intentionally styled bridal looks to help you determine how to wear your hair based on your wedding dress silhouette and style! Plus, The Little Fleur Co added some floral eye candy to get you inspired for summer weddings!
If you’ve got a gown with detailing that you don’t want to cover much of with your hair, a half up style is a great option. Plus, if you’re wanting a whimsical look with a delicate neckline, this is your perfect look! Our model is wearing Martina Liana 1137, which has a fitted lining with a flowy A-line skirt.
Here’s a second look with the same intention – pairing a half up style with a dainty thin-strapped gown that has a whimsical design. For this gown, we paired a small Twigs and Honey comb with her hair to reinforce the floral theme of her Kelly Faetanini Daniella gown.
Have a gown that you think might be too formal or simply don’t want your look to be too black tie? For this situation, we recommend wearing your hair down and curled. It’s simple and beautiful but doesn’t exude a formal vibe like an elaborate updo. To illustrate this look, our model wore Kelly Faetanini’s Ariana crepe gown that we paired with a Brides and Hairpins hair vine that keeps the look from being too understated.
If you opted for a very chic and minimalistic gown and your vision is a formal style, wear your hair in a stunning updo. Updos always carry an air of formality with them and you can wear them with or without hair accessories. Our model is wearing Martina Liana 1235 which we paired with a cathedral length veil made by The White Flower and a crystal hair accessory from Brides and Hairpins.
If your gown has a plain skirt with an intricate top, it still has a generally minimal look that can be elevated with an updo. Hayley Paige’s Finley gown pairs beautifully with an updo and floral Twigs and Honey hair accessory for an elegant and dreamy style.
If your gown has off the shoulder sleeves and a sweetheart neckline, you’ll have a large amount of bare space above your chest. It could look too empty without having your hair down (or a statement necklace). A favorite pairing of mine is this chic Kelly Faetanini Phoebe gown that exudes Old Hollywood glam and would not be nearly as beautifully balanced without our model’s hair worn down and curled. This gown holds its own against bold curls and can be made just a little edgy with an embellished Twigs and Honey veil.
With a completely strapless gown, you’ll have even more bare space above the chest and all of your arms uncovered. Again, you’ll most likely need either a bold necklace or your hair worn down and curled for a balanced look. Even with a very elaborate gown like Martina Liana’s 1060, this concept applies.
Some gowns, like mermaids and trumpets, are quite bottom heavy. To balance that, we recommend wearing large curls with hair teased at the roots. This creates a wedding day look that flows beautifully from head to toe. Kelly Faetanini’s Joan couldn’t be a better example for this scenario and it looks stunning with this floral Twigs and Honey piece. Plus, as mentioned above, when you have so much exposed space above the collarbone, it’s lovely to have hair worn down or half down to keep you from looking too bare on top!
Hayley Paige’s Markle ballgown is also very bottom heavy, so wearing the hair either half up like our model or entirely down ensures your look doesn’t feel too weighted down.
Another Hayley Paige dress, Lauren, is incredibly unique and detailed. It features a large glittery skirt that is effortlessly balanced by our model’s voluminous curls. While you could opt for an updo with this look to have people focus more on the gown’s detailing, it has enough blank space down the neckline and back that it can handle curls worn down.
If you want your heavily detailed gown to be the main focus of your wedding day styling, wear your hair in an updo so as not to cover or take away from the designer’s creation. This works especially well with a sleeveless gown like Martina Liana’s 1066. Plus, since it has such a low back, you can add an intricate Twigs and Honey hairpiece without it distracting from the gown.
Perhaps you have a really detailed gown that isn’t beaded. This concept works the same, as illustrated by Hayley Paige’s Zazu dress. Keeping your hair away from the gown gives it the attention it deserves!
As always, rules are meant to be broken, so if your hair vision doesn’t fit our suggestions, then you do you! We’re sure you’ll rock your bridal look either way!
Photography: Cavin Elizabeth Photography | Floral Design: The Little Fleur Co | Beauty: Alexis XObeauty | Bridal Boutique: The White Flower Bridal Boutique | Model: Lisa Dillon