Up Do, Down Do … What will YOU do?

By Drew Whitney

Finding the perfect hairstyle for your wedding day

Do you have a stylist with whom you would entrust the challenge of designing the best hairdo for your wedding? If not, now is the time to start looking.

You’re staring ahead at your most photographed day of the year—your wedding day. The photo framed, scrapbooked and photo-albumed from this milestone will follow you into the days and decades ahead, making you smile for years to come … assuming you picked a hairstyle that suits you and your wedding style perfectly.

How can you be so sure? Just like planning a wedding can take a year, so can planning for the perfect hair day. It may sound overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be if you take one step at a time and do your research properly.

The Stylist

Naturally, a girl’s hair is nothing but forlorn loser-locks without the helping hands of a distinguished stylist. Do you have a stylist with whom you would entrust the challenge of designing the best hairdo for your wedding? If not, now is the time to start looking.

Ask friends and associates, stop the girl with the greatest hair in the mall and get her referral, or check out the list of salons, stylists and beauty consultants at www.vermontbridemagazine.com. Book an appointment and start to build your relationship.

Once you’ve grown comfortable with a stylist, schedule a wedding-do consult. Bring photos you’ve clipped from wedding magazines or printed off the dozens of Internet sites boasting hairstyles galore. Bring them to your stylist and ask for input. Perhaps she’ll have a portfolio of photos that show off her experience and best dos for the bride-to-be to give you even more ideas. As with any brainstorming session, the more the merrier.

Narrowing It Down

Now comes the time to narrow down the scope of favorite styles. Choose several that really pique your interest and let your stylist trim, twirl, swirl, iron and/or curl your coif into each of them, making sure to snap photos the final product onto your digital camera. Print out the results and pass them to your bridal party BFFs for suggestions and a final vote (making sure your own vote carries the most weight, of course!).

The Long and Short of It

With short hair comes a shorter list of potential hairstyles that will work. If you adore your short do, no worry, you’re on your way. If you don’t love your hair, start now to grow it out so you can try on prettier possibilities. If you start this process one year before the wedding, and your hair grows at the average rate of ¼ to ½ an inch a month, you’ll have 3 to 6 inches of length to flit around with.

Don’t have the time to grow it? Hair extensions have become the best friend of many a Hollywood hottie, so why not you? Your stylist can help you out with this one.

If you already have long locks, then luxurious up dos, braids, chignon and/or cascading curls are all up for grabs. You should consider a good trim beforehand, though, to eliminate the fly-aways or frizz.

Dos and Don’ts

With every hairdo, there’s always don’ts. Wedding hair is no exception. Actually, because of the importance of your wedding, the don’ts in this case should always have an exclamation point at the end of them. For example:

• Don’t wait till the last week to decide your hairstyle! (You’ll be pulling the hair out of your head if it’s not what you want but there’s no time to experiment with other designs.)

• Don’t forget to consider your veil and how it will work with your hairstyle! (Bring it to your pre-wedding style sessions and snap photos of it along with each hair design you’re considering.)

• Don’t overlook hairstyles for your bridesmaids! (They might want to get in the game along with you and sport an up do or spiral curls to make a glam party statement.)

• Don’t color your hair without assuring the shade will complement your dress and the color theme of your wedding! (Your perfectly matched black and white theme might look perfectly mismatched if your hair is flaming red.)

• Don’t be shortsighted and miss out on the myriad of hair jewelry and accessories than can add that element of surprise, mystery, romance, charm or fab to the finished look! (Take a cruise through the suggestions below before arriving at your conclusions. And don’t forget to shop for accoutrements for those great BFF bridesmaids who’ve steered you this far through life!)

Contributing writer Drew Whitney chose a simple long-haired, curled look for her wedding hairstyle, which she topped of with a headband of flowers and a flowing veil.

Related: See the Drew Whitney article AND NOW FOR THE WEDDDING CAKE online at Vermont Bride Magazine.

Vermont Bride Magazine is proud to recommend the following Featured Wedding Professionals for all your Hair Care needs:

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