Great Hair tips for your wedding

Sayaka — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 03:46:55 +0000

It seemed so much easier when you were 10 years old, imagining your Cinderella wedding. Big curly hair, bright red lipstick, and a huge ball gown type dress, and handsome Prince Charming as the groom of course. Reality is there are many things to consider when preparing for your wedding and your hair is definitely one of the finer details that you will have to think about.

1. Up or down? Half up, half down? Curly? Straight? This is not just a matter of pure preference, but the style of your dress should also be considered. A dress with exquisite detailing, may be hidden under long hair. A more casual destination beach wedding might call for a carefree flowing hairstyle with a local exotic flower, while a classic updo may suit a classic dress. Another thing to consider is the shape of your face. A hairstyle can definitely accent your good facial features, or alternatively draw attention to bad ones. One of my most frequent requests is for a hairstyle that either makes one’s face look slimmer, or one that hides a wide/tall forehead.

2. Hair Accents. Do you want extensions for thin hair? Bejewelled comb, flowers or pearls accenting the curls in your updo? Tiara or veil or both? Like denim jeans, bridal fashions are forever changing. Checking out current bridal magazines will often give you an idea of whats “in” at the moment. Try to keep it simple, you don’t want to over do it with flowers, tiara AND a veil especially if your dress is very detailed.

3. Once you’ve picked your hairstyle and accents, its time to choose a hairstylist. Questions to ask: Have they worked with your type of hair? Asian hair is very different from caucasion hair for example. Do they provide mobile services? Mobile services are very common now, and offer the convenience of in home services for close to the same price as going to a salon. What is the cost? Is a consultation or trial included in that price? Do they have experience doing updos? Many who work in salons rarely do updo’s compared to the number of haircuts and colors they do in a week. If they never usually work weekends, chances are they never do updo’s. I once too a specialty course in updo’s for 15 people. I was one of only two people who were not hairdressers, but were makeup artists. I was very surprised to find how many had difficulty with the techniques, given they work with hair everyday. Mobile hairstylists often have more expericence with updos and have more training specific to do this art. Consider booking one, 4-6 months in advance especially if your wedding occurs on a long weekend or during summer months.

4. Now that you have chosen your artist, let them try out their canvas. A trial is a highly recommended way to ensure that your hair will be perfect for your wedding. The cost and time involved is trivial, but a bad hairstyle captured by your pricey photographer lasts a lifetime. Try to do your trial a few months in advance in case you end up hating your chosen artist, at least you’ll have time to find a new one. I once met a girl who was upset for over a week after her disastrous trial, lucky for her she had lots of time to find a replacement hairstylist.

5. You loved your trial, now get ready for the big day! This is NOT the time to try out a new color. Ensure your roots are colored. If you did a trial, don’t chop 5 inches off and have it layered a week before your wedding. Drastic changes will definitely change the look of your style. Wash your hair the day before, and do not shampoo it the day of the wedding. As strange as it sounds, squeeky clean hair is not as easy to style, and holds better if it’s a bit “dirty”.

Finally, wear a button up shirt so that you don’t undo your entire hairstyle while changing into your wedding dress!

Wedding Tips by the Pros: 5 Mistakes to Avoid

Sayaka — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 16:49:33 +0000

1. Spray Glue

Don’t use it to hold up your straps. I once had to use nail polish remover (after the bridesmaid unsuccessfully tried using soap and water) to remove the lint from her scarf which was black, it stuck to the glue on her shoulders. There may have been a better choice than nail polish remover, but the limo was due in 5 minutes, and this was all we had. Use double-sided tape, or Body Glue by BeautiControl which is a clothing adhesive. Body Glue is also great for holding up the front of strapless dresses. As far as dresses go, make sure the dress fits,. bridesmaids’ dresses too. The only things worse than ill-fitting dresses, are ill-fitting shoes.

2. Winging It

Get a trial run of your bridal hair and makeup done, at minimum have a consultation. You will not have time to redo your hair or makeup if you end up not liking it. If you are taking some photos with your family after the ceremony, I suggest creating a list and assigning someone assertive to direct who should be in the photo next. Make certain that all combinations are on the list, get those out of the way, and then move onto all the wedding party photos. There is nothing worse than missing a photo of you with just your sister because it wasn’t on the list. I’m still mad at myself for that oversight. Another suggestion is to take photos with each couple or family at your wedding during the reception. This makes for a great keepsake, which can also be included in your thank you note. This will make your guests feel special.

3. Do-It-Yourself Makeup

Google “Why hire makeup artist wedding“. You will find many lists of why you should have your makeup professionally done. Here are the top three reasons:

You took out a second mortgage to pay for your photos, don’t you want to look perfect in them? A makeup artist will enhance your natural beauty. The makeup you wear everyday will not photograph the same as when the professional applies it.
You don’t want to have a “floating head”. Too many people do not wear the right color foundation. You don’t want to be look too pale, too dark, or like you have an inch of makeup on.
Finally, think of makeup as the icing on your cake. You have the cake (your dress) and the fillings (your hair, shoes, nails and jewelry). Imagine putting icing that looked terrible on your cake. Everything else was chosen with great attention to detail, don’t leave out the makeup.

4. Making Your Guests Wait For Your Grand Entrance

A friend related an experience of going to a wedding and waiting, waiting and waiting, sitting on the floor, cross-legged, worried that she may look like a hunchback from the back because she had been sitting so long that her spine had curved out. The frustration of waiting can leave a bad taste in your guests’ mouth. I still recall a wedding where we waited 2 hours for the wedding party to arrive, then, over an hour for the speeches to finish before dinner started at 8:30pm. I do not recall much else about this wedding. How do you avoid this? See #2.

5. Headaches

Now, I don’t mean just the kind you can take a couple of Tylenols for. Rather, the stress of it all. Consider hiring a wedding planner, to keep tabs on all the vendors, calling them for you when you have an inquiry or issue. If budget is an issue, consider having a more intimate wedding. Does your mother’s third-cousin-twice-removed that you haven’t talked to in 20 years really need to be at your wedding? Do you really want to break the bank before you even get started on your new life together? Sit down with both sets of parents and set out your expectations with them. It will help avoid any emotionally costly misunderstandings.

At the end of all the mad planning, relax, have a great time at your wedding, and build memories that you will cherish forever.