3 Ways to Style Your Hair Based On Your Wedding Dress

Me and my husband

Suit: Express

Dress from J Bridal Boutique

Photo by Kimberly Fyffe Photography

So you've said yes to your groom, and you've said yes to the dress!! Those are both big items to check off your wedding planning list! Next, you'll want to find someone who can make you look and feel beautiful for your most important day! Have you been looking around on Pinterest for hair styles? Do you want to style it all up? Half up with loose flowing curls? Maybe all to the side in a boho braid with swooped bangs?

There are many factors that can go into how you'll want to do your hair for your wedding day. For me, the biggest thing was that at the end of a long day, my hair gets all stringy and ratty, and I hate it! So I went with it all up. But I have some pointers for you based on the style of wedding dress you have!

1. Neckline

If your neckline is high, and there are a lot of details on the upper portion of the dress (like a lot of beading or a backless element), I would put all of your hair up so everyone can focus on the killer details of the dress!! I've had a lot of brides who have really cool lace cap sleeves and lace cutouts on the back, and if you wear your hair down the details can easily be covered and never seen.

One of my 2016 brides Maggie had an unbelievably gorgeous dress that had this stunning back. No one would have been able to see it if she had her hair down all night! Photo by Titus Haug. Undo by mua.

Look at all the beaded detail on this gorgeous Miss Hayley Paige dress!! You don't want to cover that up by wearing your hair down.

Model/HMUA: yours truly!

Dress: Graciously offered by J Bridal Boutique

Photo by Eva Reversion Photography

If you have more of a traditional dress that is strapless or has a sweetheart neckline, you have more options. I would say go with your gut on this one, and if you see an updo on Pinterest you love, go ahead and get a hair trial done with your hairstylist!

My September bride (and one of my best friends) Kendra had a gorgeous strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline. Together we decided that she wanted her hair all up, with delicate pieces down to frame her face. Hair and makeup by me.

This was a styled shoot I did the hair and makeup for earlier this year. There was such beautiful lace details all through the upper portion of the dress that I definitely wanted to show by having the hair all up!

HMUA: Me.

The GORGEOUS dress another Miss Hayley Paige from J Bridal Boutique.

Photo by MHutchison Photography.

By the way, your trial day is a great day to either schedule a dress fitting. You can get a really good sense of how you will look on the day of and see if you want to make any changes! I've also had brides who schedule their bridal shower, bachelorette party, or go out to dinner with friends on that day to get close friends opinions.

2. Personal Style

"On your wedding day you should look like yourself at your most beautiful." --Bobbi Brown

Are you preppy? Thats awesome! Don't use your wedding day to try out that boho fishtail braid you love on Pinterest. Most likely, you've chosen a gown that also fits your personal style, and if you deviate from that it might clash with everything else. Find a style that compliments your personal aesthetic.

Example: you have a classic gown, go for a classic undo like a sleek, low chignon.

For this styled shoot, the theme was Bohemian. It totally fit this real life couple's personal style. The dress was a knee length lace dress from Forever 21 and I went with a dutch braid cascading into a fishtail braid to add different textures and draw the eye in.

Hair and makeup: Me.

Photo by: Betsy and John.

Florals by: Alexis Grace Florals

3. Location

More and more brides are choosing destination weddings. My own wedding was kind of a destination wedding--my husband and I live in Tucson but got married in San Diego, so we flew in just like many of our guests. Going somewhere outside of your normal locale is a fun way to change up the wedding dress! Getting married on the beach? Try a shorter dress so that it doesn't drag in the sand. Getting married on a ranch? Try cowboy boots instead of heels so you can get around comfortably. How about a scenic mountain vista or shadowed forest glen? You may find that you had a particular hairstyle in mind through your planning process, but a totally formal undo may contrast too much with the laid-back Jamaican beach wedding you're having. Know what I mean?

The possibilities are totally endless with destination weddings, and so are the dress choices. Choose the destination, then the dress, and then the hair!

Deanna got married at a ranch here in Tucson, and her and her bridesmaids all wore cowboy boots!! So we did her hair all swept to one side to keep it off her neck and out of her face, but still showed off her beautiful lace dress.

This was from a styled shoot in 2016. To compliment the dramatic background and dark lips, I wanted Katie to have a simpler style, so I used a straightening iron to create loose waves that played up her beautiful ombre color.

Photo by Kimberly Fyffe.

Everything being said and done, you should feel both comfortable and beautiful on your wedding day. As Captain Barbosa says in Pirates of the Caribbean, its more what you would call "guidelines than actual rules."