A girl's wedding day is arguably one of the most amazing, yet stressful, days of her life. There are months of organizing and primping involved leading up to the big day, but with that, also comes quite a bit of pressure for everything to go off without a hitch. Aside from the event-planning, a bride-to-be must also strategically select her dream look for the day complete with wedding gown, hair, and makeup. Often this can be a very difficult decision, and unfortunately, some brides fall victim to a few common mistakes that they end up regretting. When it comes to bridal hair, there are a few key tips and tricks we’ve rounded up to avoid post-wedding day regret. Follow along as we share 19 common mistakes brides make with their hair on their wedding day and how to avoid them.
Candace Gulitus @candacegulitus is wearing the Seamless Blonde Balayage set. Photographed by Kate Panza Photography
1. Going all natural
While it’s often a good idea to go natural in your day-to-day life to avoid unnecessary damage, a girl’s wedding day is the one day we’d recommend the opposite! Bridal hair is all about the wow factor and adding that extra bit of glamour to your hair look. To achieve this, we suggest using Luxy Hair extensions. Despite how long or thick your hair already is, even just using one or two wefts can help a hairstyle stay put or create a solid base for the hairstylist to pin into. There’s no better time than your wedding day to invest in extensions to create added thickness to updos or to leave your hair down and get a full glamour look.
Sarah Hackett (formerly Greuter) @sarahngreuter is wearing the Seamless Blonde Balayage set. Photographed by Camille Catherine Photography.
2. Getting a last minute dye job
Many brides might think that getting their hair dyed right before the wedding is a good idea for perfect bridal hair, but in reality, this might not be the case. Sometimes getting a dye job last minute or too close to the wedding can actually be a disaster waiting to happen. We suggest getting your hair dyed at least a week or two before the wedding to make sure the dye job still looks fresh but leaves buffer room in case anything goes wrong. Another option if you want to change things up for the wedding is to opt for a set of ombre or balayage hair extensions. This adds color without the fear of commitment or potential of damage.
3. Asking for too many opinions
While it’s great to get the opinions of loved ones for your bridal hairstyle, it can also be overwhelming to have too many voices in your ear giving their differing opinions. Instead, consider asking the opinion of 3-4 trusted loved ones. This way, you’ll still be open-minded and have an outsider opinion without feeling overwhelmed.
4. Washing your hair the day of
While it might seem standard to wash your hair prior to the big day, this isn’t actually the case! A common mistake brides fall victim to is washing their hair the day of their wedding and having it be too fresh and silky to hold a style. It’s typically recommended by stylists to wash your hair the night before rather than the day of the wedding for maximum hold.
5. Rushing the hairstylist
A good rule of thumb to go by is to always give yourself more time than less, especially when it comes to your wedding day. This rule comes into play when it comes to your hair appointment as well. Instead of feeling rushed and putting your hairstylist under pressure, just be sure to schedule more than enough time for your appointment, including buffer room for any unforeseen mishaps along the way.
6. Getting a last minute cut
Similar to the problem of washing your hair the day of, cutting your hair too close to the wedding could also potentially be a problem. Sometimes when the ends of your hair are freshly cut, the style doesn’t hold in place as well. There’s also the potential for a stylist to get scissor happy, resulting in a ‘do that’s too short. It’s recommended for brides to cut their hair four to six weeks before the big day to avoid this issue. Of course, if you do find yourself in a hair-y situation, there's always hair extensions to get your long hair back instantly.
7. Being too trendy
It’s understandable that many brides want to look fashion-forward and trendy on their big day, but it's also important to keep in mind that trends often fade. Your wedding photos will be looked at for decades to come, so it’s likely safer to opt for a classic half-up style or soft chignon than something too trendy that might look outdated in the future.
Karlie Petry @karliepetry is wearing the Seamless Blonde Balayage set. Photographed by Gracie Meaux, Gracie Days Photography
8. Forgetting product for touch-ups
While a hairstylist can definitely do their best to use hairspray and plenty of bobby pins to hold your hairstyle in place, there is still a chance that your style may fall throughout the day. To avoid this, we suggest keeping products like bobby pins and a small hairspray on you or with one of your bridesmaids to touch-up the style throughout the day if needed.
9. Not showing enough or showing too little inspo photos
When it comes to inspiration photos for a bride’s big day, there is definitely a sweet spot when it comes to the number of photos to show your stylist. If you show too many, it might overwhelm the stylist and create confusion about exactly what you want. On the other hand, if you show too little, this could leave a lot of creative room for the stylist and the final product might not be what you expected in your head. We recommend having 3-5 inspiration photos at the most to give your stylist as a reference.
10. Not being completely open with stylist
Many brides feel nervous to voice their opinions about their hair in fear that it might offend their stylist, but being honest and open with your stylist is the absolute best way for both of you to walk out of the appointment happy and satisfied. Talk openly throughout the process and make it a collaborative effort all the way through!
11. Picking a style that doesn’t go well with their haircut or hair texture
When it comes to inspiration photos, another tip to keep in mind is to ensure the style you’re aspiring to cultivate matches your own haircut, color, and texture. Many brides fall victim to becoming attached to the image of a specific hairstyle then feeling disappointed when the style looks different on their own hair. Before settling on a look, simply make sure your style of hair matches to the model in the inspiration image.
12. Having too high of expectations
Another bridal recipe for disaster is having unrealistic expectations going into the salon appointment. While obviously, you want your wedding day to be perfect, you also have to keep in mind going into it that your hair likely won’t look exactly like the image you’ve selected. Instead, we suggest going into your salon appointment open-minded and willing to take opinions and creative ideas.
13. Forgetting to keep in mind the entire bridal ensemble
Another common problem brides make is looking at a hairstyle in isolation, rather than their entire bridal look as a whole. It’s important that the hairstyle a bride-to-be opts for flows smoothly with her entire look and theme. For example, if her dress is bohemian, perhaps a braided half-up hairstyle with a flower crown could work. If her dress is elegant and clean, maybe she should consider a smooth updo. It’s all about considering how the hairstyle works to compliment the entire look as a whole.
14. Deep conditioning their hair the night before
It’s common for brides to pamper themselves the night before their wedding. Everything from nails, to skincare to hair must be accounted for. While in theory, a hair mask sounds like a good idea for your healthiest, shiniest wedding day hair, this is actually something a bride should reconsider. If the hair is too shiny and smooth, it can actually be more difficult for the hairstylist to work with and tends to not hold a style as long. Due to this issue, we suggest skipping the hair masks and deep conditioning treatments the night before the wedding and doing them the week before instead.
15. Not considering the weather
A huge factor for a bride to consider when picking a hairstyle is what the weather will be like on her big day. Weather can be quite unpredictable, but based on the season of your wedding you can likely have a general gauge of what type of elements your hair may need to hold up against. For example, if your wedding is in the peak of summer, humidity and extreme heat could be a weather-related issue you might want to consider. In this scenario, opting for a wedding updo might be the better option to keep cool and keep your hair off your shoulders.
Candace Gulitus @candacegulitus is wearing the Seamless Blonde Balayage set. Photographed by Kate Panza Photography
16. Skipping a trial session
A trial appointment is one of the most important steps a bride can take to ensure she loves the way her hair turns out on her big day. The trial session gives both the bride and the hairstylist a chance to work together to create a look that satisfies both of them. This is the trial phase where the bride can try different looks and experiment before she settles on the final result. Skipping this trial phase and blindly trusting the hairstylist can sometimes end up being a mistake ending with an unhappy bride!
17. Crash dieting
It’s common and quite natural for brides-to-be to plan to cut calories and stick to a stricter workout schedule in the months leading up to the wedding. While losing weight in a healthy, non-extreme way by eating rich foods can be beneficial, crash dieting is not and your hair feels the effects of this. Crash dieting often involves severe calorie restrictions and an unbalanced diet, which is directly reflected in lackluster tresses and even hair loss. Crash dieting deprives the body of crucial nutrients to perform basic bodily functions, like cell regeneration in the skin, nails, and hair.
18. Not considering the veil
A bridal hairstyle is different because once the style is done, the look isn’t totally complete. A bridal hairstyle typically involves a veil, and often this is something a bride overlooks when scrolling through Pinterest looking at bridal looks. The veil is usually worn for the ceremony then removed at the reception, which has the potential to ruin an intricate hairstyle. If you’re hoping to wear a veil on your wedding day, be sure to bring extra bobby pins and product to help fix any ruffled hair from the process of removing it. Also, ask the stylist to try to attach the veil in a way that ensures it is easily removable later in the evening.
Angelika Falb @angelika_fa is wearing the Seamless Blonde Balayage set. Photographed by Ulf Thausing
19. Going too glam at the dress rehearsal
There are so many stunning wedding hairstyles that we understand why many women find it hard to settle for just one! Often brides tend to pick one intricate hairstyle for the wedding day and one for the wedding rehearsal. In reality, over-styling for the dress rehearsal is actually a big wedding trap that many brides fall into. If there’s too much product or styling the night before the wedding, this could leave your stylist with quite the mess to work with for the actual wedding. Instead, we suggest opting for a simple half-up style that doesn’t require a lot of intense hold products and is easy to brush out at night.
Did you fall for any of these common bridal mistakes on your wedding day? Are there any that we missed? Let us know in the comments, we love hearing from you!
Written by: Olivia DiPede
