A wedding hair specialist is somebody with extensive experience in the hair and beauty industry who will give you a full consultation without commitment. They should show a genuine interest in you and be happy to spend time talking about your wedding and your hair. They should also ask the bride about her style of dress, so they can plan a hairstyle with this information. It's also important that they ask lots of questions. For instance, they should want to know how you usually wear your hair, and whether you pin it up or leave it down if it's long. Does it hold curls? All this information should be discussed during your trial.
Around six months is a good time, as this allows enough time for haircuts to work towards the hairstyle you really want.
You should never change your hairstyle or colour just before your wedding, you'll look too different in your photographs. Live with a new hairstyle or colour for at least six months so you're familiar with the look. The colour of your hair must blend in with the colour of your dress or suit, and it should also complement your skin tones. Your hairdresser should be able to advise you on this.
As you can see from my images I love working with fresh or dried flowers for the hair, simple and divine to finish the overall bridal look. If you choose fresh flowers such as tea roses, ask the florist to wire them in advance to stop them from opening up. Good florists are familiar with this practice and will suggest different options for you to wear in your hair, but all these options can be discussed at your wedding hair trial.
If you are unsure or do not want to wear a headpiece or tiara, there are many options to consider, fresh or dried flowers, crystals or diamante pins can also be very effective in blending in with the style of dress and veil.
There is no trend at the moment, as brides today are happy to go with all bridal hairstyles taking into account their face shape and dress. Styles are a lot more loose and soft looking at the moment. The fashion for brides with long hair is to wear it all up or half of it up and the other half of it down, but it obviously depends on the style of the dress. Personally, I feel a wedding hairstyle should be something mesmerising and something that the bride has never worn before. If you're very unsure of what hairstyle you're looking for, then you have to start doing your homework by searching the web and looking at photographs of bridal hair styles.
Hairpieces and clip-in extensions are very popular at the moment, giving the hair more added volume and texture. Again, you should be familiar with this look, so a trial is of great importance with your wedding hair specialist. It may sound obvious, but make sure that any head-dress you choose is attached to your hair, not the hairpiece so that if you take the head-dress off, the hairpiece doesn't come off with it.
If you are going for curls or hair up, wash your hair the night before rather than on the day of the wedding, otherwise, it will be too soft to work with and it won't stay up. Fix the hairstyle, using a good spray that doesn't give a solid look. Again your wedding hair specialist will know what products to use for your wedding hairstyle to stay in all day and evening.
Your make-up should be an enhancement of what you normally wear. For example, if you usually go for the natural look, stick to natural colors but slightly stronger. You should define your features stronger than what you usually go for, so the make-up lasts the whole day and shows up in your photographs. You should feel comfortable with the make-up you are wearing, so a bridal make-up trial is of great importance so you're 100% happy with the overall look.
The make-up consultant will be able to offer advice and after care advice, if this was to happen, but one thing I would say is waterproof mascara is a must and always have powder and lipstick to hand on the wedding day. You want your makeup to last all day and evening. There are some fabulous long-lasting make-up items around that our consultants all use, which will ensure that you don't need to "touch up" during the day.
The best colour to choose from is a deep pink/neutral shade or something that will last all day. For best results first, apply a lip primer to give your lips an even surface and rid of any flaky bits. It's best to apply foundation to the lips and let it dry - this gives a good base, and then line your lips with your lip pencil (which should be the same shade as your lipstick). Then fill in all your lips with the pencil. Finally, on top of that apply your lipstick. Blot with a tissue and reapply your lipstick - repeat this twice. Now your lipstick should stay on all day, if it does start to wear off you will have the lip pencil underneath so your lips won't look patchy
The best colours to choose from are pink/brown/neutral shades or smoky shades and for the bridesmaids, their colours can be blended in with colours of the dress/flowers. Always have your eyebrows professionally shaped before your big day and enhance them with the same colour eyebrow shade. Eyebrows frame your face and it can make a huge difference if you have them professionally shaped. For a natural flush apply a light natural pink shade onto the apples of your cheeks - don't go too harsh, especially if you are drinking which can give you a natural flush look without the blush. To make your eyes look bigger and whiter, choose dark-coloured mascara. If you are dark-skinned or have brown eyes then black is usually best. Brown mascara can make eyes look tired. To lift your eyes apply a highlighter just below your brow bone. If you have small eyelids, apply a highlighter just in the center of the eyelid and a dark brown shade in the eyelid crease - this will lift your eyes. However, be careful if you wear contact lenses as your eyes may be sensitive.