It is important to look like yourself on your wedding day and I applaud my clients who have the confidence to go barefaced, especially when nearly half of all women report having negative feelings when they don’t wear any makeup (The Renfrew Center Foundation).

However, even if you normally go au natural, you may want to enhance your natural beauty on your wedding day just for the benefit of the pictures. Here are the bare essentials to help you look polished without looking overdone:

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Whether on the Runway or  Red Carpet, on the beach or down the aisle, the braid is making a huge come back. Braids can range from a tiny accent to the sublimely absurd, you can do them alone or some need a few extra hands – it doesn’t seem to matter  what you do, as long as you do DO!  They have become so popular that you can purchase clip on braids, braided bun wiglets and braid headbands out of human hair in almost every color.   Why the seemingly sudden surge in popularity?  Pop culture has realized that there is just something romantic about seeing tresses woven and tucked in unexpected ways.

This Bride's blonds locks are held up with woven braids

Brides are embracing the trend, and more and more I find myself incorporating braids into a bride’s and bridesmaid’s hair on the Big Day.  For some brides the braid is the style, for others braids simply act to enhance or add interest to her hair do. While each has her own goal for the use of the braid, all brides have one thing in common – they want the look to be romantic.  On the East Coast, the most popular look is a woven  french braid traversing from one side to the other along the nape of the neck and ending with a curly side bun under the opposite ear.   Tuck in a jewel or flower and WOW!                

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hair and makeup by: Christine, Wedding Tresses, Photo credit: Meg Baisden

While the goal is always to create an illusion of an oval appearance I have to say this is one of the more romantic face shapes for a woman and with a smidgen of attention can carry a multitude of hair styles.

The tell-tale characteristics of the Heart shaped bone structure are the wide forehead, dramatic cheek bones and a narrow jawline and chin – think Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Love Hewitt.  Most Heart shapes also have a well defined widow’s peak (the ‘v’ portion of the hairline along the forehead).

Our goal here is to minimize the top and emphasize the bottom – in other word’s let’s visually shrink the forehead while building width at the jawline – we want to give fullness where it is lacking.  How do we do that?  

The top half of the head is already wide enough. Keeping that in mind, when wearing updos, downdos or any ‘do’ without bangs  you will want to keep styles lower on the top and thinner on the sides with fullness below the ears ~ this achieves a balance between the dramatic cheek bones and the narrower chin.  With all styles for our Heart-y girls, too much height on top will give an illusion of an even looonger narrower chin; this is not the most appealing look~ simply add green face makeup and voila! instant Halloween Witch.  (Sorry couldn’t resist that comparison with Halloween just days away!)  If bangs are a go to for you – sweep them of to the side.  This will minimize top width and doesn’t visually cut off your face at the widest point – the temple and cheek bone.

For this girl- the side swept pony or messy bun, a full luscious wide but low bun that can be seen from the front, or a half down style that is thin above the ear and bursting with fullness below are the most flattering styles to be worn.  Gorge to the Max!

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So many people sit in my chair and tell me that they have “the thickest hair” and I just smile and say “of course you do!”  In reality there are only 8 or 9 people I work with in a year (and I work with close to 1000) who truly have the thickest hair.  These people have as much hair as three people all squashed onto one little head and when you try to do any kind of style on them it either looks too big for their face or it gets pulled tightly back into a confining style.   Neither of those options are options for the women I work with – and if your hair falls into this category, they won’t be options for you anymore either after reading this Hair How To.

Jacki draws a map to reconstruct her designs from on the wedding day

The Key to styling extra thick hair is to remove 1/3 to 1/2 of the hair.  No, I don’t mean remove it from the head!  Simply remove it from the hair you are using to build your style with .    I accomplish this with a simple braiding technique I have developed.  This spring I worked with Kelly at a gorgeous facility on Cape Cod, The Wequassett Inn, and she was gracious enough to let me snap a few pics of the process so that I could share with you this Thick Hair How To.

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Every Bride will shed a tear or two on her wedding day- it is an unavoidable fact of being female (and I, for one, wouldn’t change that for anything).  Here are a few quick tips to ensure your Bridal Makeup stays exactly where you put it.

This bride runs the risk of ruining her makeup not by crying, but by using her finger instead of a tissue.

To avoid disturbing your makeup when the inevitable appears, wrap a tissue around your middle finger (this finger will apply the least amount of pressure and has the longest reach) and dab at your tear duct (located in the inner corner of the lower lid near the nose) to capture any liquid.  If a tear does spill over, don’t wipe – simply blot the wet area with a dry tissue and let the makeup reset.  Many brides keep handkerchiefs with them to capture the tears, but Kleenex works much better; Kleenex soaks up the wetness faster than the cotton fibers of the hanky reducing the need to wipe.  If you use your finger alone, it has no capacity to soak up liquid and therfor will smear your makeup as you press in to lift the tear away.

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The retro look has been on the fringe of fashion for years, I don’t think it actually ever went all the way out of style – but recently the 1920′s – 1940′s retro looks have made a HUGE come back, especially in weddings.  More and more I am seeing brides donning pill box hat veils and the ultra chic birdcage veils and coupling that with a super sexy dramatic red lip.  This trend has makeup artists fine-tuning their technique with red lipstick and hair dressers reaching back to their schooling days to retrain their fingers to do fingerwaves and pin curls.  Ah, but the results are so worth it.

This 1940's inspired look was created by Jacki Norrie of Wedding Tresses and photographed by Jill Person of Person+Killian

Retro is defined as the century prior, in this case 1900 – 1999, and is broken up into decades that are clearly  delineated by a specific look;  the most famous of which are the 1940′s where extreme glamour ruled the day.  Today’s Retro Bride is taking inspiration from the 20′s and 40′s when she is planning her wedding attire and designing her beauty look.  She is having success designing her look by working with ateliers like Edna Mae’s in Newport, RI. and Ellen Christine Millenary in New York.

The 1920′s inspiration comes from both Louise Brooks, who popularized the very short bob, and the fingerwave.  The early 20′s ushered in the Louise Brooks look, later modernized by Isabella Rossellini  It is characterized by its length, just below the ear,  the sweep of the front pieces being arced in a curve towards the mouth and it’s short straight bangs. Later in the 20′s  fingerwarves with deep-set curves and firm peaks were all the rage.  Women wore hair nets to keep their styles in perfect shape.

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Imagine a classically veiled bride-to-be, a sheer, delicate layer of tulle across her face. This traditional, elegant look is embraced by many women as a way to pay a timeless homage to the past. Veils with a “blusher” (the piece that falls over your face) are two layers, can be full or sleek, long or short, and have a lot of style!

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Being a bride doesn’t mean you have to wear a veil. In fact, lots of women walk down the aisle with nothing more on their heads than hair and a smile on their faces!

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Today’s modern bride requires a current design for her wedding day hairstyle.  Ringlets and tendrils are a thing of the past– trust me your photographer will thank you, especially if your wedding day turns out to be a windy one!  If you are seeking a vintage style, opt for sleek finger-waved sides with a voluminous updo finished in a low chignon or wear your hair completely down with finger waves.  For natural or beach brides, choose a style that is finished yet loose– stay away from an updo that is too “styled”.  Elegant or evening brides, try a side-swept formed style and decorate with an ornate hair piece.  For the creative or artistic bride, go bold with a sweet high bun, a fun hair piece placed in a low chignon, or an Elizabethan inspired style.

Below are some of my personal portfolio images of wedding hair designs placed in an inspiration board.  Enjoy!

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Headbands are a great alternative to the tiara or hair comb, and they win the versatility award for wearability after the wedding day. They can be found in any style; for now, classic pieces with sparkle are catching my eye!

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