You’ve got the wedding dress of your dreams! Now you need the right hair and makeup to pull the whole beautiful bride look together. You’ll need to consider if you want your hair up, down, or partway up – we’ve got suggestions for each style, and some overall makeup tips as well.

bride and groom dancing

Choose a Hairstyle

Essentially you have three main choices for hair: up, down, or half up and half down. When deciding, you’ll need to take into consideration your hair type, your dress, and your location.

Up

There are numerous updos to choose from for keeping your hair up. Two classic choices are a French twist or a chignon bun. A French twist is classic and elegant, and can go well with different wedding dress styles. A chignon bun is a bun at the base of your neck that you can easily customize to your style with curls, braids, or you can add flowers or hair pieces.

The possibilities with updos really are endless. Look at pictures, get ideas, and do a trial run with the stylist to make sure you like the end result.

Down

While long, flowing hair may be what you’re imagining for your big day – why grow your hair out long for your wedding if it’s just going to be in an updo? – it’s not always practical.

If you’re getting married outside, particularly if you’re on a beach or somewhere windy, you may want to avoid leaving your hair down for obvious reasons. Or, if you know you’re going to want every single strand in place, you might want to offer yourself more control by putting your hair up.

But perhaps you’ve always imagined keeping your hair loose. In this case, getting a professional blow out will help to control the texture and avoid frizz. You can also add a little something extra with a flower or hair piece tucked behind one ear, and you can also play around with tight curls or loose waves.

Keep some product on hand at the wedding – or have your maid of honor take care of this for you – so you can touch up if need be.

Half Up, Half Down

The best of both worlds! Half up, half down is a style that looks great on nearly every bride. Have your hair stylist pin the front sections of your hair back with a gorgeous clip, ribbon, or whatever will fit your personality and wedding theme. You can also add curls or waves. Or, you could do a waterfall braid or some version of a braid or a twist – ask your stylist for ideas.

For Any Hair Style

Regardless of how you choose to wear your hair if you’re wearing a veil or a headpiece make sure you practice taking it off while keeping your hair intact. If you can afford to pay your hair stylist to stick around until after the ceremony they can take care of this for you.

Find a hairstylist in Saratoga >>

Make Up Tips for Any Bride

  • Go for timeless, not trendy.
  • Don’t go too heavy and look overdone, but don’t go bare-faced either.
  • Most wedding makeup artists recommend soft, neutral shades.
  • If you’re not hiring a makeup artist at least consult with one.*
  • Do a trial run at least a month beforehand to ensure your skin doesn’t have a bad reaction to the products.
  • Keep a good skin care routine in the months leading up to the big day.
  • Hide a zit with a concealer with a tacky texture and a synthetic-bristle brush.
  • Make makeup last with primer.
  • Waterproof mascara is your friend.

Or, you could head to your local department store and find a salesperson at the makeup counter. Tell her what you’re looking for, have her do your makeup, and if you like it buy the products and ask her to detail what she did.

Find a makeup artist in Saratoga >>

Sources:

  • The Wedding Book: The Big Book for Your Big Day by Minday Weiss with Lisbeth Levine