Picking The Perfect 'Do

I am still coming down from the high of one of my best friend’s wedding this past weekend. It was amazing – I am actually kind of sad it is over! And I am hoping to share more details of her wedding in a future post. But this weekend did get me thinking about something that I hadn’t really thought about before – how am I going to wear my hair on my big day? I know that might be a weird thought, but all of us bridesmaids had our hair done this past weekend and several people asked me how I was going to wear my hair for my wedding and I had absolutely no idea!

For the last two weddings I was a bridesmaid in, I went with a high ballerina bun. I like that it is off my face, it’s fun and I don’t have to worry about wind or my very aggressive dancing messing it up.

And though I still love this look, I am not sure if I want it for my big day. Niall has said he wants my hair down (he also wants me to wear no make-up – obviously not happening!).

But I think my dress might look best with an up-do. And I also like not worrying about wind, or curls falling out (which is basically inevitable with my hair).

Any advice on figuring this out? Did you figure it out at your hair trial or know all along what you wanted?

Credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

{Christina's Wedding} Updates

Hello everyone!  Yes, I'm alive...sorry for being MIA but it has been a crazy couple of weeks on this end.  My fiance and I flew from Austria to Illinois on February 20th, spent a few days with my family and then started the 3 day drive to Arizona.  We were promised by our contractor that the renovations to the home we bought in October were finished but had the extremely unpleasant surprise of arriving to a disaster zone.  We spent a few nights in a hotel, then a few nights on an air mattress in what was supposed to be the living room of our house, almost an entire week fighting with the contractor to finish what we paid him to do and also dealt with some lovely surprises with the home (ex: the sewer backed up into the shower drains and the AC unit broke the second day we slept in the house)...just to name a few things that went wrong.  Needless to say, I had zero time to think about the wedding during the last couple of weeks which stressed me out even more. However, I am happy to report that things are finally starting to settle down and I am slowly switching back to wedding mode.  My grandmother gave me some wonderful advice that really put things into perspective.  She said "Christina, you'll always have a house to deal with but you will only have one wedding!"  She's totally right and with only a month to go, I am glad she was able to snap me out of my funk.

I had my first dress fitting last week and that it went great!  My worries about not liking the dress vanished as soon as I put it on.  The fit was almost perfect and the dress doesn't even need to be hemmed!

I also had a 2nd hair trial before the fitting that went well but I'm not sure if it's the look I'll end up choosing.

If you remember, the hairstyle I chose for my 1st trial was this:

For my 2nd trial, we went for this look:

I liked the look in person but I am not sure if I will love the way it looks in pictures.  So, I plan on styling my hair like this before my next dress fitting and hopefully I'll finally be able to make a decision!

images via

Wedding Hair Bliss {in Beverly Hills}

At this point in my planning I have been attempting to lock down a photographer, DJ/band, and florist. After a lot of time and effort focusing on those things I decided to take a well-deserved break. And what better way to reward yourself than going to the salon. My dear friend, Ashley, is also my hairstylist of 5 years and the artistic director at Kenworthy Salon. When I came in to Kenworthy to get my color done recently, she and I were just chatting about wedding hairstyles and thought it would be fun to start playing with my hair to get some ideas.  (She too is getting married this year!)

Here are some Tips from Beverly Hills Stylist Ashley Bostrom on how to prepare for your hair trial:

1. The best way to prep for your bridal hair trail is to have your hair shampooed and dried the day before your appt. This makes your hair more manageable to mold into your desired style.
2. Be sure to bring pictures of your favorite looks and accessories, so this way you have a better idea of how your hair will look the day of.
3. Also another great idea is to bring a camera and have your stylist take a picture of your favorite look. Be sure to start your hair and makeup trails at least 4 months before your wedding, to alleviate stress and to make sure your favorite stylist is available for your big day!!

I also thought it would be a good idea to wear white; whether that be a white tank top, tube top, or even a cream shawl.... anything that will help you visualize how you'll look on your wedding day. I made sure to do my make up clean and natural too. Here are some photos of celebrities that we used for inspiration.... and photos of the beautiful work Ashley did on my hair :)

HOLLYWOOD GLAM

THE UP-DO THE MESSY BUN

 DOWN AND WAVY

 My favorite part about this whole experience is that there was no pressure... kind of like when I found my dress! I was relaxed, had no expectations, and most of all I had fun! Ashley and I are going to do one more hair trial in a few months, but I think I already have a favorite out of this bunch.... do you? I'd love to hear your feedback!

Have you had your hair trial yet? Do you have any extra tips you'd like to share?

Oh, and if you live in southern California and you're looking for a phenomenal hairstylist for your bridal hair, I think you know who's at the top of my list of recommendations ;)