Leaving Hair Down/Natural for Wedding?

[Annibelle]

Have you guys ever seen a bride who left her hair unstyled on her wedding day? Did it look weird to you? I've been thinking of doing something "fancy" for mine, but I've not seen anything that really looked great to me for my hair type. I've got thinnish hair that turns tiny when bunned, so my original hope of a rose bun is sort of out-- I don't want tiny hair on my wedding day, but I don't want to cheat with a sock bun, either! Plus, FDH LOVES my hair down. (I rarely wear it down though...hehe.) But I don't want to look like some hobo or something at my wedding. :p BTW, I'll be wearing a long Spanish-style veil and I have face-framing waves. Another problem with having my hair down is that my hair is dark and my gown is light, so I don't want that to highlight that my hair is somewhat thin... :(

[dulce]

How about down, but curled well with rollers to give more volume,your pic looks like you have natural curl but you could curl it for volume too.

[BeckyAH]

I wore my hair down for my wedding, but it was in my mother's living room.

The most important thing is that you feel pretty. If your hair down is going to make you feel pretty? Go for it. If it's not, and you're going to be anxious because of the thinness? Wear it up. You can use extensions or something similar, or talk to a hair stylist (maybe curl it the night before and then comb through to make some volume, and in a loose updo something like 'frizz' wouldn't be an issue)

[Mairéad]

I couldn't imagine having my hair another way. I've never really styled my hair and if it isn't going to be put up on my wedding day than it will certainly flow down my back the way my mommy and daddy made my hair.

[sweet*things]

How about a half-up? That's what I did for my wedding. Business in front, party in the back, lol. :D

[archel]

Half ups are extremely popular for weddings, especially with a tiara as an accent. I love it - it's a very romantic look

[Roseate]

I worked on a wedding where the bride wore her hair down: she looked fantastic! It wasn't completely unstyled, though; she had a few strands by her face pulled back and pinned to add a little volume and shape.

Try it out with your long veil though! Certain styles of veil would lay right on top of your hair, and potentially cause static/tangles/crazy hair if it was down.

[archel]

Fergie wore her hair down wild and natural - and awesome:

http://cdn.buzznet.com/media/jj1/2009/01/fergie-bride/fergie-wedding-photos-01.jpg

[Freitzeit]

From your sig pic it looks like you could leave it down or pin back just the front layers for a little bit of volume at the front. Either way, do what you are most comfortable with and what makes you happy. It's your wedding and it will be great no matter what!

[UltraBella]

I wore my hair down, in big loose curls. Lots of bounce and body. I think it looked awesome !!

You will look beautiful no matter what you decide :)

[kitschy]

My daughter is wearing her's with just the front pinned back. It looks really great. I'll post a picture tomorrow, but she won't allow me to post her face....and I think the picture uploader on LHC is still broken - so, yeah, tomorrow....

[MissManda]

If I ever have a wedding, I'd want to wear my hair down. Wearing updos to formal events has never been my preference because I don't think it suits my personality at all and I know I wouldn't feel as beautiful if I wore it up.

If wearing your hair down is what you want, then go for it! I think the half-up and/or curls suggestions are great if you don't want to feel self-conscious about your thickness. If you want something closer to your natural texture, maybe you could just curl/wave the ends a bit while the rest is straighter. I've seen hair styled like this and I think it looks quite pretty.

[Miss Maisie]

I wore a very 60s, mod, short patterned dress for my wedding. I would have worn my hair down, but it was flip length, and it would have been awful with my collar. Instead I put it up in a sort of pseudo bouffant. It looked super cute and fit my dress to a "t."

If I had worn a dress with a different neckline, I definitely would have worn it down.

[Teazel]

I did. But I also had bare feet - well, you try wearing heels on a beach - so maybe I had the "hobo" look down. :wink:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=2415&pictureid=87189

[neko_kawaii]

I did. But I also had bare feet - well, you try wearing heels on a beach - so maybe I had the "hobo" look down. :wink:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=2415&pictureid=87189

Like like like!
My mother wore her hair down for her wedding. I didn't realize the dress code was that strict *wink* (pssst, it's your wedding, do what makes you happy!)

[EbonyCurls]

I plan on leaving my hair down with flowers throughout.

[Rosetta]

I also wore mine down, though admittedly the wedding was very casual and low-key, but I'd probably have done so in any case. But it was far from "unstyled", I spent several hours doing my hair, e.g. put on rollers (although the curls of course didn't hold for very long, I should have known that) ;)


IMO this kind of style is beautiful and would suit even the most formal event - http://img.mtv3.fi/mn_kuvat/mtv3/viihde/555_px_leveat_kuvat/558717.jpg (they were a kind of celebrity couple over here)


Teazel, I love your wedding look! :)

[torrilin]

I honestly can't remember how I did my hair for mine, which makes me happy. It was the tiniest possible wedding, with two good friends witnessing for us and no one else. It wasn't down, but it certainly wasn't done in a complicated or elaborate style. I hate being the center of attention, and so does my partner. This way we had a wedding that made us both happy.

My sister-in-law wore hers down for the wedding, largely because the stylist couldn't figure out what else would work. Lots of hairspray, lots of heat, and lots of her favorite flower scattered through her hair. She looked fantastic :). Her hair was somewhere between waist and hip length in LHC terms, so it was very dramatic. It was a very long hair happy wedding, since the maid of honor has tailbone length hair, and mine was BSL.

[citadel]

One of my good friends has shoulder-length hair and she wore it down for the wedding. Some people were surprised she didn't do an elaborate up do, but that's just her personality--naturally beautiful with no fuss.

[Lilli]

I had a big old sock bun for my wedding and so regret it. It would have been beautiful down. :(

[florenonite]

I think it depends on the dress and the general level of extravagance of the wedding. If it's low-key, then loose and natural will fit in perfectly. If you're having a big white wedding, it might look a little informal, though if you curl and/or do a half-up (or even pin a small section back with a nice hair toy) then it will look more formal.

[NotInPortland]

Wear it however you feel most comfortable :) If I ever get married I imagine I will have mine down because updos just aren't really me...You can always style it up a bit by having the front bits of hair clipped back or putting flowers in the hair, I think there are plenty of nice accessories that can be put in hair left down and natural to style it up a bit if that's the look you're after.

[Celtic Morla]

My nephews wife was going to leave hers down au natural with no styling I told her she needed just a pick me up. We managed to scrounge up a hair tie and about 4 bobby pins. I pulled th eupper part up loosely with the hair tie and pinned it so it gave her a little balance to the top, then curled the bottom third with a curling iron. My nephew who had seen her earlier was happi;y surprised and even she was amazed at the difference a little work could do, she still talks about the quickie style she got and was very happy with the pics!

It sounds like you have a good idea esp with a mantilla I wpuld prob curls th ebottom thrid if it is thin just so the seperation from the curls makes it look thicker rather than it being straight.

[Chromis]

I wore mine down in rag curls. We had a very small wedding, but it was still fairly formal. I was wearing my grandmother's veil, which was about fingertip length and probably would have looked a little funny with an updo! I am guessing your mantila would be similar in that regard.

[QMacrocarpa]

I wore mine down with a wreath of dried flowers that I made. Of course, I didn't know all the great updos then that I do now, but it was a nice look, I was happy with it.

[PorkChop]

Ia actually really like it down on brides. And I wil probably do this myself when i get wed, either all down, or half up half down

[knoxkatie]

I also have fine, dark hair. I just looked at your pics and I think it would look beautiful if you trim a small bit off the ends and wear it down in loose, voluminous curls or waves.

[sibiryachka]

Fergie wore her hair down wild and natural - and awesome:

http://cdn.buzznet.com/media/jj1/2009/01/fergie-bride/fergie-wedding-photos-01.jpg

And while it wasn't wild, so did Kate Middleton. I read somewhere that she did so because down is how she always wears it, and she wanted to look like herself. Can't argue with that reasoning!

[Áine]

How about a half-up? That's what I did for my wedding. Business in front, party in the back, lol. :D


I do like the half up idea, you can do a lot of pretty things with it. It's also an easy style that you can put hidden tracks of additional hair, both to puff up the updo part, and the part that's still hanging down. Your "thin hair" worry will be solved.

[nobunny]

I plan on leaving my hair down with flowers throughout.

yes!! i think having hair down with lots of accents is a great way to dress up hair for a wedding. something special to put time and love and effort into, something you won't see or would wear on any other day, but still shows off your lovely beautiful hair :heartbeat

[Magdalene]

I think all down can look a bit messy with a veil, especially one that rests directly on the head like a mantilla- you don't want to look like a kid wearing a sheet!

If you have a headpiece then the veil has something to rest on. I would at least pull the front back and fasten with a pretty barette. (I think some folks call that half up, but half up means Belle from Beauty and the Beast to me)

I know you think a sock bun is cheating, but when I had shorter hair I used to curl it, then put it in a ponytail and pin the curls out in a kind of bunnish fashion- kind of a softer sock bun that might add some volume.

[luxepiggy]

I think it all depends on the style of the dress & the location of the wedding. For example, most beach-wedding brides seem to go with the natural/loose hair look. Unless your wedding is a super-formal evening affair, I think loose, tumbling curls can look quite sweet and romantic (^(oo)^)

[Annibelle]

Thanks for all of the suggestions and comments, guys! (And photos!) I was worried about the veil with my hair down, too...

Also, as for formality: we were originally going to do a formal evening wedding this fall, and then had to rearrange things... so we've decided on a spring tea party/lunch outdoors. So not too formal, but my dress is still full-length (although I really love tea-length... <3 ) and I've got the mantilla to work with, which looks great with updos but I haven't tried it with my hair down-- but I do imagine that it would be rather grabby... I'm torn, though, because I've always loved the idea of a flower crown instead of a veil, which would look great for something more informal, but... *sigh* I guess I just need to make up my mind. :)

[InTheCity]

I totally just added one little strip of fake hair. Clip in extensions under my own hair. It gave me the thickness I needed (and maybe 1" of length)

[curlymarcia]

I you have the veil you can practice all the hair style option. I am sure you will look beautiful. I have thin thin hair and for my wedding I wore hair extensions to add thickness to my half updo. One time I went to a wedding in the beach the bride wore a crown flower with down unstyle hair (it was so beautiful on her). Whatever make you feel beautiful and comfortable will work great.

[TrudieCat]

I'm wearing mine down with big loose curls/waves, with a side part and bangs pulled off to one side with a pretty barrette or silk flower thing. It's an evening wedding, kind of a cocktail attire kind of thing and I'm wearing a full length but very simple dress and I don't care if my hair doesn't look "formal" enough, lol - I just want to be confident and happy! I often think a really meticulous updo like I've seen on a lot of brides, while neat and formal-looking for sure, is a bit severe for my taste. That's just my opinion, though.

What's really important is that you feel confident. If you feel most confident with your hair down, then go for it!

A friend of mine has very thin, SL hair and wore clip-in SL extensions in a half-up, and her hair was beautiful. The extensions looked very natural - that might be an option.

[Magdalene]

Thanks for all of the suggestions and comments, guys! (And photos!) I was worried about the veil with my hair down, too...

Also, as for formality: we were originally going to do a formal evening wedding this fall, and then had to rearrange things... so we've decided on a spring tea party/lunch outdoors. So not too formal, but my dress is still full-length (although I really love tea-length... <3 ) and I've got the mantilla to work with, which looks great with updos but I haven't tried it with my hair down-- but I do imagine that it would be rather grabby... I'm torn, though, because I've always loved the idea of a flower crown instead of a veil, which would look great for something more informal, but... *sigh* I guess I just need to make up my mind. :)

Do both (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qeg1OcClj7U/S-fNjmZIfEI/AAAAAAAADY4/yzCxqGom3X0/s1600/rhpot10.jpg) :)

[ddiana1979]

Half-ups are very common. So are pretty curls for women with straight hair. I've seen really elegant hairstyles that are technically down, but accented with roses or other appropriate flowers. It depends a lot on the veil, I guess, if you're wearing one.

[Sweetie]

I plan to let my hair down as well, when I marry....but I think I'll wear a hippie/bohemian looking dress, so maybe a little depends on the style of your wedding....but anyway, since it's your day, do whatever makes you feels good!!!!

[tigereye]

I would love to have my hair down for my wedding when I get married. I think your natural waves would look so pretty. As some others have suggested, a half-up would look pretty too. Maybe with some fancy hair jewellery too :D Just try it out with your veil, and dress first.
As for if I know anyone else: my mum got married with her natural hair. Sure it maybe had a little more product in it to make it nice and soft and shiny and stuff, but otherwise she just had her natural shoulder length curls with a silver circlet instead of a tiara.
At least with your natural hair you don't have to worry about curls falling out, or pins giving you headaches etc. Because you're used to it.

[Becky9679]

I wore my hair loose and unstyled for my wedding just because that's how I prefer it. There's a picture in one of my albums. It never occurred to me that others might think loose hair was odd for a wedding, I just did what I wanted. Both myself and my husband thought it was more important that we were happy rather than going with tradition, so I didn't wear white or have a veil, I didn't have bridesmaids and he didn't wear a suit!

[HereIGrowAgain]

I did a quick google image search for mantilla veil hair. I saw a mixture of up, half-up, and down styles. I thought almost all of them looked good.

I would say add some clip in extensions to address the volume issue, and then try out a bunch of different styles. I think the main thing is to be sure that even if your hair is "down", it isn't "unstyled". There's a difference between literally rolling out of bed and "gee, I totally just rolled out of bed". ;)

[elbow chic]

I actually think thinnish hair looks better, more ethereal and romantic, down than big thick blocky hair. (I hate the way mine looks loose.)

Go for it! Maybe curl the ends or something for a more "finished" look?

[embee]

My hair was about BSL and I curled the ends on foam curlers (damp) and wore a mantilla type veil. It looked pretty and soft and very feminine. And the curls just about lasted through the reception! Then they all straightened out.

I have a pic of me after the reception and my hair was its own natural straight as a string look! Too funny.

A half up might work well, it will give you something to attach the mantilla to.... if I'm understanding correctly what you have to work with.

[Syrena]

If you want to wear it down, go for it! I don´ t think that you should be ashamed because it will be unstyled! When you are uncertain about your volume, you can still use clip-in hair extensions...it is totally up to you and how you feel!:)

[islandboo]

My hair is quite thin as well and I wore it down for my wedding. I had a floral crown instead of a veil, though.

[Rtzgrl]

I think the trick is to find a style that you know will stay nice looking all day, and find some really pretty hair toys or veil to dress it up. DH and I got married on a vintage steam engine train (the Durango/Silverton Narrow Gauge RR, for those familiar with that part of Colorado), so I knew I was going to be out in the elements literally all day, with not much chance of touch-ups, so I put it in a simple half up, no curling, and used a really pretty beaded bow clip that had lots of beading hanging down, about the same length as my hair at the time, which was just past shoulder length. Nobody thought it was odd at all, in fact I got several comments about how clever I was not to bother with a fancy hairdo.

[pepperminttea]

If I remember rightly, eresh left her hair down for her wedding, with braidwaves and a wreath of flowers. There's a photo in her sig. She looks like an Elven princess. :)

[emelnd]

I have seen one, and it looked pretty good.

[Xandergrammy]

I did. But I also had bare feet - well, you try wearing heels on a beach - so maybe I had the "hobo" look down. :wink:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=2415&pictureid=87189


You looked gorgeous, Teazel, and I was going to suggest a crown of flowers (is that what it's called? It's beautiful!)

[Zesty]

While I'm not really anxious to get married, I've considered this before as someone in a long term committed relationship. I really like the idea of leaving hair down or in a half-up -- I think it can be really pretty and elegant, as well as showing off the length of that pretty hair you've grown. The only real drawback IMO is that if the back of your dress is pretty, your hair might cover it up.

On a more personal level, I want to leave my hair down because it's something that I can do for me without bucking tradition so much that his family is appalled (they're pretty traditional/conservative about these sorts of things... I learned that at his senior prom). In my head, I'd much rather get married in a dress that's sage green or something, rather than white, but they'd think that was pretty weird! :p I might do it anyway, they love me enough that I could get away with it.

[swetiepeti]

I'm a strong believer that you should wear your hair in whatever style you think looks best on you, makes you the most comfortable.
My suggestion would be to try a few with the dress and whatever you plan to wear on your hair and look at it from all angles. Then decide. It's your and your future husbands day, do whatever makes you feel best

[paintedhorse]

what about a cool braid and maybe put flowers or ribbon in it

[Teazel]

You looked gorgeous, Teazel, and I was going to suggest a crown of flowers (is that what it's called? It's beautiful!)

Thanks, Xandergrammy! (And neko_kawaii and Rosetta!) :) I think I called my floral crown a "garland", but it was a long time ago and I can't quite remember. :hmm: Whatever you call it, it dried very well and I still have it stored away somewhere.