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Wedding Belles

To keep the bliss bubbling right along with the champagne,you need to perfect your salon ’s bridal routine.This not only means being proficient at updos and other wedding styles,but also establishing protocols to ensure that your brides are catered to in a professional,calm and organized environment.You can start doing this by taking to heart these tips from Jackie Norrie,owner of three dedicated bridal beauty businesses in Massachusetts and Rhode Island,and a featured expert for Martha Stewart Weddings.

( WeddingTresses.com )

• We ask the bride to bring pictures of what she likes and doesn ’t like.We also ask her to bring her veil.If she doesn ’t have one yet,we have sample pieces on hand to simulate the final result.We schedule one hour for this service,which works 95%of the time.
• No matter how many styles that we show the bride and how many negative responses we might receive,we never get our feelings hurt.Creating a bridal ’do is for her big day and not ours;our egos are never involved.
• On her wedding day,,we base the bride ’s beauty booking on the photographer ’s schedule and not the ceremony.
• If we ’re doing a bride ’s hair in a hotel room -the most common scenario - I contact the concierge in advance to ensure that there ’s a stool and anything else that I might need in her room by the appointed time.
• We always follow the 30--minute rule:We set the bride ’s appointment 30 minutes before we ’re actually going to start her services.We build in another 30-minute window between when we finish her services and when she gets dressed.Ideally we also add another 30-minute time block between her dress time and when she ’s supposed to meet with her photographer.
• My onsite bridal kit is always stocked beyond what we ’ve decided to do during the trial run.Besides carrying a host of products and the usual hairstyling tools,I keep a crochet hook handy to quickly tuck and hide unruly ends and chopsticks to speed up French twist services.
• When building your bridal portfolio,make an appointment to review the photographer ’s pictures after the wedding -with the bride ’s permission - and purchase one for your book.Avoid using amateur snapshots as much as possible;they never do justice to your work and will fail to impress future brides.

Vintage Brides

Whether she wants a neo-spin on a style from the ’40s, ’60s or even a century ago, you’ve got to study the original look before recreating it in a mode way. A great reference book that will shorten your leaing curve: Stage & Screen Hairstyles: A Practical Reference for Actors,Models,Hairstylists,Photographers,Stage Managers and Directors by Kit Spencer. It ’s also essential to keep current on how gifted red carpet/celebrity hair artists are interpreting new and vintage trends. HOT’s fave publications for this purpose: People Magazine (People.com); Us Weekly (USMagazine.com); and Entertainment Weekly (EW.com/ew). Our top choice for viewing fashion trends and runway shows: Style.com.   Tip: "When creating a retro- ’60s style like Grecian curls, the entire look needs to be shifted much lower on the head and be extremely soft in terms of finishing." Lina Lomangino, owner of Michael’s Hair Body Mind in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada     Tip: "Creating a gorgeous retro-style can make our bride’s wedding album look timely for years to come. For our bride, we put a modern spin on the most copied’do from the '40s: the victory roll." Jean Sweet, photographer   Tip: "Sometimes it's more advantageous to achieve retro-looks by using old-fashioned tools. We rolled our bride's hair on rags to create an early 20th century impression." Sherri Jesse, owner of Sherri’s Hair Salon in Bristol, Virginia.

Boho Brides

Leave the twigs, crown of dried flowers and daisy chains right where they belong - in her grandmother’s photo album. The modern bohemian bride is a free-spirited fashionista with a penchant for soft modernity in her styles.           Tip: "Mixing hair textures with an 'almost' polished finish will make our boho bride look irresistible in both pictures and in person." Tracey Stokes for Jean Sweet, photographer   Tip: "When suggesting styles for your bride, it’s smart to offer at least one contrasting look - like a boho-chic 'do to complement her uptown wedding frock." Amy Lauren, stylist for Sherri’s Hair Salon

Bridal Veils, Flowers and Accessories

It's a given that you must create a hairstyle that's designed around the bride's headpiece. But you also have to remember that the final hair design must look equally great once the veil is removed. "A full 60% of our brides still wear headpieces," notes Norrie. "Besides designing styles that look good with or without the piece, we always give instructions to the person in charge of the bride's appearance (usually the maid of honor) about how to remove it without disturbing the bride's style." Tip: "If our bride is wearing fresh flowers in her hair, make sure you have refrigeration available to keep them as fresh as possible; place them in her hair right before she departs for her photography session." Jacki Norri     Tip: "Mature brides often prefer veils that are pinned at or below he occipital bone." Sherri Jessee   Tip: "Wearing family necklace or a brooch in the hair is a popular alternative to a traditional headpiece for 2011." Sherri Jesse     Tip: "The best style for a birdcage veil is to have the hair swept off the forehead or a strong, short bang design." Lina Lomangino

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