Hair by Louise Dove Wedding Hair | Bridal Hair Accessory by Lou Lou Puchalka |Photography by Annemarie King |Flowers by Lucy MacNicoll Floral Design | Makeup by Harriet Innes-Smith.
Welcome to an exciting new blog series all about our wedding! With many of you getting engaged over Christmas, I thought January was the perfect time to blog about the wedding planning process as I started planning mine around this time last year. The first instalment is all about bridal hair and accessories. When it came to bridal hair accessories, I knew from the minute I got engaged that I wanted Lou Lou Puchalka to create a bespoke piece for my wedding day. Lou Lou has created gorgeous pieces for some of my closest friends and I loved how she can create the perfect piece for each person to complement everything from your chosen hairstyle to your wedding theme. She knew exactly what I wanted even when I didn’t which is really handy for the world’s most indecisive bride.
I have to say I was way too laid back about my hair. I spent many months in denial thinking if I pinned Michelle Keegan’s hair to my Pinterest board enough times it would magically appear on my own head just in time for my wedding. Choosing the perfect hair accessory was a tricky process for me at first as I changed my mind at the very last minute and couldn’t decide exactly how I wanted my hair. Curly. Straight. Curly. Straight. This is not ideal at all when you are having a bespoke hair accessory made from scratch. There are also a lot of things to consider such as how a veil fits in to the picture and whether or not you want to add hair extensions into the mix. I had my dress made in London and bought my veil and hair accessories in Leeds so there was rarely a chance for me to see how everything looked together. I was really torn between being a boho bride with flowers in my hair and going glam with a something sparkly.
But who am I kidding? I was always going to go with sparkle. I knew I wanted a no fuss hair do so that I wouldn’t spend my entire wedding day wondering if every strand was in the right place. After meeting with my lovely hairdresser Louise who spent many an hour bringing my dream Pinterest wedding hair board to life on my head, we opted for exactly the opposite of everything I’d pinned and chose a sleek, straight, slightly bouffant style. It’s easy to get carried away on Pinterest with elaborate hair styles but I’m lucky to have a very honest hairdresser who knows what I like. Don’t be disappointed if you don’t nail it on your first hair trial. I had three before I felt certain.
I absolutely loved my hair on the day and having my hairdresser come to my venue on the day was really special. I can’t explain how many strange faces you see when you wake up on your wedding morning so it is really lovely to have someone you are familiar with especially when it comes to hair.
My hair accessory was made up of Swarovski crystals and fresh water pearls and I loved every part of the creation process from the initial consultation to seeing the final headpiece in all its glory. When I first went to see Lou Lou, we discussed the idea of simply having a dazzling comb at the back to secure a half up half down hairstyle. This later escalated to a more elaborate tiara style design at the front and a comb at the back connected by delicate Swarovski crystals. As my wedding hairstyle got bigger so did my headpiece. My vision for the piece changed so much from beginning to end and Lou Lou adapted it as we went along and knew exactly what I wanted even when I didn’t. Talented suppliers like Lou Lou Puchalka make creating your bridal look incredibly easy and even when I was losing my mind in a Bridezilla haze in the last few weeks Lou Lou was there making last minute alterations to make sure everything was perfect.
She even created bespoke hair pins that complemented the bridesmaid dresses (blog post coming soon) I chose that made really thoughtful gifts. If you are looking for an accessory to add the finishing touches to your bridal look, I would 100% recommend that you visit Lou Lou Puchalka and talk your ideas through. Pop in to her bridal studio in the Leeds Corn Exchange or browse her wonderful creations online here.
