WeddingLight Events – Elope to Paris

Tag: wedding hair

  • Inspiration: 2014 Bridal Hair Accessory Trends

    After choosing your perfect dress, the biggest statement you can make is through your bridal head-wear. Whether you want to be classic in a veil or breaking boundaries with a more unique piece, WeddingLight Events collated this season’s top hair accessory trends. Tying together your personality and wedding theme will be completed with one of these fabulous looks. Don’t forget to check out our Top 5 Hairstyles to discover the ultimate combination of style and accessory.

    1.Gatsby Style Rhinestone Headdresses and Juliet Caps

    1920’s glamour continues to inspire brides, and what better way to add nuances of the jazz era to your look than through head-wear. Rhinestone head bands offer a perfect bridge between tiara and hair-band. This look has a timeless elegance which transcends the ages, whilst evoking the fun and recklessness of the period. With many different accessory styles to choose from you should have no problem finding one which compliments your face shape, hair style and dress.

     

     

    Juliet caps have also made a big comeback with brides. This look is unmistakably vintage and romantic. They can be worn simply or used as a more interesting way to incorporate a veil into your look. The lace adds extra prettiness to any bridal look. Both are perfect for adding a little Gatsby majesty to your reception –  just make sure you’ve perfected your Charleston so you can live up to your look!

    Source www.weddinghandmade.com

    2. Classic veils

    The staple bridal look will never change, and if you’ve always imagined of the man of your dreams lifting a veil from your face what other choice do you have but to go for it? After all this is your one and only chance to pull it off. Of course just because you know you need to have a veil there are still many decisions to be made! Floor length cathedral style,  or shorter and layered? Detailed or simple? Thinking about practicalities is also an important aspect in veil choice as you may want to be able to easily remove it for certain photographs. Floor length veils are the most traditional and are always flattering. Whilst  shorter styles can be more playful and inject some personality however it’s important to make sure your whole silhouette is still pleasing to the eye. We love this soft romantic blusher veil from Twigs and Honey.

    Source Twigsandhoney.com

    3.Ethereal Floral Crowns

    For the bohemian bride floral crowns are the perfect free spirited expression of beauty. Celebrating natural elegance and romanticism, they create a unique look. From pale and delicate headbands to larger and brighter crowns, the floral trend offers a spectrum of diversity and the perfect motif for a spring/summer wedding.  This has to be the biggest trend right now. Your bouquet can also be tied into your look making your favorite flowers play a starring role in your big day. Check out our blog on top bouquet trends for even more inspiration on which flowers to choose, as well as our interview with our wonderful florist Estelle.  Adding a splash of colour to your look with bright flowers can also change up the style, and allow you to add in the tones which most suit you. Your floral crown will also of course be completely unique, which is exactly what you want for your big day. Floral crowns are particularly stunning when combined with loose natural curls, for a soft ethereal elegance.

     Source www.alterblooms.blogspot.co.uk/

    4. Extravagant Fascinators

    It’s your big day so all eyes must be on you, and nothing will ensure this better than a statement fascinator. Intricacy of design and an array of materials can combine to form a work of art. An excellent choice when combined with a more simple dress. Adding feathers, lace, or rhinestones creates endless possibilities. This gives you an excellent way of bringing in any colours or materials you want to incorporate into your look. Fascinators have made a big comeback since the Royal wedding, even making a splash within mainstream fashion. Of course there are also many smaller fascinators out there if you want a more subdued take on this look. Dare to be different!

    Source stylemepretty.com

    5. Royal Tiaras

    If adding a little royal touch to the day is important for you, then you can alternatively embrace the princess theme with a tiara. Now is the time to truly channel your inner Kate Middleton, after all who can deny how stunning her vintage Cartier piece was?  A delicate and somewhat traditional accessory choice, a tiara can easily be incorporated into your chosen hairstyle.   They are also perfect for adding a little sparkle to a structured hair do. So if a formal chignon is your style of choice a tiara will be the  perfect accompaniment!  Excellent if you don’t want too much attention to be on your hair. Tiaras are less of a hot trend right now  but they will always be a classic and regal wedding look. They’re also perfect if you’ve chosen stunning jewellery and want to emphasise your chosen pieces with a matching tiara. Glitz and glamour galore!

     Source hairstyle-for-weddings.com

    Hopefully this has inspired you to find the perfect wedding hair accessory for you. For more advice on choosing your perfect bridal hairstyle to go with your hair accessory and on how to prepare for the big day, take a look at our interview with Muriel, our favorite Paris wedding hairstylist (and stylist to the stars!).

     

  • WLE Meets: Professional Hairstylist, Muriel

    We met up with the lovely Muriel, our favorite  hairstylist, to get her expert advice on bridal hair for our destination brides in Paris. She recently worked with one of our clients at the Shangri La hotel; creating a different hair style for the bride and each of her three best friends. Despite never having met any of these lovely women from New York City before, the results exceeded all expectation. Everyone was thrilled with her work!

    We love Muriel because not only is she an amazing stylist but also extremely fun to work with. She is also very flexible and calm under pressure – what more could you ask for? Q. Tell us a little about your career: I’ve had a long and interesting career, I worked at the Ritz for 15 years styling VIP clients including members of royal families.  I style clients hair for many different occasions but I really love styling hair for weddings, and making sure the bride feels beautiful on her big day.

    Q. Are there classic wedding hair styles that never go out of fashion? The chignon will always be the most classic wedding style, having the hair up shows off the dress and gives a beautiful formal look. When I started as a hair stylist there weren’t many people specializing in bridal hair but chignons quickly became the staple look on the market.

    Q. Are there any popular trends right now? Young girls are much more interested in fashion now so they ask for a variety of different styles. The chignon is still popular but becoming more undone, people are also experimenting with more intricate ways of creating it and adding different accessories. More brides with long hair are also wearing their hair down in loose curls; I’d say the general trend over the past 5-6 years has been towards a messier less structured look.

    Q. Do you have any advice for future brides? The dress is the most important element; you need to know exactly what you’re wearing before you can think about how you want to style your hair. It’s important to choose something which is in keeping with your look and will show off the dress. Also try it out in plenty of time before the big day so you know everything will go perfectly. One time a stylist hadn’t fixed a chignon properly and the bride’s hair fell down as she was leaving the church which was a disaster. Make sure you have extra hair spray and clips to keep the style perfect for photos in all weather conditions.

    Q. How many trials does it take before getting a brides hair perfect? When I started out brides were generally happy with their hair the first time, but nowadays it can take up to 4 or 5 trials. That’s why it’s so important to practice far in advance. You should know yourself, and have an idea of how many times you think you’ll want to try before you’re completely satisfied.

    Q. Is there a big difference between doing French and American Weddings? I think there is a very noticeable difference between French and American weddings. Americans are much more ceremonious than the French which I like. I’ll do the hair for the whole wedding party and it gives a harmony to the overall look.

    Q. How do you differentiate your service from other hairstylists? I have years of experience in doing weddings, I know what brides want and can create a chignon without thinking. Even though I’ve been around a while I also keep up to date with new trends, and tailor the look  to exactly what the bride wants. There are a lot of stylists doing bridal hair now though which can make it difficult for clients as they have so many options and decisions to make.

    Photography by WeddingLight Photography
    English Speaking Photographer in Paris

  • WLE Meets: Wedding Gown Designer, Reinaldo Alvarez

    If you’ve been following our blog for a while you might have already seen this interview with wedding gown designer Reinaldo Alvarez. Yesterday we caught up with Reinaldo at his beautiful showroom in the heart of the Marais in Paris (it’s a hard life) to ask him some questions about his influences, the process of dress fitting and a whole lot more. Renowned for his chic, minimalist style dresses, Reinaldo is also a fountain of knowledge on all things wedding related and, lucky for us, he’s always more than happy to give out some of his invaluable advice!

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    Hi Reinaldo! So, you started off by designing evening wear, did you always want to end up designing wedding dresses  or was it a natural progression for your line?

    I needed to sell! People only shop in the sales, either now or in January… so I had to change my activity! My mother had a wedding shop in Puerto Rico so people always asked me why I didn’t make wedding dresses… but at the time I thought I don’t want to! Then an American girl ordered a dress from me even though I didn’t have a wedding dress collection. It was a short dress with a coat for a civil ceremony, and that was the beginning of it! So I made a small collection of about 20 dresses; the first season I sold 13, the second time around I sold 45!

    Has your upbringing in Puerto Rico influenced your designs?

    Yes, a lot. I come from a family where everyone did sewing, everyone was in fashion. My mother had a shop and the way she dressed, the way she created her stuff, influenced me a lot. Everywhere I went there was something to do with fashion going on, on both sides of the family… my mother’s side and my father’s side!

    Can you give us an overview of the process of buying one of your dresses? How long does it take and how many fittings are needed?

    Normally there is a 6 month delay and it is really made to order… it’s like the haute couture process. There’s a pattern made out of cotton which is the same as the shape of the dress the bride is going to wear, but made to her exact measurements. It is sculpted on the girl, then we cut it flat and that’s the pattern… it’s called a “toile”. When you buy a dress in the shops and they say it is made to order, it’s not made to order.

    That was my next question! What are the advantages of buying directly from a designer rather than a dress shop?

    Buying a dress from a bridal shop is not the same, it comes from a standard size and then they retouch it… it’s altered by a seamstress that didn’t make the dress and it is sold by a salesperson who is not a seamstress, so the dress is not personalised at all. Really it is a ready-to-wear dress that is then made to fit the girl.

    Photography Copyright Reinaldo Alvarez

     

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    Interesting! So you say the process takes about six months?

    Yes, it takes six months because I don’t just have a couple of customers, I see many people per week.  When the season starts I have to plan my fabric buying, my minimums of fabric, what I need to buy from Italy, how many yards etc… so it has to be done ahead of time to avoid shortage, because I buy by the bolt. You need at least three fittings, but four or five if needed because often people either gain weight, lose weight or get pregnant! This year it’s been pregnant city!

    What kind of materials do you use? Where do you source them from?

    It’s mostly silk of different types. It’s all Italian silk… it’s the best. Italy has the best fabric there is… Lyon was the capital of silk for many, many years and there is still a silk market there but the Italians… wow, they do fantastic stuff!

    Where do you look for inspiration?

    A little bit of everything but I always look to 50s and 60s haute couture, especially the 50s. It’s timeless, elegant… it was the most elegant period.

    So when you’re designing a dress, do you have a specific woman in mind? A woman with certain attitudes or tastes?

    No, because you have to try to appeal to a lot of different women. So I have things with or without a collar, dresses that suit women of different sizes… so no, I don’t have a particular woman in mind. Except for one thing: the women who come here don’t want frills, they don’t want frou-frou or flowers or petals, they don’t want lace… they want a beautiful fabric and a well-made dress.

    Photography Copyright Reinaldo Alvarez

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    Can you share with us some of your favourite spots in Paris?

    Of course! There’s my neighbour, la Mangerie, which is a nice tapas restaurant. It’s excellent, young, fun and great food… it’s fantastic. What else…. it might sound snobby but Versailles! We go once a month to a restaurant in Versailles called the Brasserie du Théâtre, it’s really nice. Where else… I don’t go out that much!

    Does the city of Paris play a role in your designs?  Would your designs be the same if you were still in Puerto Rico?

    Paris does not influence my designs at all. It’s mostly an American thing – minimalism, it’s not French at all. But it does appeal to the French, they love it because it’s simple.

    Do you have any advice for a bride when looking for her wedding dress?

    Yes, don’t waste time… don’t waste your own time or other people’s time. If you can’t afford a designer dress, don’t go to a designer; this is a business and people must respect the fact that we live from this. Nobody talks about it but people should be told! If you want to look at designer dresses go to the internet, look at pictures, but don’t waste people’s time. Time is money! People should also know that copying a dress is against the law…  I get calls from people asking me to copy a Givenchy organza dress… why are you calling me? Call Givenchy!

    I imagine it’s also quite insulting as a designer to be asked to copy someone else’s designs?

    It’s very insulting! I got a call from someone asking me to recreate a suit they’d seen at Dior… it’s by Dior, you should buy it from Dior! If I go to a restaurant and order a hamburger that is €15 and I only have €12, I go to McDonalds! People need to respect that it’s a business. And everyone should know that all these ready-to-wear dresses, they come from China. People should be buying French, buying dresses that are made in France.

    Photography Copyright Reinaldo Alvarez

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    What should a bride bring to her fitting?

    They should bring the shoes to the second fitting but the most important thing is the underwear… the bra, because that’s what gives you the fit across the chest. If you change the bra you change the placement of the breasts… it has to be the one you are going to wear on the day of the wedding.

    What about the shoes? Do you design shoes as well?

    No I don’t design shoes but shoes are very important! They should match the dress… in my opinion the most elegant is the fabric shoe, made out of the same fabric as the dress. People might think it’s old-fashioned but that’s not the case, elegance is atemporal, it’s timeless. Some people come in with red shoes or grey shoes… faux pas, faux pas, faux pas! Comfort is also a very important word – the bride has to be comfortable on the day of the wedding and I try to give them advice on what to choose. The shoes need to have a beautiful point; the tip of the shoe should be nice, whatever shape she prefers, but it should match the dress. The heel should be comfortable too, it should be a stack heel, something thick that she can balance in… no stilettos!

    Do you advise brides on their hair and makeup? What’s your favourite style?

    I like natural, just better than every day. She shouldn’t arrive with a huge chignon when she’s not used to having a chignon! If she has a bob, let her wear her bob! It needs to be an exercise in elegance… it’s not Halloween! With makeup she should have a natural face, no fake eyelashes… for my brides at least! She should be the most natural and tasteful as possible, people need to be able to recognise her.  If she hardly wears makeup every day then she arrives covered in makeup on the day of the wedding people won’t recognise her… and she’s not going to look any younger!

    Can you sum up the style of your dresses in a few words?

    I can do it in one word : minimalist.

    So what’s next for you as a designer?

    I’d like to sell my dresses all over the world. There might be something happening in Miami but for sure there’ll be something happening in Paris with my ready-to-wear evening wear collection. We’re working on selling it to stores in a professional showroom, it’ll happen for next summer.

    Last question: if you could dress anyone, dead or alive, in one of your dresses, who would it be?

    I have no idea… who would I like to dress…. definitely not Jennifer Lopez even though she’s Puerto Rican like me!.. dead or alive… it’s a tough question… Coco Chanel so we can compare notes!

    Photography Copyright Reinaldo Alvarez

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    Thanks Reinaldo! What great advice for a chic wedding! To check out Reinaldo’s collection or to make an appointment visit his website. You won’t regret it!