Hair Styling: Going Natural on Your Wedding Day

When Angela Walker, owner of N Natural Hair Studio, was finally convinced by salon manager Carissa Bernard to produce a bridal natural hair shoot, she had beautiful and sexy with a traditional bend in mind. She sought the expertise of AdeOla Fadumiye, a DC-based event planner and project manager, and made just one request, “I want beautiful after-ceremony images of black couples in love, and the brides just happen to have natural hair.”

With that request in mind, AdeOla recruited and steered a dynamic team of DC wedding vendors to produce an elegant and stunning, yet relaxed and sexy shoot for the natural hair bride. Carissa Bernard, lead stylist at N Natural Hair Studio, created the magnificent hairstyles using clean parts.

Her goal was to create elegant hairstyles using stretched hair that maintained a kinky texture. The beautiful styles are a collaboration of pulled back hair and flat twists, and are accented with simple yet elegant hair adornments from Little Things Borrowed, a bridal accessories rental showroom and online store.

The shoot’s floral details were created and styled by Fri Longtchi of Beau Décor. The beautiful melanin of the models and bright blooms of the bouquets and boutonnieres bounced delicately off the soft backdrop and beautiful dresses provided by Grace and Ivory and Curvaceous Couture. Deji Adebayo of Zoomworx brought Angela’s request for “beautiful after-ceremony images of black couples in love” to life. The perfect spot for the shoot was the beautiful Milton Ridge chapel in Clarksburg, MD.

~ AdeOla Fadumiye, Project + Event Manager

When a woman with natural hair is slated to be a bride, one of the questions she contemplates is “should I straighten my hair for the day or should I rock my natural tresses?” It is a question many black women with textured hair consider regularly. As a bride, the dilemma is little more intense, because your wedding day is an extra special day. You spend a lot of time researching the perfect hairstyle, and as soon as you make up your mind to wear your natural hair, the question shifts from “should I rock my textured hair down the aisle to which style should I choose?”
One important question sits between making a decision to wear your hair natural on your wedding day and the decision on how to wear it. That question is “where do you go to find the stylist for the job?” To help you along the way, here are a few key questions to ask prospective clients:

 Do you have bridal packages? – This let’s you know up front if the salon or stylist is familiar with working with brides.

 Where can I view pictures of your brides? – You’re basically looking to see that the style their previous brides wore were styles that could last throughout the night. One of the biggest nightmares of naturals is leaving the house with one style and returning home with another. Your wedding day should be a day where the style you start with is the style you end with.

 What is the hair trial process like? – You want to make sure the salon or stylist’s idea of a trial and your idea of a trial are aligned. You DO NOT want to go to a salon whose idea of a trial is just to style your hair. The trial is the time to play around with ideas you have and shared, and perfect the look to your liking. The stylist should allocate an additional 30-60 minutes during a trial to allow for time to play around with the style. These preliminary questions and the answers the salon or stylist provides will help you know if you are working with a professional stylist who not only knows and styles natural hair, but also understands the needs of natural hair brides.

Other quick tips to consider are
 It’s best to do your hair trials in the morning so you can see how the style looks through out the day and by the end of the night.

 Take pictures of ALL angles and encourage your stylist to take a pic or two as she’s building the style so she can look back at the steps she took to create it.

 Accessories are everything. Bring whatever accessories or similar choices you’re thinking of adding to your style to your trial so you can see the full look.

 Getting your hair done the day of the wedding is always best. I know you may want to forego the cost of travel for your stylist, but these pictures will literally last you a life time and you don’t want to look back and say “man, I should’ve paid the extra price to have my stylists travel.”

Congratulations natural hair brides! Go on and rock your textured hair down the aisle. At our N Natural Hair Studios in Silver Spring and Baltimore, both in Maryland, we are invested in showing natural hair brides the possibilities their beautiful texture affords them, and in addressing the pain points of being a natural hair bride. We want to equip you with the proper knowledge, put your doubt to rest,
and make sure your hair on your big day is a non-issue. If you have more questions, find us on Instagram.

~ Angela Walker of N Natural Hair Studios

See the entire vendor list below and view the complete gallery here.

Vendors:
Florist: Beau Decors
Hair: N Natural Hair Studio
Planner: AdeOla Fadumiye
Photography: Zoomworx
Venue: Milton Ridge
Videographer: Certified Official
Makeup: Makeup by Pnang
Bridal Dresses: Grace + Ivory, and Curvaceous Couture
Menswear: Blank Label
Accessories: Little Things Borrowed
Bride Models: Oluwatopin Pyne, Tazah Richardson
Groom Models: Vincent Bronson, AJ Bailey