Five Most Popular Wedding Hairstyles This Year (Updated for 2024)

Five Most Popular Wedding Hairstyles This Year

Remember fretting about your hair for your high school photo? Multiply this a few hundred times when you are ready to choose your wedding hairstyle. You want it just right. And there are many decisions to be made. Updo or loose hair? Braids? Straight or wavy?

First, consider your “overall” look. Are you going for elegant, boho, retro or modern? You want your wedding hairstyle to fit in with your wedding theme. Check out the following wedding hairstyles by typing in “hairstyle” for an abundance of inspiration.

You can create your wedding hairstyle yourself, or work with a hair and makeup stylist. Either way, test out your wedding hairstyle prior to your wedding day, preferably fully dressed for the occasion. Be assured braids and waves will always have that special allure every bride craves. Don’t forget the added attraction of hair accessories that can enhance any wedding hairstyle.

Hairstyles work best on hair that hasn’t been freshly washing, so don’t shampoo on the morning of your wedding. Best to wash your hair a day or so earlier for the best results. Begin deep conditioning treatments several weeks before the big day, and color your way no later than two weeks prior, along with a final trim for heading down the aisle.

It’s a good idea not to make huge changes in your usual hair. You don’t want your fiancé standing panic-stricken at the altar wondering, “Who IS that woman?”

Be careful about choosing an extreme style that may be the hair de jour at the moment, especially among a few celebrities. Twenty years from now, you’ll be looking at your wedding pictures and shaking your head.

Long Waves Wedding Hairstyle

Long, cascading hair just makes you feel like a princess. It’s an elegant look that compliments many classic wedding dresses. For this wavy look, secure your hair in bobby pins and mist them just a bit. After 20 minutes, removed the pins and run your fingers through your curls, but don’t use a brush. Use a holding spray to maintain the shape of the curls.

To create the braids, begin with one side of your head and take a handful of hair. Braid the hair and secure to the back of your head with pins. Repeat this with the other side and secure both braids together for a loosely braided look.

The waves are the perfect backdrop for a lovely hair accessory.

Updo Braids Wedding Hairstyle

This braided look is easier than is seems. Start by taking two small sections of hair from the front and knotting them at the crown. Take two more sections and tie it to the original knot and moving the section up and under. Keep tying these knots until all of your hair has been tied.

This updo is a classic, but there is a casualness about it. It’s a great wedding hairstyle for both a formal and semi-formal look.

Crimping Your Wedding Hairstyle

Crimping your hair makes a definite bold statement. It’s a throwback to the 80s and 90s and would fit a retro-style wedding perfectly. This might be one of the few wedding hairstyles that you may want to stand on its own, without ornamentation to distract from the look.

First, you need a crimper. Don’t crimp all of your hair. The style works best with random, casual crimps. You don’t want the crimps to line up perfectly.

• Professional Micro Crimper - about $35: Hot Tools Professional Micro 24K Gold Crimper, 1 Inch

Start by wetting your hair with a styling spray. Use a blow dry to dry it quickly to create some texture. You’re now ready to crimp by dividing your hair into separate sections. Begin at the bottom and work through your entire head of hair.

You can arrange your crimped hair into a messy ponytail, pin it up, or even braid it. Crimping adds that something extra that makes any style stand out.

Boho Wedding Hairstyle

Boho wedding hairstyle is, in many ways, freedom from styling. It’s a carefree style that looks absolutely natural, even if you do need to work on it. It resonates with sunshine and azure skies. There is, of course, no wedding hairstyle more appropriate for a beach wedding. Your wedding dress should be flowing, and feather earrings add the perfect breezy touch.

• Feather Earrings - about $11: TUMBEELLUWA Colorful Dangle Layered Feather Earrings

Instead of sleek, you want your hair just a bit messy and tussled. Blow-dry your damp hair using a round brush. Spray your hair with a mousse and keep your head down while blow-drying. Use the brush to section your hair and create some random loose waves.

When you are done, simply run your fingers through your hair. Do not brush. Finish with a light hairspray, and you are done.

Well, not quite. No boho wedding hairstyle is complete without a hair accessories. Check out this incredible selection and styles.

Classic Chignon

A chignon is ageless. It can be smooth, or it can be a bit uneven and sassy. If you’re having an outdoor wedding, a chignon protects your hair from becoming windblown.

Apply mousse to dry hair, which will provide you with more texture than if you used it on wet hair. Clip the top of your hair up and begin at the bottom using a curling wand to create some waves. Simply curl the strands of hair around the wand.

Use a texturizer on each strand for added volume. When you are done, you can brush your hair for a smooth look or simply run your fingers through it for a messier chignon. Collect your hair in a band at the nape of your neck. You can tease the roots for a bit of a lift. Pin the hair under smoothly with a few bobby pins or pin it up in a messy, more uneven do. For that added flair, adorn the top of the chignon with a hair clip. Don’t forget that an updo such as a chignon calls for a set of attractive earrings. If your wedding dress is white, a hair clip made of flowers and earrings will pull the whole look together.

Retro Hair – The Marilyn Factor

This unabashedly sexy retro style is hot these days. Go old Hollywood in style by wearing a form-fitting dress and bold red lipstick. Having blond hair does add to the look.

Marilyn herself wore her trademark curls either very short or shoulder-length, so the style works on many types of hair. You can clip your hair in bobby pins, but the wavy style might work better with rollers. Contrary to some of the other wedding hairstyles, you want freshly washed hair for this.

Set the hair in curlers while it is still slightly damp. A good gel or mousse will help hold the style during a long day. The hair around your face should be rolled toward your face, while the back section is rolled away from the face. Don’t set the curlers in a perfect line. A random, asymmetrical set will provide you with that special carefree look.

Let your hair sit for 30 minutes. Undo the rollers and simply let the curls fall naturally. Brush your hair only if you want a smoother look; otherwise, just do a gentle finger comb.

To maintain the curls, apply hairspray liberally. For some added drama, tuck one side behind your ear and attach a flower.

There are no limits to what you can do to your wedding hairstyle. Find a style you feel comfortable with and go for it.