Recently I covered a wedding hair photo shoot for Your London magazine at the utterly stunning Corinthia hotel and while I do the hair for many magazines, newspapers and online businesses, this particular photo shoot really stood out. The Joshua Altback Hair Salon is often asked to cover photo shoots and sometimes team members attend, sometimes it’s me! You can see from the photographs that it was such a spectacular shoot showcasing jewellery brand Olivier Laudus with his 2014 Great Glamour collection, in addition to this piece Sangeeta Laudus gives us her insider knowledge on what’s big for 2014 in the world of hair accessories.
The main message the team at Olivier Laudus wanted to get across was the vintage appeal and styling of their stunning jewellery so I carefully designed a very 1920’s look to complement the intricate jewellery. The wedding dress worn was very simple, elegant in design and with sleek lines so the whole look had to flow nicely together. I think we achieved the brief very well.
Designing four different wedding hair styles, I used plenty of hair jewellery to show off the look, dress, hair and hair-pieces used. If you take a look at the photographs you will see that there is an incredible headpiece which wraps around the top of the forehead in one of the images, this went very well with a swept back look, long tumbling curls teased into one luxurious drop. The hair and the jewellery of course look stunning. This look can be achieved with both long hair and those of you with short styles, I just fix a very cleverly concealed hair piece to the base of the scalp, often wrapping natural hair around to secure – no one would ever know! In fact, I have a variety of Flip-In hair pieces to choose from at my St John’s Wood Hair Salon– these pieces are secured by the slimmest piece of wire that is almost undetectable and just as quickly as we put these in -they can remove in seconds – what a convenient piece of genius!
Many brides favour the” updo” (that’s not to say that there aren’t hundreds of other amazing hairstyles which work for a wedding) so when considering your hair up for your wedding, good quality hair pieces really add the perfect finishing touches. Most of the images for the piece are classical bridal hairstyles but the front cover (which you can see in the images) has a softer, more modern looking updo paired with a waist length veil and a modern dress in styling.
It’s important, on your big day, that your hair reflects your personality, your dress (absolutely imperative if you want your look to flow) and the theme of your wedding. For example, an outside beach wedding is great with long flowing locks rather than something more sophisticated.
So are there any new looks for Spring and Summer brides 2014? There are aways variations on a theme, as we have learnt already in this blog, updos remain popular. If you have short hair and don’t want a hair piece then soft curls to frame the face is a popular look this year, decorate the hair with fresh flowers or crystals and you’ll be turning plenty of heads as you walk up the aisle. Bobbed hair looks great blow dried silky smooth but with plenty of height 
and body, team with a wedding hair band covered in crystals and you can look very chic in a 1960’s style. Bobbed hair can also look good with curls at the back and plenty of height on top, with a sweeping fringe to the side, you can certainly appear to have had your hair put up without actually having it done!
Half up and half down remains popular but have you considered wearing this slightly to one side? Tumbling, loose curls can look spellbinding draped beautifully on one shoulder – gorgeous if your dress is strapless.
With definite nod to the 80’s there are quite a few high front hair styles with hair backcombed and lifted at the forehead, secured at the back of the neck and the rest left flowing over shoulders. This is great for showcasing a beautiful or dressy veil and just as good with an encrusted hair accessory. Perhaps a more natural look is required so consider plaits! Plaits twisted and coiled round the head or even at the side coupled with loose flowing locks is reminiscent of the late 60’s and early 70’s.
There are plenty of great ideas listed above and our pictures should hopefully give you some inspiration but I recommend booking in for a free wedding hair consultationat my St John’s Wood salon (the trial itself is not free) where we can discuss with you your exact requirements, then we would do a hair trial and once you are delighted with the result, we can book in for your big day. I travel all over the UK as long as I am booked in advance.
Does your mum or your maid of honour need their hair doing as well? I have an outstanding team of bridal hair specialists so why not make it a complete day out and all come along together! For more information and to book call us on 020 7722 1225.
2014 Bridal Hair Accessory Trends by Sangeeta Laudus, Co-Founder of Accessory Boutique Olivier Laudus
2014 has seen the continued love for vintage – particularly 1920’s – inspired accessories. Think feathers, long pearl necklaces and flapper style dresses. Headbands have been the most popular accessory for hair and Gatsby-esque hair pieces have been making a huge comeback particularly for brides with short hair.
Colour has also been a big feature for 2014 weddings – with peach, blush pink, sage green and gold popular choices. And the pantone colour of the year, Radiant Orchid, although a strong tone, can be incorporated subtly into a wedding theme via accessories – e.g. using a pretty flower hair clip or real flower.
For brides choosing to have their hair down on their big day, forehead chains are also big news and have moved on from the diamante chain bands a la Kim Kardashian a few years ago, and are more delicate using pearls and Swarovski crystals like our Bohemia forehead chain. (http://www.olivierlaudus.com/products/bohemia-forehead-wedding-band.html)
Finally, for brides who are opting for an updo – braids have been really popular following Millie Macintosh’s wedding last year – and more subtle hair accessories like mini combs or sparkling hair pins work really well.
For more information on Olivier Laudus visit their online boutique www.olivierlaudus.com or call 020 8374 1239. Bridal style consultations available by appointment at their central London studio.
JOSHUA ALTBACK Hair & Beauty 