Beautiful, long , thick and healthy hair central to looking your best on your wedding day, it's all part of the dream wedding.
On her special day a bride should feel feminine and at her best, like a enhanced version of herself.

Here are my six tips to perfect bridal hair...
1. Choosing your Salon and Stylist: Go to at least three salons to discuss what you're trying to achieve for your big day, listen carefully to what you're told and then consider which stylist you felt most comfortable with. Look for reviews of the stylist and salon to ensure they can deliver your dream hair style. It's possible to have your stylist attend your wedding, to do your hair onsite but this is expensive as weddings tend to be on Saturday which is the busiest day for many salons. A more cost effective alternative is to visit your salon early in the morning of the wedding, many salons will open early for a wedding party and provide a champagne breakfast this has the added advantage of allowing you and your bridesmaids to all have your hair done at the same time (with different stylists) rather than one after the other which quickly eats into your day.
2. Hair Preparations: Starting early, up to six- eight months prior to the wedding is a good time. Get your professional salon to advise you on a course of in salon treatments (professional products are more intensive and can be professionally tailored for your hair condition) to ensure your hair is as healthy as possible for the big day.
3. Home Care: Follow this up with home care products that compliment your salon treatments, recommended by your specialist.
4. Hair Colour: If you want your hair coloured, plan early and ideally book in for your first colour 8 weeks before the big day so that you have the time to try the colour and adjust it with your stylist as desired.
5. Hair Extensions: If you feel you need more length or body to your hair, hair extensions are definitely the way to go and GreatLengths 100% human hair extensions are the best on the market in my opinion. GreatLengths when applied well can deliver amazing body and length for a bride very quickly but also specialist effects like striking sections of colour or eye catching Swarovski crystal strands, they're probably the most popular bridal hair accessory at the moment. GreatLengths Hair extensions will behave like real hair when professionally applied, allowing you a lot more versatility on your wedding day for example allowing you to change your style throughout your celebrations. They will also last for between 7-9 months which means you'll get to enjoy longer, thicker hair beyond your big day. Cheaper hair or less experienced extensionist are a false economy, poor quality hair will quickly show its true colours, there's nothing worse than extensions that look like extensions - they will definitely ruin the photos, we want them invisible, equally application in critical so that when hair is put up for the wedding, the extensions bonds are still invisible. Always have your extensions put in a few weeks prior to your wedding as this allows time for them to settle in and give you time to get used to them.
6. The Dry Run: Anything to reduce pressure on the big day is time well spent. You want to enjoy your big day, so taking the time to dry run the whole wedding hair a week before is a good investment. This gives you a chance to ensure everything is just how you imagined it for the big day. A great stylist should be able to develop a hair up hair style for the big day which with a few pins removed will fall into the perfect wedding night party style.

Remember to talk to your salon professional well in advance to put a hair plan in place, once this is set up you can relax knowing your crowning glory is ready for the big day. At ColourNation we offer free consultations with no obligation call us on 0845 88 88 333 for your appointment.

Brad Metcalfe - GreatLengths Extensionist of the Year Finalist 2010-12
Assistant Manager - ColourNation London Hairdressers
www.colournation.com