Bouffant, Chignon, Bohemian, and we do the twist...

I was just telling my friend how befuddled I was when I saw my female colleagues or friends getting all stressed up and tired over their wedding. Wedding should not be as such, it is after all a happy occasion, no? Or maybe I am just very fortunate that I do not have to live up to any loved ones' expectations of a perfect wedding.

However, now that I am in my friends' shoes, I can kind of see how it can be overwhelming, planning and preparing for a wedding. There are sol many details to look into in so many different areas.  Take hair for example, it is a small element but not negligible. I went through the internet and I was blown away by the so many diverse types of wedding hairstyles. Practically spoilt for choice but too many choices is not a good thing.

One of the essential things to consider when choosing a hairstyle is the basic features of a person's face. If it is round, oval or heart-shaped, high forehead, stick-out ears, etc. The correct hair style can soften or accentuate features, hide flaws and communicate a person's style... Thereafter, there are more things to consider:

- Hair colour and hair length

- Hair accessories: hair combs, tiaras, lace, flowers, etc

- Types of style: chic, unconventional, romantic, bohemian, rock chic, country, sophisticated, etc.

I realized that knowing my own personal style is a plus point because it will help me to know better what I want. When I went online to search through images on wedding hairstyles, certain images just called out to me.

Bouffant and chignon style are definitely not me; I was never a glamorous or "princess-y" kind of person. I do love long hair and loose curls though, it speaks to the inner child in me - fun, carefree and happy, with a defiant disregard for formality. In the Disney world of princesses, I would probably be Pocahontas.

I will go for soft, romantic curls with flowers in my hair, loose pleats - very bohemian style. This is my favourite hairstyle so far:

I like how relaxed and beautiful the hair looks, and how the flowers looks delicate and effortlessly natural with the hair. However, the flowers might look very striking with my black hair, therefore the flowers must not be too big or stand alone.

The following hairstyles are quite nice and they caught my eyes too:

This hairstyle is very Rapunzel and I like the way it can be pushed to the side to look like a very loose pleat.  I might not have the flowers sparsely spread out like the photo because it might look very stark and odd against dark coloured hair.

A variation on the Rapunzel hairstyle, but the basic style remains: long loose curls.

A simple but beautiful hairstyle, very child-like. Perfect with a simple wedding dress.

As much as I love the long, flowing hairstyles, hair that is too long and not styled well can make a person look tired or "tied-down", perhaps even shorter, much like the way horizontal stripes work. That would be something that I would sincerely love to avoid. With all 1.58m of me, I cannot afford to look any shorter.

Moving on, this style is very gypsy/bohemian but I kind of like it. Just not too sure if I can pull off such a look:

Maybe not for the actual wedding day, but this is one look that I might consider for my wedding photo shoot. I think it will go wonderfully with a long flowing dress that looks like the foaming sea waves, a glimpse at the rarely-exhibited, theatrical and dramatic side of me.

I love this look too, just not too sure if I can pull it off.

I know I mentioned earlier that bouffant is not for me, but somehow, the following bouffant style appeals to me. I might consider this if I need to do up my hair in order to wear a veil:

I love the overall look where the hair does not look so neat that I am afraid to have one single strand of hair out of place, but yet sweet and not too pompous. Since my wedding theme is butterflies, I might clip a pair of small butterfly pins at the top of the chignon where the veil will be pinned to.

While looking at the pictures online, I found certain things that I do not like about certain hairstyles and made notes not to repeat the very same things:

The arrangement of hair accessories are too "orderly" and seem unnatural. As a personal preference, I prefer things to look more "organic"; it is more pleasing and easy on the eyes.

Big flowers or hair accessories on their own are too striking and can look out of place on dark coloured hair. 

At the end of the day, there is no one perfect hairstyle. It all boils down to personal preference, knowing yourself well and and letting your true self shine through. While some people have big personalities and big hair that goes very well, or a sophisticated polish that makes bouffant look timeless and elegant, I am happy looking like a flower nymph. Not the kind that flit around the flowers naked (thank you very much), but the kind with flowers in their hair, sprightly, carefree and childlike.