47 Sweet Bridal Hairstyles

When your wedding day approaches, aside from the lovely gown and elegant shoes, one of the most important aspects to keep in mind is your hairstyle. The style you choose with help you look like a princess and each one is dependant on your unique style, likes, length of hair and texture. You get amazing up styles, down styles, half up/half down styles, and styles for short hair, medium hair and long hair.

Up Do’s

1. Chignon/French Roll
This look is inspired by years of brides, all searching for that perfect regal look. You hair would be swept back into a French roll either in the center of your head or on the side for a different effect. This style is perfect for showing off a pretty neckline and beading on your gown and looks especially lovely if you have an intricate veil attached over it. Add a sparkly tiara for a magical finish. This style will work for brides with medium length or long hair.

2. Curled
Ah, the ultimate romantic style. You can heap all your curled locks on the top of your head and surround it with a ribbon or full beaded tiara to look like a real princess, or have the curls cover your entire head leaving a smooth sweeping bang in front for drama. This look is stunning on any bride and the look can be made your own with the use of flowers and beads in the hair, loose spirals framing your face or down the back of your neck and with the height you choose. This style can work wonderfully for short, medium or long hair.

3. Bun
The bun is a versatile hair do that can be tight or loose and made in numerous ways to give you an elegant, chic, romantic or modern look. The bun can be a traditional one using the front of the hair to create some drama, or you can plait the hair and create a large bun with the plaited pieces for a more romantic style. For this look the hair can be straight or curly and you can also add lots of different accessories. For a funkier look, ask your hairdresser to give you an interesting side bun.

4. Low Bun/Roll
The low roll is something that you see in the old Hollywood movies and this look is truly a classic one. It gives you a less formal look, but still keeps your hair out of your face to accentuate a stunning gown and veil. This style can be arranged to fan out over the nape of your neck with a ribbon around it or a beaded net for a very retro glam effect. You can also choose to make it more formal and tight with the interest taking place on the top of your head with some twisted pieces of hair or a large sleek bang across to frame the face. This look will work for medium and long haired brides, but those with short hair could use an extension to create this look.

5. Side Pony
This look can be very casual and romantic with the hair loosely swept to one side and fastened with ribbon or a band. It can have a messy, curled look, or more formally curled to give it a glam edge. This style is better for brides that are not having a veil, or a veil that sits higher up on the head. Anything can be achieved with this style and you can also use a vast number of accessories including flowers, ribbons, feather head pieces, small hats and more to make it your own.

6. Ponytail
The ponytail is a look that many people associate with a school girl, but if you think out of the box, a ponytail gives a very appealing, sophisticated look when styled correctly. For your wedding, a sleek ponytail can look stunning when worn with the correct dress and veil. This look is more modern and will not really work that well with a ball gown or princess style dress, unless it is curly. With sparkly chandelier earrings and loose pieces to frame the face, this look can be perfect for your big day.

7. Classic Bouffant
This is a look for the more daring, as it requires your hair to be high and bold. It can be teased into a beautiful big bouffant style at the back and towards the middle of the top of your head, where a tiara can be added. The front will be sleek and flat. You can even add a wide ribbon here instead of a tiara for a more modern feel. This look will work best on slightly taller, slimmer brides as you will need to carry off the height of the hair. This look can be achieved with short hair as well, with some slight adjustments and changes that need to be made, and perhaps some extensions.

8. Casual/Beach
A beach up do might be essential, as being outdoors for your wedding might be windy. This look of course will need to be casual and unstructured, so your hairdresser can probably give you a wonderful look just by throwing all your hair into a very loose cluster at the back of your head. You can create a ponytail and then simply pin individual pieces of hair all around it to hide the band and create a lovely casual look.

9. Romantic
A romantic up do can be achieved with wavy hair that has an unstructured style. You will need to have a raised front with curls and perhaps some loose curls here and there. The hair will normally be curled and pinned around your head for a romantic look. You can even have sections of the top that are twisted and pinned in place and when you add a tiara and veil, this look will be extremely romantic and fairy princess like.

10. Plaited
Having plaited or braided hair might not seem like an option for a bride, but have a look at various braided formal styles and ask your hairdresser for some ideas and you will soon see that this can look wonderful and different. Small sections of braids can be gathered into a bun of sorts for an interesting up do, you can have all your hair plaited and twisted into a chignon, and you can even create small plaits on each side of your head and meet them at the back of your head with the rest of your hair in a bun or chignon for a romantic medieval or Greek look.

11. Grecian Goddess
If you want to look like a true goddess, then you can get a Grecian inspired look very easily for your wedding day. You can achieve this look whether you have short, medium or long hair. All it requires is a middle parting in your hair with curved side piece of hair and perhaps some plaits. You can have the hair in a low roll or loose bun higher up on your head and this look will work best for brides with long or medium length hair.

12. Loose Curls
You can enjoy loose, romantic looking curls even if you want to have an up do. All that needs to be done is to gather all the curled hair onto your head and pin all the curls in place. This can be as structured or as unstructured as you like. You can also add flowers, beads and other accessories to your hair to make it pretty and elegant.

Short Hair

13. Sleek
Having short hair is something that most brides do not want, but short hair can look just a great for a wedding. You can slick your hair back and use it as base for any type of extensions that you want. Sleek hair on its own with a little flower behind the ear also looks fun, casual and modern.

14. Curly
Short hair may not be the easiest to curl and if you cannot curl it then simply have it pinned in loops to create your own curls. This can look stunning with beads or pearls all over the head or little flowers. Keep one or two strands loose to frame your face.

15. Spiky
This is not the ideal for most brides, but if you want an edgy, different look, you can choose an unusual spiked hairstyle. You can have all the hair over to one side and spiked out the side like a fan. You can also have the hair spiked at the nape of the neck and do something interesting with the top of your head. There are tons of ways to wear your hair if it is short and all you need to do is think about what style will complement your dress and what kind of hair you have.

Down Styles

16. Loose/Straight
Most brides think about looking stunning and princess like for their big day, which is why long loose hair is very popular. There are lots of ways of making your hair look stunning just by having it loose and many times, it is just due to a professional cut and style that it looks so different. Even just keeping your hair loose and straight will look elegant and beautiful. Try having your hair straightened if you have curly hair.

17. Layers
Layered hair is all the fashion and many brides already have layered hair which is great to work with for a wedding. Long hair of medium length hair can be blow dried to give you a wonderful framed look and if you want a more romantic look with layers you can take some pieces back and leave the rest loose. You can even create an interesting look, by having some of the layers loosely curled or wavy and the rest straight.

18. Bohemian
To have a Bohemian style for your hair means that you will need to have it slightly messy and waved. This will give the impression of being free and earthy. You should have wispy locks that are treated with some kind of serum so that you hair looks like you have been on the beach all day. Some pieces can be taken up and some can be pined for a fuller effect that is away from your face. You can also twist sections and have a criss-cross parting. This hairstyle is very versatile and you can pretty much do anything to it and it will look amazing.

19. Glamorous
The glam look is one that many brides enjoy because it is a hairstyle that they can normally never wear. It requires some straightening and a side path. The hair will be curled under at the bottom and the length can have texture created with the use of waved sections that will give it a 40’s appeal. You can even have a large piece of hair swept over the top to create a big, bouffant type of fringe.

20. Unstructured
This look is basically to leave your hair loose and untouched by any products. You will need to have your hair professionally cut into a layer or one length, blow dried and lightly sprayed in place. Leave it to fall naturally and don’t fuss with it too much. This will let the natural beauty of your hair shine through and will look perfect with a heavily beaded, intricate veil.

21. Curly/Romantic
The era of romantic brides will never be over, because this epitomizes the feelings and emotions of every bride on her special wedding day. To get the romantic look for your hair, you will need to have it curled lightly or waved and then pined back to give you a pretty line and show off your face a bit. This look can do with some height, so have something interesting done to the top of your head like twisted sections or locks flipped over each other. You can smooth the sides back just above your ears to give you a slightly fairy/pixie look. Another very romantic touch is the tiara and your veil of course. With your hair being loose, it might be a good idea to have a small piece taken up into a pony so that the clips will sit securely on your head.

Half up, half down

22. Simple
The simple half up, half down style is just when you have the side sections of your hair taken back to meet behind your head. This can be done with curly hair or straight hair and will work for both long and medium length. It can be joined with an elastic band at the back and thin wispy locks can be left out to frame the face. You can also create something interesting by having the bulk of your hair straight and then curl the sections that are meeting at the back. You can use this style as a base for most other styles.

23. Goddess
This look requires you to have a full tiara that fits neatly over a large bun on the top of your head while the bottom half of your hair is left loose. You can curl your hair, have it straight or create ringlets. The bun section can be curled as well, straight and sleek or plaited for a unique effect. For this style to be really effective and pretty, you should have long hair, or fix some extensions to the back section that is loose.

24. Swirled/Princess
This look is very easy to achieve and looks stunning on anyone. It just requires you to have your hair curled in large, long sections so that you get a gorgeous princess like look. Then you will simply have sections of the hair taken back from the nape of the neck up to your ears. They can be pinned in specific areas or just along the line of the hair to give you that ethereal feel. The sections of the hair should be twisted and flipped over for a more dramatic effect. You can use beaded pins or pins with pearls in them to make sure you look just like a princess.

25. Raised top
For a loose style that is still out of your face, consider having the top sections of your hair raised slightly and pinned in place. You will basically take the top sections of your hair from just above your ears as if you were doing a one up, one down and you will pin all the sections separately along the top of your head making a slight bubble before you pin. This will give you height and with the sections being pinned individually it will give you softer more natural look.

26. Mini Bun
What you can do to create the illusion of having your hair both up and down is to have a mini bun created just like if it was your entire head of hair. The top section of your hair will be brought in as if it were a half up half down pony and then curled and pinned in place to give you that romantic look. You can add a tiara to this of beaded pins and even a large head piece. The base of your hair will be left loose, either straight or waved slightly.

27. Side Parting
For an interesting bridal style, you can also have your hair pulled over to the side and leave it to cascade over your shoulder. This must be pulled smoothly on one side and pinned in place all along the length of your head. You can create a French plait on the straight side for a funky look, or you can also start the pins higher up so that you have a lovely crowned section on top of your head. This look is more effective if the hair is curled. You can also utilize this look to show off a large feathered and beaded head piece or even a flower behind the ear.

28. Nape to Crown
The beauty of a half up, half down style is that you can start it from anywhere and it all meets in the crown area of your head. You can create a more dramatic look by taking the hair in a triangle shape from just below your ear in the nape of the neck on each side and bring it all up to the crown. You will have a small triangle section from the front and another small section at the crown which will be teased slightly so that the pins all fit securely into it. When you put all the sections in place you can knot them which will give added height and a good position for the clips to sit in. This look is perfect for naturally curly hair, but if you have straight hair, you just need to curl the hair before you start.

29. Small side sections
Having your hair half up and half down does not mean that it all has to sit in the middle of your head and it does not have to be conventional in the sense that piece of the hair must be taken from both sides. You can create a wonderful, pretty look for your wedding just by taking a small section on one side of your head and pin it back. This can be for curly or straight hair and all you need to do is to decide on the height of it and the way you take the hair back. It can be twisted, it can be pushed forward so that it creates a raised dome shape, it can be taken in small sections and pinned along the hair line and it can be turned into a bun, which can be braided, curled, or just straight and tight.

30. Knots
If you have straight hair and want to have a romantic curled look without having to set your hair in curlers, there is a brilliant way to get the look by knotting the hair. All you need to do is section your hair into three ponytails and split them further into three sections each, so you have 9 sections all together. Then you can take each section and make a knot by tying the hair. You can also take two sections of hair and tie them more of a shoestring knot. Each piece can then be pinned on your head around to get a large curled section at the crown or back of the head. You can leave a small bottom section loose or pin all your hair into this style, leaving some loose sections on each side to fill in afterwards. This is a very pretty look and not too curly.

31. Loose Chignon
This look will be done just like a normal chignon, but instead of tucking the ends of the hair in you will leave them out to create either fun spikes or curled locks which hang over. You will leave a small, thin section of hair loose at the very nape of the neck to add to the softness.

32. Ponytail
While this is not a true half up, half down style, it can be made to look like it if you construct a low ponytail at the nape of the neck. You will need to create a smooth front and top of the head and then decide on what kind of parting you want. It can be middle straight, diagonal or a side parting. Simply take the hair back into a ponytail and secure with an elastic band. To make it look fancier, take a small section of the pony at the bottom and wrap it around the band to hide it. All you need to do then is add some dangly jeweled pins for a stunning, simple style.

33. Spanish Senorita
This look is wonderful for any bride and takes inspiration from the Spanish culture. It requires lovely curled locks and pieces that are taken up into a large cluster at the crown and falling down to the nape. It works best with a band around the cluster or a round full tiara. You can add a large Spanish comb in for a pretty effect.

34. Modern Casual
This style is great for brides with medium length hair. It is parted into 2 sections and the top section is flipped over to create a bouffant front. You can have it straight back or at a diagonal. The bottom is then flipped up or curled under so that you get a rounded shape at the ends.

35. Glamorous
Glamour is all about taking inspiration from the 40’s and with hairstyle, you will look like a beauty queen on your wedding day. You should have very large locks that are sleek and maneuverable near the root. The ends of the hair should fall into tight ringlets. You will take the hair back off the face in sections leaving quite a lot of play around the top and crown of the head. It should be curved and sleek with height. The bottom sections should then fall down the back or over one shoulder in flipped over sections.

36. Country Style
To get a southern belle charm, you will need to take back the hair on either side of your face and then create a French plait or various ponytails over each other. You should tie each one with a ribbon and where the hair all comes together at the end, keep this curled in one large ringlet for a more modern effect, or in lots of small curls for a vintage look.

37. Retro bob
This bob is not like the normal bob you have every day. It is chic and cute for your wedding. It will work for medium length hair and slightly shorter hair too. It will require you having to smooth out the hair and the ends will be curled up into a very large bunch. The sides or just one side is clipped back with a glittered or jeweled clip for a pretty effect. You can make a middle or side parting.

38. Deconstructed
The casual brides are popular nowadays with many opting for beach wedding and less formal occasions. This look is perfect as it will give you a romantic touch but without the curls and fussiness. You should leave a few strands loose around your face and take back sections from above the ears. Pin them loosely at the back and collect all the bits with a large clip or dangling clasp. You can create a raised front, to give more height and style.

39. Layered Romantic
With layered hair you have a very good template to start styling. The romantic look that you want is very simple to achieve and looks stunning with just a few clips. The shorter layers on top are what you will be using. Split them into 5 sections - one in the middle of your head, and two on each side. Take each section and loosely twist them and pin in place making a semi circle at the crown. You can put pretty accessories at each place for a more glam touch. Curl the ends of each layer and the edges of the rest of your hair.

40. Peasant Princess
You can get a very pretty maiden look just with plaits. You will create a half up half down ponytail with small sections from just above the ears and then plait a large section of hair from just underneath this. Wrap the plait over the crown to give you a plaited tiara. You can curl the rest of the hair or leave it wispy and deconstructed.

41. 50’s
You can achieve an Audrey Hepburn inspired retro 50’ look by taking a large section of hair across your head and creating a bouffant area just behind it on the crown of your head all the way to near the nape of the neck. To make it more modern, have all the pieces tuck in with the rest of the hair falling in loose waves from underneath it.

42. Ponytail curled
This is a very easy style to do yourself and it look wonderful and romantic. You have to curl your hair into large romantic locks and once it is set gather it all up into a loose ponytail, leaving sections out on the sides and add some height to the top of your head by flipping pieces over each other and using a rattail comb to lift it slightly.

43. Jackie Kennedy country club
This style is glamorous and magnificent for accenting a more modern dress. You will have a coif that is decorated with jeweled accessories and ribbon. You can have a diagonal parting, middle or side parting and use large roses at the nape of the neck for a unique touch.

44. Mermaid
With loose braids down the side of your head along with wavy curls with will get a stunning mermaid look. This is perfect for a beach wedding and you can do tons of interesting things with the front of the hair. You can join the braided to make a loop at the bottom or leave everything loose and free. Add seashell hair ornaments or sections of greenery and flowers plaited into the braid to enhance the style.

45. Bohemian/Modern
For this contemporary look you just need to have waved deconstructed hair. It will be smoothed over on the front and pinned with elegant clasps just above the ear. The rest of the hair will cascade out and over the shoulders. You can add lots of accessories to this style.

46. Romantic Archway
This could also fall under the mermaid category and you will just need to take sections of hair as if you were going to do a French plait. You twist them and collect them in the center where you also have lots of curls and waves. Use pretty clips where the sections of hair meet.

47. Tousled Tendrils
For this modern, relaxed look you just need to curl your hair lightly or have it wavy. Use texture gel and pin back a few lowers side pieces. Leave the rest free flowing over the front and down the back. Flip larger sections of the hair over your head for a more modern, deconstructed edge.