Flower Me Pretty - the Rise and Rise of the Floral Headdress

The 80s were a cruel fashion decade in many respects.  Shoulder pads, big hair and jewellery so chunky you could demolish houses with it.  Wedding dresses were adorned with big puffy sleeves, gaudy embellishments and huge trains.  This was typified by the wedding dress of Diana, Princess of Wales.  Her dress became iconic of the decade.

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However there was one trend, typified by the Royal Wedding of 1981, that is make a comeback which I'm a teensy bit thrilled about: floral headdresses.  Along with shower bouquets, the floral headbands and wreathes that bedecked the hair of the brides and bridesmaids in 80s are coming back stronger than ever.

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The trend started with last year's Royal wedding.  The younger bridesmaids had headbands of ivy leaves and white flowers while maid of honour Pippa Middleton wore a clip of lily of the valley.  Following on from this, many more brides have opted to wear flowers in their hair.

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It's a style long advocated by the wonderful florists Spriggs and Miss Pickering.  It's such a great look because it lends itself to all kinds of occasion: casual, formal and themed.  Using seasonal blooms or tying in with your bouquet can really emphasise your colour scheme.  It also looks wonderful on all ages; from very young flower girls to brides entering their second marriage.  Even high fashion is getting in on the action.  Lady Gaga attended milliner extraordinaire Philip Treacy's SS13 show at London Fashion Week with colour and arty piece.

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Indeed this trend show absolutely no sign of dying out with more spectators at London Fashion Week wearing garlands in their hair, the Duchess of Cambridge joining in with local customs in the South Pacific and young bride Peaches Geldof carrying on the bridal tradition.

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I for one am absolutely thrilled by this wonderful revival.  Tiaras are pretty in their place, but nothing quite says it like flowers.

For all your wedding flowers needs, please contact louisesblooms@yahoo.co.uk

Beautiful Bride - how to manage your make up for your big day

It's just as important as your dress and how you wear your hair, but planning your make up is so easily overlooked.  Here are my top tips for making sure you look your best on your special day:

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Planning to do your make up yourself, a la the Duchess of Cambridge or Victoria Bracken, is fine, provided you known what you're doing.  I rarely wear make up myself, so I for one would be clueless!  However, if you're confident with a powder brush, save yourself a few pennies and create your wedding look.  If you know someone else who's good with the paint, why not ask them to do it?  It's a great way of allowing someone to be a part of your special day without having to make them a bridesmaid or a reader.

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Eyes are always the trickiest part to do.  It's your eyes that people will be immediately drawn to when looking at your photos.  I advise brides to try and go lighter with the eye make-up, both in colour and quantity, simply because dark make up will look more smudgy and untidy if it starts to fade.  The last thing you want is look like you've got a black eye on your big day!  And let's not forget the most important wedding day make up rule of all: WATERPROOF MASCARA!

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I always advocate getting a professional in.  Not only does it take the pressure off you, or someone in your wedding party, it also gives you a feeling of being pampered.  Hairdressers are good for recommendations.  If not, ask around.  Twitter and Facebook are great places to look for independent make up artists who are local.

Remember your nails too.  The other part of your outfit people will want to see is your ring.  It's really worth having a manicure, and that goes for the groom too!  Even just a good clean and light varnish will pay dividends.

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If all else fails on the day, toddle off to your nearest Boots and ask one of the counter girls to make you up.  It's free!

Beauty Belle Bonce - the secrets of perfect hair

Up or down.  This is possibly the toughest question posed to any bride.  How to wear your hair on your big day can have a massive impact on your overall bridal look.

The Duchess of Cambridge was criticised in some quarters for not being daring and wearing her hair up on her wedding day.  Yet she followed the golden wedding hair rule: don't do anything dramatically different just because it's your wedding day.  You still need to look like you.  The demi-chignon she opted for was glamorous enough for the big day but was still reflective of her personality.

Short hair needn't be troublesome if you're a bride.  Fashion labels are getting very good at creating intricate Alice bands and beautiful fascinators as delightful alternatives to trailing curls and fussy veils.

Of course, you could always get extensions put in.  And that is not limited to the bride!  When top pop pin-up Peter Andre married glamour model Katie Price in September 2005, he was worried that they would look back on their wedding pictures and his spiky hair would look dated.  To combat this, Pete had extensions put in to give him more of a classic Italian Stallion look.  Both Andre and Price later admitted that the only thing they would do over about their big day was Pete's hair!



By far and away, the worst thing you can do to your chair on your big day is to change it too dramatically.  I can think of no better example of this than Chantelle Houghton who tied the knot with The Ordinary Boys frontman Samuel Preston in August 2006.  She went from her trademark, striking blonde, Paris-Hilton-lookalike tresses to sleek glossy brunette.  Whilst the transformation (in my opinion) suited her, Houghton later admitted that she'd only done it because her beloved didn't like blondes.  She changed who she was because of him; because she was getting married.  And that proved to be a fatal mistake.  10 months later, the marriage was over.

We place a far greater emphasis on hair than perhaps at first we appreciate.  There is nothing wrong with wanting to revamp your self image, so long as you are doing it for the right reasons.  Don't do it to please your other half - you are going to have to spend far more time with that hair than he will.  Never EVER do it just to fit in with your wedding look.  Your wedding lasts for just one day (or a weekend if you're lucky).  Hairstyles can take up to a year to grow out.

If you want a radical one-day look, consider wearing a wig.  You can get ones made from real hair and they are a far easier option that changing your own hair.
Top Haircare Tips:


1: Use warm, not hot, water when washing your tresses.  Having rinsed all the traces of soap out, rinse through quickly with cold water.  This makes your hair glossier.

2: Keep your hair wrapped in a towel for an hour after washing it.  This keeps it softer, even when blow dryed.

3: Blow drying will give it extra body but careful not to overdo it.  Ease off the straighteners in the 8 weeks before the wedding so that you don't scald it.