Hair down is the style brides tell me feels most like themselves, and the one they worry most about keeping in place. It sits well with veils, floral crowns and statement accessories, and it suits traditional, modern and fusion weddings. Below are twenty open looks, from loose waves to sleek lengths to braids woven through, with my notes on how each one is built and where it struggles.
Inspiration Photos Often Use Extensions, So Brief Your Stylist Carefully
Most open styles you’ll save were photographed on very thick, long hair, often with extensions, in soft light. That’s worth knowing before you fall for one. When a bride shows me a picture, these are the things we look at together.
- Density: is the model’s hair much thicker than yours? Then the look needs extensions, or a version with smaller waves.
- Length: waves need length to fall into that shape. Shoulder-length hair can wear most of these looks, but they’ll sit higher and shorter.
- Texture: if the photo shows naturally curly hair and yours is straight, the style can be imitated, but it won’t last the same way.
- What you dislike: one photo of something you’d hate, too much volume or too stiff a curl, tells me as much as five you love.
Bring pictures of your dress from the front and back, your veil or headpiece, and your earrings. The hairstyle has to work with all three, and the back of the dress matters more than people expect, since hair worn down covers it in most ceremony photos.
1. Soft Loose Waves Wedding Hairstyle
Waves this loose come from a wide barrel and a firm brush-out, which gives waves cascading down your shoulders instead of defined curls. I wrap the hair flat around the wand like a ribbon rather than twisting it, so the waves come out broad. They flatter most face shapes and sit easily under a long veil. On fine hair, expect them to soften by half within a few hours, so start a little tighter.
2. Sleek Straight Open Hair for Brides
Sleek straight hair photographs as one sheet of shine, which is the appeal and the risk. A flat iron and shine serum produce that glossy effect, but only on a smooth blow-dry; iron over a rough blow-dry and you get flat, dull hair. Naturally straight hair stays neat for hours. Curly or wavy hair straightened for the day tends to revert at the roots in humidity, so I’d test it in the weather you expect. A center part and minimal jewelry keep it modern next to structured gowns.
3. Half-Up Half-Down Wedding Hairstyle
The top sections are gathered and pinned at the back while the lower half stays open, curled or straight. What makes it hold is where the pins go: I anchor at the occipital bone, the curve at the back of the head, where pins grip instead of sliding down. That same anchor holds your veil. A decorative clip or small flowers can cover it, and almost every face shape suits the result.
4. Boho Open Hair with Flowers
This one is softer than it looks to create. I curl with a medium-barrel wand, then rake through with my fingers instead of a brush, so the curls break into separate pieces. Small blooms or floral pins tuck into the loose strands, and baby’s breath, roses and wildflowers all sit well. Outdoor and beach weddings suit it. Keep a spare stem or two nearby, because tucked flowers get knocked out during hugs.
5. Side-Swept Open Hair Wedding Look
Sweeping curls over one shoulder flatters the neckline and puts an earring on show on the open side. I secure the swept side with a hidden row of bobby pins behind the ear, crossed in an X, so the hair doesn’t swing back the first time you turn your head. Off-shoulder and one-shoulder gowns pair well with it. A sparkly hair vine along the swept side adds glamour and hides those pins at the same time.
6. Hollywood Glam Waves for Wedding
These waves are uniform and run in one S-shape, so every section has to be curled in the same direction and then brushed until it joins its neighbors. Done properly, they hold well and catch the light. Classic and glamorous weddings suit them, with red lips and statement jewelry for the full vintage effect. The mistake I see most is under-brushing: stop too early and you have separate curls, not waves.
7. Beach Waves Wedding Hairstyle
Heading to a coastal or summer wedding? Beach waves come from alternating the direction of each curl, so the texture looks tousled rather than set. I’d go easy on sea-salt spray, because a lot of it dries hair and dulls it in photos; a light mist on the mid-lengths is enough. Flowy gowns and bare shoulders suit this, finished with a hair vine or nothing at all.
8. Open Hair with Braided Crown
Small sections from each side are braided and wrapped across the top like a crown, with the rest of the hair loose below. It holds hair gently off the face and adds texture for boho and fairytale-themed weddings. I pin the two braids where they meet at the back, hiding the pins inside the plait. Long and medium hair work. On shorter layers the ends of the braid poke out and need extra pins.
9. Curtain Bangs with Open Wedding Hair
Curtain bangs part gently in the middle and sweep outward, framing the eyes and showing off eye makeup. They pair with loose waves or sleek lengths. At a trial I check how they sit with your makeup, because bangs that touch the lashes collect mascara and foundation by mid-afternoon. I set them with a round brush and a light spray, directed back off the face. A trim two weeks before is the safe timing.
10. Voluminous Curls Wedding Hairstyle
Voluminous curls sit between tight ringlets and loose waves, with plenty of movement. I curl with an iron, tease the roots slightly for body, and let the curls set before separating them with my fingers. Formal and glam weddings suit them, with a tiara or jeweled pins. On thick hair this volume lasts; on fine hair the root tease drops first, so I add a volumizing powder at the crown.
11. Open Hair with Hair Vine Accessory
A delicate hair vine woven through loose hair turns plain lengths into something special. Most are dotted with pearls, crystals or tiny flowers on a flexible wire. I drape it across the crown or along one side and pin it every few inches through small hidden sections. Modern and vintage themes both work. A longer vine is easier than a short one, since you can bend it to fit and tuck the ends away.
12. Twisted Open Hair Wedding Style
Need some structure without an updo? Small sections from each side are twisted and pinned at the back, and the rest stays open, curled or straight. Twisting toward the back of the head, not downward, keeps the twists tight against the scalp. Pearl pins along them add sparkle. It suits traditional and fusion weddings and keeps hair off your face all day.
13. Open Hair with Side Braid
An open hair side braid runs along one side of the head while the rest flows loosely. I loosen it slightly afterward for texture and tuck tiny flowers or pearls into the plait. Outdoor and boho weddings suit it, on medium to long hair. On freshly washed silky hair the braid slides by evening, so I mist in a little texture spray before braiding.
14. Deep Side Part Open Hair Look
Moving the part far to one side gives volume and a sweep of hair across the forehead, over waves, curls or sleek lengths. The deeper the part, the more that heavy side wants to fall into your eye, so I pin the sweep discreetly just above the ear. A jeweled pin there adds sparkle on formal looks. Test both sides first, because one always sits more naturally than the other.
15. Open Hair with Floral Crown
A full crown of fresh blooms encircles the head while the hair falls freely below, ideally in flowers that echo your bouquet. I ask florists to build it on a flexible base and to size it on the finished hairstyle, since a crown fitted on flat hair sits too tight once waves add volume. Soft waves or loose curls underneath suit garden and outdoor weddings. On a long, hot day, plan to take the crown off for the reception before it wilts.
16. Sleek Center Part Open Hair
Minimalism leaves nowhere to hide. The hair is parted straight down the middle and smoothed to a gloss, with the lengths straight or given the slightest bend. I line the part up with the center of the forehead and check it from above with a hand mirror, because a wandering part is obvious in a style this clean. Contemporary gowns, simple studs or a fine necklace suit it.
17. Open Hair with Pearl Pins
Pearls catch the light softly and add a vintage note. I scatter pins through waves, curls or straight hair, either at random or in a deliberate pattern; random looks better on texture, a pattern on sleek hair. The pins need something to hold, so on very smooth hair I slide them into tiny sections twisted first. Classic, vintage and modern weddings all suit pearls.
18. Open Hair with Veil and Waves
A sheer veil over loose waves is the image many brides have in mind. The veil sits on the crown, held by a hidden comb pushed into a pinned anchor, and the waves fall below it. When it comes off at the reception, the waves underneath should still be intact, provided the comb went into the anchor and not into the waves themselves. Traditional and formal weddings suit it most.
19. Tousled Open Hair Wedding Look
Tousled hair leans into natural texture with soft, slightly messy waves broken up by fingers. It’s the most comfortable style here, and boho and outdoor weddings suit it. Messy still needs control, though: I keep the hairline and part neat so the texture reads as intentional rather than windblown. A vine or a few flowers add detail, and every hair type and length can wear a version of it.
20. Open Hair with Side Twist and Curls
A twist from one side, pinned back, frames the face and holds those strands in place while the rest falls in curls. I curl the lengths after the twist is in, so I don’t crush the curls while pinning. Pearl or floral pins along the twist add sparkle. Traditional, modern and fusion weddings all suit it.
What the Camera Sees in Hair Worn Down
Loose hair photographs differently from how it looks in the mirror. These are the things I plan for with the photographer’s light in mind.
- Outdoor backlight shows every flyaway as a glowing halo. A little smoothing spray on a brush, run over the top layer just before portraits, controls it.
- Flash makes oily products look greasy, so I use shine sprays sparingly and keep oils away from the roots.
- From the guests’ seats, most ceremony photos show the back of your head. The back is where rushed styling shows, so it gets as much time as the front.
- Hair falling forward over both shoulders hides the neckline in portraits. With a detailed bodice, I put the hair behind at least one shoulder.
Ask a bridesmaid to tell you quietly if hair has blown across your face or caught in the veil. It takes two seconds to fix, and you can’t see it yourself.
From Twenty Pictures to One Hairstyle on Your Own Head
The open style that works for you starts with your face shape, your gown and the feel of your wedding, and then with your hair’s own texture. Take two or three of these looks to your stylist along with a photo of your dress, and see them on your own hair at a trial before you commit to one.
You'll Like These Ideas:
Leave a Reply