Steal the hair from the movie "The Notebook" for your wedding

I'm always on the hunt for good hair ideas for the big day.  Mostly because I think a lot of brides are starting to look the same, all gorgeous of course, but the hair styles have become uniform.  It's like they're all making appointments at the same type of hair salon and saying "Give me 'the bride'."  I'd like to introduce the newly engaged to a few alternatives.  Behold, the twist.

I found this gem of an idea on a blog that's listed in our directory.  If you've seen the movie The Notebook, and really, what girl hasn't?  Then you've seen the sweet retro styles of Rachel McAdam's character.  Why not give it a modern spin?  Love Notes by Lauryn has the tutorial here.

 Word of caution:  This is a major chick-flick based on an even girlier romance novel.  Do not be fooled into thinking this is really what your love life will be like with your husband.  That being said, future husbands should be issued this movie at the jewelry store when they buy the engagement ring and only allowed to propose after they've signed a legal agreement promising to mimic the Ryan Gosling/James Garner character to the absolute best of their ability.

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Wedding Hair, volume 3

We've compiled another addition of wedding hair ideas for the DIY brides looking to save some money and still be gorgeous on their big day.

We'll start today with this very cute up-do.  I'm not a fan of overly tight and complicated up-dos.  I think a lot of brides have the tendency to go this route because they want a look that will stay put all day long.  I admire the strategy but many brides walk away looking like figure skaters.  Loosen up ladies and try this idea from It's The Small Things.

If you're doing a summer wedding and you want simple but functional (the heat and humidity can be brutal!) think about the braided bang.  Look at LC's picture below for inspiration and then click here for the easy tutorial.

 

How about a beautiful hair-down look?  These are my favorite.  I love hair that's down for a wedding because it feels more natural and classic.  It's pretty but casual, goes perfect with a flowing veil, and takes less time to "fix" or repair as the night goes on.  Look at these pics and click here for some inspiration.

Want more DIY hair ideas for your wedding?  Click here for more pictures and tutorials.

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Wedding Hair, volume 2

This part can be so much fun!  Don't be scared about the hair and makeup ordeal that begins your wedding day.  But also- don't be me.  I had no plan whatsoever.  Now look, I'm not a girly-girl type although there's nothing wrong with girls who are, I've just never known too much about hair, nails, makeup, shoes, etc.  If I need to look nice for something, I pretty much go to the store and buy what's on the manikin.  Accessories and all.  However, I will say that over the years I've picked up some tips from my much more stylish girl friends.  Here are some pictures and tips they've shared with me on how to do your own hair for the big day (or get a friend to do it for you for free.)

So for these styles, it's all about the bun.  Curly or straight, you can go wrong.  Start with wet hair, drying it upside down and spraying with spray gel.  Next gather the hair into a low pony.  Careful not to lose all the body in your roots.  Divide hair into four sections, tease a bit if your hair is fine or thin.  Grab a boat load of bobby pins.  Then pin down each section around the elastic you used for the ponytail.  Keep as far away from the elastic as you can to create a large bun.  Smooth down the frizzies with a finishing spray.  Add a flower or sparkle on the side.  Click here for more tips!

Now, I don't know about you, but my hair never behaves the way it is supposed to, especially for big events.  I'll have an awesome hair day on some random Tuesday when nothing is going on but the day of a must-look-good event and my hair never cooperates.  So best advice?  Practice, practice, practice.  Find a fool proof hair style that will look good no matter what.  Here's one I'd try:

Here's why I like this:  It's simple, probably more simple than you'd think.  First step, wash hair and dry upside down at the roots, use that spray gel again to give your hair a texture you can work with.  Grab some curlers and starting with the crown, use small curlers on the top and sides and the larger curlers for the underneath layers.  Let them sit for awhile, cooling completely.  Good time to paint your toes.  Spray your whole head of hair with a little more of that spray gel and then on a low setting, use the hair dryer to set the curls a bit more.  Now take them out, one by one, being careful not to brush them out or lose the curl.  When you're all done, get out the bobby pins.  This style may look like a ponytail but it's not exactly.  No elastic bands please!  You'll lose the curl and body you just achieved.  Instead, carefully pin back each curl about 3 inches from the roots to the back of your head.  Do your whole head, of course leaving a few strands in front to frame your face.  Now, get out a fancy clip like the one in the picture and fasten it to your masterpiece.  Finish with a light dusting of heavy duty hair spray and some fancy earrings.  This works best for a bride without a veil.

Curly hair is somewhat foolproof because the curls will give you body and are pretty forgiving.  Straight hair insists that you have it straight all the way around and takes away a lot of volume.  Here's another great one for an updo with curly hair.

Ok, I know this is Carrie Underwood and wouldn't we all want to be this gorgeous on our wedding day?  But look at her hair, this wouldn't be an impossible style for you!  We can only imagine the back is probably pinned up curls and looks very cute.  But it's the front that I think looks pretty good and fairly easy.  A nice idea for a humid summer wedding.  First step is drying wet washed hair upside down at the roots then spraying with gel or hairspray.  Next, get out those curlers again.  Curl the whole head except keep a front section out and dry with a super hot hair dryer and big round brush.  When curlers have cooled, divide back of hair into 2 sections and do 2 mini french rolls, keeping most of the curls out.  Finish this section by pinning down the curls careful to keep the curl shape.  Take that section in the front you dried with a big round brush and pin it behind your ear, underneath a curl.  When finished, spray like crazy with a fine mist super-hold hair spray.  Apply veil above or below curls, depending on the style.

Here's the thing, celebrities look as good as they do because they have access to a lot of experts.  I've heard many times that what you see is an illusion.  They use fake tans, fake hair, and well, other fake things to achieve the look they want.  On the day of your wedding, maybe a few celebrity style tricks are the way to go.  For instance, the "poof" in celebrity hair isn't always due to ratting the hair into a birds nest.  They use a little something else to give it that pop.  Like, a pair of socks.  Take the bun look below.  It's basically a high ponytail pinned under the base.  But it's thicker than most of our hair and most celebrities hair too.  The trick, according to some, is a sock rolled into a ball, placed under the pony and pinned into the middle of the bun.  Check it out!

Here's another example, this time it was a nylon sock rolled up with a ponytail then formed into a donut around the base.  Of course, you'll want to try and match the sock to your hair color as best as possible.  You could also buy one of those "hair donuts" they sell at beauty supply stores or online to achieve the same results.  They are very affordable!  But if you want to save money, and we are all about that, here's one very resourceful person who figured out a way to get this idea for free!

I'm guessing the veil would be best underneath this style.  Another great idea for a hot summer wedding or for those of you who want to dance the night away.  Looks pretty foolproof to me.

If you have long hair, lucky you! Doing an up-do for a wedding is a lot easier with longer hair. Check out the video below to get an idea. After watching it, I think this would be fairly simple for a friend or family member to help you with this style. Practice first and have fun!

Three Ponytail Up-Do Hairstyle: Wedding Hairstyles: Wedding Day Hairstyles | eHow.com


Doing your own hair saves big bucks, grab a friend and give these ideas a try.

The Flip - 10 Hairstyles That Are Always in Style - Get Hollywood Hair - Beauty - InStyle

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Top 5 Feature: Do your own wedding hair

How to do your own hair for your wedding?  Practice, practice, practice!

End of post.

Not really, but serious practice is necessary to pull this off.  However, out of all the things you can do on your own to save money on your wedding costs, doing your own hair (or having a bridesmaid help you) is a fairly simple task.  Think of it like this: You can buy any hair you need for volume or length, your veil will be covering up half of it, and with a couple of afternoon practices, you'll be able to whip up a wedding 'do in no time.  That handy bridesmaid will be able to manage the back part that you can't see very well but really, you can do this.  Below are some fantastic ideas to get you started.

1. First, you must find the style that fits you best.  For me, I hate having my hair done and I really hate wearing it up in a complicated curly mess.  That's just me.  I went for my hair down, partially up in the back where the veil went, but mostly down with big wavy curls.  Right there is a pretty easy DIY hairstyle.  But if you want to go big and go up, go for it!  This website from Model Hair is by far the best I've seen for looking at hairstyles and even gives thorough instructions on how to do each one.

2. You need the tools.  You'll likely need more than a brush, curling iron, and clip to achieve your look so what beauty accessories are essential?  The Girls in the Beauty Department recommend these:

The Thinny Hair Holder

 

3.  Have your Hairdo Emergency Kit ready to go.  In between the ceremony and the reception, you may want to spritz on a little more hairspray or even move from a down style to an up-do.  Get your kit ready and make sure it includes the following:

• Bobby pins
• Hairspray
• Brush and comb
• Elastic hair bands
• Headband
• Dry shampoo (In case you have oily hair, this absorbs the excess oil.  Baby powder works too.)
• Fancy clips

4.  Hair accessories may be needed.  Let's say you've got a gorgeous hairstyle planned out for the ceremony.  You've decided to wear your hair down and it looks great.  Now it's time to put on your dancing shoes for the reception and party.  Grab your hair, put it up in a quick french roll and add a fancy headband.  You're ready to go and all the pictures have been taken by now so live it up and have fun!  Here are some cute and cheap hair accessories to look at.

5.  Make it a group affair.  Gather your bridesmaids and moms-of-the-bride and decide that DIY hair is the way to go.  If someone feels strongly about getting it done professionally, that's ok, but it may not be something you'll be able to pay for.  Or maybe you have a friend who does hair?  You'll likely get a group discount for everyone to get their hair done at the same place.  Lots of ideas out there, but don't forget to practice doing your own.

Want to be featured as a Top 5 Feature? Think of five quick tips (with the pics to go with them if possible) and your blog and ideas will be featured.  We do it every Monday so email us soon if you're interested.

Have an idea? Share it here by posting a comment below. Let's all help each other out.

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Wedding Hair, volume 1

Some great ideas for wedding day hair that you should steal from the knot.  Now the trick is, how can you do these hairstyles yourself, or better yet, how can you get your sister to learn how to do these tricks on your hair?  I have some ideas, but I want you to share yours too in the comments.  If a bride is on a strict budget and needs some DIY hair ideas, what tricks do you know?

Here are my top seven favorite styles to get us started.  You'll notice I'm a fan of hair-down styles.



 

I'm definitely not opposed to fake hair on your wedding day.  I used a clip of hair to bring out some body in mine, and why not?  Do you realize how long your wedding day will be?  You'll be getting ready at the crack of dawn and celebrating until the wee hours of the morning.  You're going to have to bring in the big guns.  I also like the idea of using flower accessories to add extra umph if your hair is fine like mine.  Simple headbands are really cute.  In my opinion, complicated and intricate hair designs should be avoided.  Simple and elegant is the way to go.

Here are some products I found that may help the lovely brides get that gorgeous hair for their wedding, without the hefty price tag.

   

The donut idea is awesome, I've done it before and it looks so cute.  My advice is to still back-comb and then smooth out your ponytail, then put it through the donut, pin down the hair (maybe taking most of it to the bottom and only enough to cover the piece for the top), and don't worry, the donuts come in all kinds of hair colors so you can find one that matches closely and not have to worry about it showing through.

Have an idea? Share it here by posting a comment below. Let's all help each other out.
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Valentine's Day Wedding!

Don't judge, my husband and I did this.  Here's why it worked, we needed to bump up our wedding date and everything was booked.  Looking at the calendar, we noticed Valentine's Day was a Saturday and we thought it would be booked for sure at the church and hotel we were looking at.  Turns out, everything was wide open.  I'm guessing it was because everyone thought it would be way too cheesy to get married on Valentine's Day.  Hey, maybe so, but my husband never forgets our anniversary!

Here's an example of a $500 Valentine's Day wedding:

Location: Anywhere with a cozy romantic atmosphere. A party room at a nice restaurant, a rooftop, someone's home- just some place out in the open where the stars can be seen in all their glory.

Bride and bridal party: The bride in a simple evening dress and if the weather is cold, add a velvet or silk wrap. I think a formal gown (think prom) would be better than a traditional wedding dress although traditional would be beautiful too.

Groom and groomsmen: The groom in a classic black suit would be perfect and the groomsmen in formal white button down shirts with black pants. If it’s cold, have hem throw on the matching jackets.

Ceremony: For seating arrangements, rent or borrow folding chairs and set them up in two blocks thus forming a center isle. Arrange for white Christmas lights to be strung around any bushes or pillars and dig out the artificial green Christmas trees, keep them plain green with only white lights. Using lots of candles will also add atmosphere, use as many red/pink/purple accents as possible. The bride should carry a small bouquet of flowers and find someone to serenade you with a saxophone. Depending where you're putting most of your money- maybe some standards and jazz on the iPod speakers would be perfect!

Reception: Visualize candles on all of the tables with cake, bottles of champagne, fruit, and crackers and cheese. Some jazz music in the background and your set.

Final thoughts: Music is a very inexpensive way to set the mood, especially being outside, you’re also going to want to drown out any traffic or other outdoor noises. Have CD players placed all over your reception area, some suggestions: Anything by Norah Jones, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and Tony Bennett.

Budget

The dress $60 - Prom dress bought on sale, borrowed a wrap from aunt

Groom’s attire $30 - Bought white dress shirt, used own tie and suit

Accessories $10 - No necklace, bought earrings on sale

Flowers $10 - Bride walked down the aisle with single red rose, groom had rose boutonniere (flowers bought that afternoon)

Pictures $50 - Hired college student, used three friends as well, uncle taped wedding

Music $10 - Recorded jazz music playing during dinner and reception

Food and drinks $250 (this is a perfect reception for Italian food!)  It’s a late night wedding so just desserts, wine, crackers, cheese and wedding cake are served

Decorations $30 - Rose petals scattered on tables, tea light candles and silver dessert platters on all the tables, tables had white tablecloths, chairs each had a red ribbon tied to them

Invitations $30 Made on groom’s computer

Miscellaneous $20 Always a good idea to have a little left over for the unexpected expense


Have an idea? Share it here by posting a comment below. Let's all help each other out.

Make your own wedding dress

Seriously lady?  Make my own wedding dress?  Have you gone completely insane?  Not exactly.  Look, I can't sew a thing either but some people can, or know someone who can, and sometimes even considering the idea of creating your own gown can save you money.  What's that saying?  Necessity is the mother of invention.  You'd love to spend $5000 on a gown but that's impossible so we need a new game plan.  Consider the following story, this extremely talented woman wanted an extremely expensive dress.  Instead of buying it, she made a knock-off and it is gorgeous.  Look at these side by side photos!

Click here for more photos of her creation.

But what do you do if you can't sew?  Consider heading to a fabric store and browsing through their dress patterns.  I did this all through high school for proms, homecoming dances, Winter Wonderland, etc.  I wanted a certain type of dress and I didn't want a dress that looked like every other dress I saw in all of the stores.  Actually, I was probably going to have a hard time finding what I wanted anywhere in a regular formal dress shop.  I wanted something classic, black, kind of Audrey Hepburn.  But that's not exactly what was in stock for sixteen year old girls in the mid-90's.

So I had to improvise.  I first browsed through magazines, found some ideas, then I would draw a design on a piece of paper, take that to the fabric store, find a pattern similar or mix two patterns together to find the exact look, and I took my idea to a seamstress.  She made my dress and with the cost of the fabric, the whole thing was around $60.  Not too bad for a dress that was totally original, exactly what I wanted, and didn't break the bank.  And really, how cool is it to say you designed and created your own wedding dress?

There are so many resources out there, free stuff too!  You can download a wedding dress pattern for $4.99, from big names like Vogue.  Here's a link to get you started, but really, a quick google search and you're on your way.


If I could go back in time, I would absolutely create my own dress.  My whole wedding, with 250 people and a budget, had to be planned completely in three short months.  I do not recommend that kind of stress.  But looking back now, I wish I would have taken the time to really look into other options.  For instance, the blue dress with straps in the picture, this is a classic look that I believe could be replicated for a wedding dress.  In fact, I'm going to try it this summer when I get my sewing/crafting room up and running.  Think it's do-able?

How to Get Victoria's Secret Hair: Hair Care & Styling Tips | eHow.com

Plan on wearing your hair down for your wedding? I wore my hair down instead of the traditional up-do and I got a lot of compliments on it, although really, what are people going to do? Tell me I look weird on my wedding day? Nevertheless, I think wearing your hair down can be just as pretty as wearing it up. The trick to saving the most amount of money possible is doing your hair yourself or letting a trusted friend take on the responsibility. Here's an interesting link I found for getting "Victoria's Secret" hair.

How to Get Victoria's Secret Hair: Hair Care & Styling Tips | eHow.com

Also consider doing an extension.  Professionally done, these can be very pricey, but there are some quality clip-on versions out there to try that are much more affordable.  Click the picture to get an idea.

Have an idea? Share it here! Let's all help each other out.