Hunting for Wedding Hair Accessories

By Kristin Kane

Kim Kardashian likely had wedding hair accessories being thrown at her from every designer imaginable, the poor girl. Her eventual choice was the pick heard 'round the bridal world. In fact, I'm pretty sure that if I busted out my calculator (and had a really, really boring weekend) I could crunch some numbers and prove my hunch that people have spent a collective 3.4 pasquillian-and-counting hours talking about her diamond headpiece.

Given that the unveiling of the jeweled "chosen one" was to brides what the iPhone 4s announcement was to techies, this doesn't surprise me. What does shock me, however, is that -- in post-matrimonial retrospect -- I likely clocked a good squillian hours myself hunting for a hair accessory to secure my wedding updo. All that website searching, magazine flipping and store scouting and I didn't even get an E! special. I know, I know -- bitter, party of one, my table is now available.

I could have mined my own diamonds in the amount of time it took me to decide on the hair comb that I ended up wearing on my wedding day. Fascinators were indeed fascinating, but not so much on me. Hair clips weren't "wedding" enough (or were 100 percent wedding -- for Liberace and Elizabeth Taylor's love child). I tried on limos full of hair jewels, tiaras, hair flowers, headbands, and hairpins before I finally made my choice. Due diligence, as my mother always said. After all, No. 59 could be the winner!

Right around the time I almost collapsed in hunting exhaustion is when I wished I had expert help. If you're currently up to your roots in options for wedding hair accessories, take a step back and narrow your choices, says Stacey R. Seabrook, stylist and owner of S2Stylists in New York City. "Don't go to every store or try on every hair accessory on the planet. You'll just leave yourself feeling overwhelmed," says Seabrook, who has dressed (and been a shopping guru) for thousands of brides in her 15 years in the big day styling biz.

To score the picture-perfect wedding hair accessory, and save your sanity in the process, follow her tips:
1. Be You Though Seabrook agrees that some wedding hair accessories tend to be clear matches with certain styles of dresses, her No. 1 rule is to follow your personal style. A tiara may seem like the obvious choice for a ball gown, but if you're no princess bride, knock them out of the running. All about the drama? Skip those dainty picks that Mom likes. More traditional? Pass on the oversized flowers ... even if you see them on the cover of every bridal magazine. "If you feel comfortable and it is 100 percent 'you,' there is no wrong," she says.


2. Hairstyle Matters It sounds too obvious to warrant a reminder ... until you've spent three digits on a clip that doesn't work with your all-down do. Choose a wedding hair accessory that adds a splash of interest if your hair is simple, or one that can be worked into a tuck or fold to polish off something more intricate. Lately, Seabrook and her brides have been favoring a side piece to tuck up a bit of hair that is otherwise flowing, or a simple comb to accent the back of a half-up/half-down style.


3. Think of Your Total Look from All Angles ... If all the jazz of your hairstyle (or even your dress) will be in the back, you may want to think about wedding hair accessories that can be seen from the front -- and vice versa. Photos, people, photos!


4. ... and Then Just from the Neck Up Your earrings, necklace, and headband could each be fabulous on their own -- but adding them all together could make you look like Bedazzler Bride. Choose one from-the-neck-up adornment to be the star of the show, then let the others be its beautiful, supporting back-up singers.


5. Seek Professional Help Shopping in a store? Many wedding hair accessory salespeople are also consultants -- and they have been around the bridal beauty block. Share the above details with them, and then let them present you with an edited group of selects.

Now I'm not saying that you can't obsess over your perfect hair pairing like I did, but maybe this will at least help you shut the laptop off before 1 a.m. instead of staying up to make it through all 698 slides of the wedding hair accessory slideshow de jour. Yeah, I've been there.