www.eventsbyjosie.com/blog.php

You’ve just gotten engaged! Now what?

Start flipping through magazines and tearing out what you like or what grabs your attention. If you like searching the Internet for ideas, build your wedding inspiration board in www.pinterest.com. That way it’s all in the same place, and your friends and family can see what style you’re going for — and they might have some ideas to offer, too. Having an inspiration board or a binder will help your vendors get a better vision of what your dream wedding looks like.

The clean cut is not fashionable, says well-known French hairstylist Laurent Decreton, who believes older Indian women should not shy away from trying a messy or classic look. He also suggests that brides be more adventurous by adopting trendy hairstyles for their D-day.

Decreton, who himself sports very short hair, told IANS: “I think women should try new fashionable styles and experiment with hairdos. Hairstyles in India are very formal. It should not be that formal. I feel it’s only young girls who are playing with hair in India.”

The celebrity stylist, known for his modern-day cuts and styling, has a wide range of experience – be it working on top models and celebrities like Naomi Campbell, Carla Bruni, Emmanuelle Beart and footballer Robert Pires or collaborating with fashion shows by Chanel, Yves Saint-Laurent and Jean-Paul Gaultier.

Decreton, who has been frequently travelling to India in the past 12 years, said: “It’s not necessary to have a clean hairdo. I think people here (India) don’t try the messy or classic look, especially mature females.

“I’ve been observing Indian faces and their hairstyle for a very long time. One thing that is really missing is that Indian women don’t focus on the sides of the head while making hairstyles.

“The front will look nice if you tighten the sides, which most Indians don’t do. Also, they should be careful for the side hair for finishing and to make it classic,” he added.

Decreton is the creative brand ambassador of L’Oreal Professionnel and a member of the Haute Coiffure Francaise creative team. He was here to unveil seven bridal looks (hairstyles) under the theme – Royal Wedding Collection of L’Oreal Professionnel.

The brand has come out with its fresh fashionable hairdos to cater to the demands of modern Indian brides. It collaborated with some of the best Indian hairstylists like Dhruv Abhichandani, Sachin Dakoji, Sumit Israni, Raman Bhardwaj and Vipul Chudasama, and Decreton to create the looks.

Decreton suggests that “Indian weddings and the hairstyles are very formal. But Indian women should change this habit and try new, trendy hairstyles for wedding. That is the reason we picked wedding as the theme for the same. Weddings are all about happiness, trying something new gives confidence and happiness to the bride.”

He started his career at a young age of 19 and has 30 years of experience in hairstyling. Decreton never had a mentor and his creations are the outcome of his imagination.

“It’s been more than 30 years that I’m into this profession. I started my career at the age of 19 and learned hairdressing from a local master in France,” he said.

“I participated in many competitions like Opera, theatres and luxury fashion shows from the beginning of my career which gave me opportunities to learn things while working on these kinds of projects. Most of my ideas and themes come from my dreams,” added the 49-year-old, who is currently working on his portfolio in Mumbai.

Though Indian women are not so adventurous in trying new hairdos, Decreton says the salon business has boomed here.

“In the last 12 years, I’ve seen a rapid and massive growth in the Indian hairstyle business. I think the growth in real estate and change in the lifestyle of people are making it big here,” he said.

Asked about some of the spring hair trends and hair colour for Indians, he suggested: “Hair colours like honey, chocolate and red would look stunning on the Indian skin tone. But, yes, it should be balanced, not very light. I think it’s nice to play with the roots and the end should be left lighter with colour.”

GREER MCDONALD

After the recession, earthquakes, tsunamis, GFC and various other negative things, the royal wedding became a beacon of hope for many last year.

It became something positive, something to celebrate, something joyous, something to raise a glass to.

Here were two young people with their whole futures in front of them, who were partaking in a historic moment that we were allowed to get swept up in to if we so desired.

And I love that about weddings. How the celebration allows everyone to put their own realities, their own hardships, their own bad times on the backburner for once and just BE happy – for the couple, and for the whole concept of love and commitment in general.

I was lucky enough to be one of the hundreds (thousands?) of media to be granted access to the royal wedding a year ago. 

Stationed outside Buckingham Palace on Queen Victoria’s memorial, I got to witness the comings and goings of the day’s festivities and see the traditional balcony kiss – not once, but twice – while the crowd of two million roared. It was, in a word, exceptional. An experience I will never forget.

That day has had a huge effect on weddings since and I thought I’d reflect on a few ways:

Lace

I LOVED Kate’s dress. Personally it’s not for me (too princessey… but she can totally *ahem* get away with that) but that dress has spawned thousands of similar designs and repopularised lace for the first time since Madonna in the 80s. Sleeves are starting to come back in as well (and the anti-strapless dress brigade cheers loudly!), as well as the half-time dress change – well played by both Kate and Wills.

The Pippa butt

“You’ve got the Pippa butt!,” one of my bridesmaid’s screamed when I came out of a dressing room wearing a rather slinky (and what I declared to be the “wedding night nightie, raaaooow”) wedding dress. I don’t – of course – have anything close to resembling a Pippa butt, but this dress did give a certain pertness to my behind so I could see what she meant.

A year ago that phrase wasn’t in our lexicon but now one only has to say the name Pippa and we know who you’re talking about and precisely what outfit you’re referring to.

Simple flowers

When I wasn’t admiring Pippa’s butt, I was noticing the flowers in her hair – forget-me-nots. [Eds Update: Thanks commentor 'Office Girl' - you're right, they were Lily of the Valley, my bad!] Beautiful, and matched the bridal bouquet. The trend of having quite simple, rustic-like flowers like these, or baby’s breath (which I also love) has definitely caught on recently also.

Men in love are hot

Wills made being in love acceptable. Controversial, I know. But in our society, men who declare their love or affection publicly are often ridiculed for being ‘soft’ or whatever. But here’s Will, a man in uniform and with nice teeth (both my weaknesses), declaring his love in front of millions (a billion?) and not being all awkward about it. Nothing sexier than a man who can blush. Especially one who can fly helicopters too!

Coloured stone engagement rings

The fact Wills ‘recycled’ his late mother’s engagement ring to young Kate hasn’t sat well with some people but I think it was a huge gesture. It is one of the most famous rings in the world. Ask anyone to draw other famous people’s engagement rings and you’d be hard pressed, but this iconic setting has had a resurgence with plenty of variations now available in shops.

Bunting

When my boss asked me to bring back some royal bunting from the wedding, I thought she was referring to wedding night antics; I had no idea what bunting was.

Turns out those flag that were all throughout London were pretty popular and now – if Pinterest is anything to go by – are popular at weddings now too. I’m considering getting my non-existent sewing skills into shape and knocking some out myself for our “rustic, shabby chic”* affair.

What were your favourite parts of the royal wedding? Have you known anyone to have royal themed weddings since? What effect do you think the royal wedding has had in terms of wedding fads?

Follow Greer on Twitter or Weddings on Facebook. You can also email Greer here.

*God I hate how people “label” their weddings but I can see why. So many people have asked me what my “style” or “theme” is for the wedding… 

Sponsored links

Newest First

Oldest First

Style? Theme?!?

How about, MATRIMONIAL. It’s a friggin’ wedding, for goodness sake, not a carnival or circus (although I guess the lines are blurred in some instances…)

I LOVED the royal wedding. It was just beautiful! Kate looked stunning, William looked very dashing and of course, Pippa’s butt stole the show. I like the idea of bunting at a wedding (or birthday / decorating a child’s room etc) as long as it is done well. It is a relatively simple way to decorate, and you can use it again and again Simple flowers are also a great idea, keeping things casual is the way to go I think.
I was also an anti-strapless bride-to-be as I am blessed with a chest and had never suited boob tubes before. I tried on several (10+) wedding dresses with straps and they just didn’t feel right – hugged the cleavage to make it stand out even more (and I’m not so keen on flashing my nips at all the relies thank you very much!) and then they seemed to cling to my jelly belly. I then tried on a strapless Ellen H designed dress and it was perfect! It even came with a lace shrug I could wear later on. Haven’t brought it yet as our wedding isn’t until next year, but that’s the one I’ll be getting I think!

Nothing wrong with “pricessey” and at least Kate’s dress actually looked like a wedding dress (actually it looked like THE wedding dress) unlike those awful un-bridey strapless affairs that have been blotting the landscape for years now, and Clara my dear, if you have not brought your Ellen H dress please, please reconsider (and if you can’t reconsider, I guarantee that your perfect dress will look even more perfect with a bolero.

@Viffer #1 – We are, in fact, having a carnival themed wedding, and why not?? A wedding is essentially the biggest, most expensive party you’ll ever throw, and we want to have a memorable, enjoyable, fun-filled one!

Hi Greer, the flowers in Kate’s bouquet and in Pippa’s hair are lily of the valley, which is a spring flower that has a lovely scent. Just letting you know in case you ask a florist to make you a similiar bouquet

@Office Girl
Right you are – thanks for that! Updated the post

I’m embracing the lace trend (though I would have been going that way anyway, but am pleased that Kate’s influence means there are more lace dresses to choose from). My dress is strapless but I purchased extra matching lace to add my own cap sleeves when it arrives – most bridal stores and of course dressmakers will do this for you for a small fee.

I think a theme makes the wedding actually. It ties it all in nicely. Having a wedding without a theme seems a bit odd to me. A theme can be something as simple as a colour too. Any event planner will tell you that a theme or style is somewhat important.

I love, love, loved the royal wedding. I watched it 3 times over that weekend! I thought it was beautiful. Kate dress was amazing and suited her so well. I loved that it was lacy and had the sleeves. My mum’s wedding dress was very similar (the sleeves, lace neckline) I also really liked the mini bridesmaids and the wee boys. Such a nice idea to have them aswell as Pippa Harry.

Agree about the coloured engagement ring fully. Diamonds – so predictable and cliche! Have sapphires and (little) diamonds myself. Didn’t pick it either.

The clean cut is not fashionable, says well-known French hairstylist Laurent Decreton, who believes older Indian women should not shy away from trying a messy or classic look. He also suggests that brides be more adventurous by adopting trendy hairstyles for their D-day.

Decreton, who himself sports very short hair, said: “I think women should try new fashionable styles and experiment with hairdos. Hairstyles in India are very formal. It should not be that formal. I feel it’s only young girls who are playing with hair in India.”

The celebrity stylist, known for his modern-day cuts and styling, has a wide range of experience – be it working on top models and celebrities like Naomi Campbell, Carla Bruni, Emmanuelle Beart and footballer Robert Pires or collaborating with fashion shows by Chanel, Yves Saint-Laurent and Jean-Paul Gaultier.

Decreton, who has been frequently travelling to India in the past 12 years, said: “It’s not necessary to have a clean hairdo. I think people here (India) don’t try the messy or classic look, especially mature females.

“I’ve been observing Indian faces and their hairstyle for a very long time. One thing that is really missing is that Indian women don’t focus on the sides of the head while making hairstyles.

“The front will look nice if you tighten the sides, which most Indians don’t do. Also, they should be careful for the side hair for finishing and to make it classic,” he added.

Decreton is the creative brand ambassador of L’Oreal Professionnel and a member of the Haute Coiffure Francaise creative team. He was here to unveil seven bridal looks (hairstyles) under the theme – Royal Wedding Collection of L’Oreal Professionnel.

The brand has come out with its fresh fashionable hairdos to cater to the demands of modern Indian brides. It collaborated with some of the best Indian hairstylists like Dhruv Abhichandani, Sachin Dakoji, Sumit Israni, Raman Bhardwaj and Vipul Chudasama, and Decreton to create the looks.

Decreton suggests that “Indian weddings and the hairstyles are very formal. But Indian women should change this habit and try new, trendy hairstyles for wedding. That is the reason we picked wedding as the theme for the same. Weddings are all about happiness, trying something new gives confidence and happiness to the bride.”

He started his career at a young age of 19 and has 30 years of experience in hairstyling. Decreton never had a mentor and his creations are the outcome of his imagination.

“It’s been more than 30 years that I’m into this profession. I started my career at the age of 19 and learned hairdressing from a local master in France,” he said.

“I participated in many competitions like Opera, theatres and luxury fashion shows from the beginning of my career which gave me opportunities to learn things while working on these kinds of projects. Most of my ideas and themes come from my dreams,” added the 49-year-old, who is currently working on his portfolio in Mumbai.

Though Indian women are not so adventurous in trying new hairdos, Decreton says the salon business has boomed here.

“In the last 12 years, I’ve seen a rapid and massive growth in the Indian hairstyle business. I think the growth in real estate and change in the lifestyle of people are making it big here,” he said.

Asked about some of the spring hair trends and hair colour for Indians, he suggested: “Hair colours like honey, chocolate and red would look stunning on the Indian skin tone. But, yes, it should be balanced, not very light. I think it’s nice to play with the roots and the end should be left lighter with colour.”