Natural Hair Brides: diy or Hire Professional?

Hello Jamila! I paid for my regular hairdresser to travel to my wedding (about 3 hours away from
her shop) and do my hair. I’m natural, but I still haven’t found my magic mix of products or identified my go-to hairstyle so I go to my hairdresser once a month for a good wash, deep conditioning and styling. I knew I would need someone who was familiar with natural hair (and my hair specifically) to do my hair for my wedding. I had a couple of trial sessions with her and different hair products, and she gave me a few ideas and put my mind at ease. Hiring her for my wedding was one of the best decisions I made.

I have thick natural curls (not African American) but I still wanted to share my experience with you. I went to my regular salon the morning of and had her wash it with her special shampoos and conditioners based on the weather and humidity. I also sat under the dryer to have my curls dry before she put it up into half up half down. She used product that I definitely didn’t have and she put my hair up in a way that I would have never thought to do or had the patience to do (she did triple pony tails to keep my heavy hair from sagging.). It was very humid and my hair ended up staying and curls were great!


All in all.. I would recommend getting it done even if you’re going for your natural hair. I went back and forth and I’m glad I went with a professional. I love the way my hair looks when I do it myself but i know it wouldn’t have looked the way I wanted it if I hadn’t gone to the salon!

I'm mixed and havea curly hair but my mom is Black and has natural hair (she's getting braids for the reception/got them for the miniwedding last year, but her actual hair is natural and didn't have a plan for it until we found a stylist).
I wanted to have my hair and makeup drone at the same place and my skin is really sensitive. I know I can use Aveda makeup, so I looked for an Aveda salon that was convenient to our venue and found on one of their websites that they offer what they call "specialty services" (cornrows, silk press, flat twists, etc.) so we both scheduled trials there hoping they'd be able to handle both of our hair. It ended up working it well last year and we're going to the same place this time. Unless you know exactly how you want your hair you look at your wedding and you're really great at doing it that way, it probably makes sense to hire someone.
I would definitely recommend having a trial so you can at least get comfortable with the person who will be doing your hair and make sure your confident that they'll be able to do what you want them to.

Here! I'm having my natural hair straightened the day before my engagement photos and still undecided for the wedding. I'm thinking about going to the shop and have her straighten it a few days before the wedding then paying her to travel the day of the wedding. If something comes up and she can't make it I'll at least be able to add some curls to my silk pressed hair with a hair wand. I have pretty loose curls, so it'll stay.

Definitely hire someone. I have 2 different hairstylist (one for braids/one for other styles). I had it professionally done for my engagement pictures, my minimony and will also have it done for the reception.

I am having someone braid my hair…or putting it in Senegalese twists. She will be doing mine the day before though for time. My sisters will do a blowout on their hair the day of in the morning.

I'm definitely getting my done professionally. I had a little fro and got it blown out for my trial. I'm still going to have a couple hair pieces added but my hair won't be relaxed or pressed out.

I was planning on doing braids I would style myself day of. Having my hair naturally out that I do myself would take more time,trial, and error than I'm willing to commit to. If I was going to have it out I'd hire someone to do it. I would look around at shops I your area that specialize in natural afro hair and also them about if they do weddings

For me, I'm going to stretch my hair out with some twists or bantu knots then style it into a simple french twist. Simple enough to do on my own!