Bridesmaid Hairstyles: 10 Looks That Still Hold at Midnight

The best bridesmaid hairstyle is the one that still looks the same at 11pm as it did at 2pm, and for most people that is a low bun or a half-up style pinned properly, not loose curls. Pick by your dress neckline first, your hair length second, and the Pinterest photo last.

Most bridesmaid hair advice starts with the pretty picture. That is backwards. A bridesmaid day runs ten to twelve hours: hair at 9am, photos at 3pm, a dance floor at 10pm. The style that wins is the one that survives hour ten, and the one that loses is the one that looked best in the salon mirror.

That is the whole insight of this guide: choose for the last photo of the night, not the first. Below you will find which styles hold and which drop, what works for short, medium and long hair, how the neckline makes the up-or-down decision for you, and ten looks to show your stylist.

Should bridesmaids wear their hair up or down?

Let the dress decide. High necks, halters and one-shoulder dresses want hair up or swept to one side, because hair down fights the fabric and hides the detail. Strapless, straight and V-neck dresses work either way, so the choice falls to your hair type and the weather.

Here is the quick version:

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Weather is the tiebreaker. Humid outdoor weddings and beach ceremonies are hard on loose curls, which relax as the day warms up. Wind pulls hair across your face in every photo. If the ceremony is outside in summer, go up.

The bride may also have an opinion, and it is her day. A good compromise when the bridal party has mixed lengths: everyone wears hair up, or everyone wears hair down, and each person picks the version that suits their length.

Which bridesmaid hairstyles actually hold all day?

A pinned low bun holds best. Loose waves on fine or straight hair hold worst, often dropping to a limp bend by the time dinner is served. Everything else sits in between. If you want to practise the everyday versions before the wedding, our guide to updo hairstyles sorts them by hair length.

The pattern is simple. The more of your hair is pinned, the longer the style lasts. Loose curls are carried by nothing but hairspray and your hair's own texture.

Bridesmaid hairstyles for long hair

Long hair gives you every option, and the biggest risk: weight. Long, heavy hair pulls curls out faster and drags updos down. The fix is to take some weight off the hair before it goes anywhere.

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• Worn down in waves. Beautiful in the first photos. Ask your stylist to set the curls and let them cool before brushing out, which makes them last. Best on hair that already holds a curl.
• Half up. The safest long-hair choice. The top section is pinned, so the face stays clear even when the lengths relax. See our guide to half up half down hairstyles for more variations.
• Sleek low ponytail. Modern, fast, and almost impossible to ruin. A strand of hair wrapped around the elastic hides the band.
• Low chignon. The long-hair move for anyone who does not want to think about their hair again until the next morning.

If you want more ideas for everyday length, our roundup of hairstyles for long hair covers the day-to-day versions of these looks.

Half up bridesmaid hairstyles for medium hair

Shoulder-length and collarbone-length hair is the sweet spot for half up. There is enough length to hang, not enough to weigh the pins down.

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Two ways to do it:

• Braided half up. Thin braids from each temple, pinned at the back of the crown. The braids hold the style together even when the rest of the hair relaxes.
• Twisted half up. Same idea with two twists instead of braids. Quicker, softer, a little less secure.

A shoulder length haircut with some layers holds a half up style better than a one-length cut, because the layers give the pins something to grip.

Bridesmaid hairstyles for short hair

Short hair is easier than it looks. You are not trying to fake an updo. You are dressing the cut you have.

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• One side swept back with a clip. Tuck the heavier side behind the ear and hold it with a pearl or gold barrette. Takes five minutes and looks deliberate.
• Bent ends. A flat iron turns the ends of a bob into soft bends. Less formal than curls, and it holds longer.
• Sleek and tucked. Smooth the whole bob with a shine product, tuck both sides behind the ears. Clean and modern.

If your bob has layers, see our guide to layered bob haircuts for the cuts that style the easiest. A bob with a side part or side bangs gives a natural place to pin a clip.

Updos and sleek styles for weather that fights you

Beach weddings, summer gardens and anything outdoors in wind want a style with nothing loose. The sleek low ponytail is the clear winner here: there is no curl to drop, and the wind can only move the tail.

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For something more playful, bubble braids hold just as well, and the elastics do the work pins would do in an updo. For textured and coily hair, a sleek bun, knotless braids pinned up, or a defined twist-out all hold better than a heat-curled style in humidity.

Mistakes that ruin bridesmaid hair

• Picking the style from someone else's photo. A style that looks great on a model with thick hair and an oval face may do nothing for you. This is the most common mistake, and it costs the most, because you find out in the mirror on the morning of the wedding.
• An updo so tight it hurts. A headache by the first dance means it is pulling. The American Academy of Dermatology warns that hairstyles that pull can cause hair loss when worn often, and a tight style is miserable for twelve hours anyway. Ask for it looser.
• Skipping the trial. The morning of the wedding is not the moment to discover your hair will not hold a curl.
• Loose curls outdoors in summer. They will relax. Choose something pinned.
• Too many face-framing pieces. Two thin tendrils look soft. Six look like the style is falling apart.

See it on your face before the trial

The free way to choose a bridesmaid hairstyle is to save photos, show them to your stylist, and book a trial run. Do it. It works.

Where it runs out: a trial usually costs money and an hour or more in the chair, and you get one or two looks before you run out of time. The photos you bring show someone else's face, hair colour and density. You are guessing whether a low chignon or loose waves suits your face, and you only find out after you have paid for the trial.

That is the gap a try-on fills. Upload a selfie and see the style on your own face before you pay for the trial, then walk into the trial knowing which two looks you want tested. Your first look is free and needs no card.

10 bridesmaid hairstyles to show your stylist

Every look below is on the same sage green dress in the same salon light, so the only thing that changes is the hair. Scroll through, pick two, and take both to your trial.

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What to say to your stylist

Be specific. "Something pretty" gets you whatever the stylist does best. Name the style, where it sits, how long it has to last and what it must not do.

Bring a photo of your dress, especially the neckline and the back. A stylist who can see the dress will get the height of the bun right the first time.

The short answer

If you want one bridesmaid hairstyle that works for almost anyone, it is the low chignon: it suits every neckline, holds through the whole night and looks the same in the last photo as in the first. Long and medium hair can go half up for something softer. Short hair looks best dressed, not forced into an updo: a clip, a bend at the ends, a clean tuck.

Choose for hour ten, not the salon mirror. And if you are torn between two looks, try both on your own photo before you pay for the trial. For more event looks, see our guide to holiday hairstyles.