KL's Naturals: My December Brides!!!

What an amazing month it's been! I can't believe how fast this year has literally run by and how much the store has evolved in the last year.

December saw me styling 3 brides and I loved every minute spent prepping and styling them for their big days!

Bride Number one - The Bold, Adventurous One.

Omotayo's Hair

Omotayo came in with her style inspiration which was a braided 'Fro Hawk' - both sides braided with a styled middle that had some volume. Now her hair is a little short so there would be need to add some extensions in her hair for the added volume.

We decided we'd crochet the middle of her hair for volume - that way she could wear it in as many styles as she pleases.

Now her wedding was on Saturday the 6th of December and I was working all night at The

Experience on Friday the 5th of December. I had hoped I'd be able to leave a little early but the event didn't end till close to 6am. Went home, slept for about an hour, showered and headed for Alausa in the cab I'd booked ( I didn't trust myself to drive all the way to Alausa and back when I hadn't slept in over 24 hours)

I got to her hotel room and she was just getting dressed for her traditional! I just quietly moved some things from one side of the bed, lay down and went to sleep, telling them to wake me up when they came back to get dressed for church.

When they came back, I got to work styling her hair, the photographer just kept looking this way and that and finally said - this one na Grace Jones oh! I just burst out laughing.

Now as is bound to happen when you have the traditional engagement and church ceremony on the same day, we started to run out of time. Parents started to hurry everyone up, things started to be knocked over in the hurry to get last minute hair and make up done and a few emotions started to get a little touchy.

Then the unthinkable happens! She discovered she'd forgotten her veil at home and apparently the church does not let brides in without their veils. At this point she burst into tears while her friends tried to calm her down and reassure her that she could use the veil she used for her engagement. I felt really bad for her as she was pretty upset and was crying. Time was far gone at this point and everyone rushed out - literally, leaving me behind. I just quietly packed my stuff, locked up the room, dropped the key at the reception and went home to sleeeeeeeeeeeep.

Bride 2 - The Pretty, Cool and Calm one

Ginika lives in The States and had found me online. She got in touch with me via Whatsapp and we started chatting, trying to figure out what she would do for her wedding. She'd sent me so many pictures that I honestly didn't know which way we were going at some point lol. I was just rest assured that as she'd be coming home a few weeks before the wedding, we'd be able to do a few trials and agree on a style. Thankfully with help of her lovely Chief Bridesmaid Dami, we were able to settle on a style.

Now her wedding was on Saturday the 20th of December and Rhythm Unplugged was on Friday the 19th of December - and I love Rhythm Unplugged! So I decided I'd go, and hopefully leave around 1am, go home and get some sleep so I could be at Ginika's hotel for 6.30am ( do you see a pattern here? loll)

If only things go the way you plan them! The show billed to start at 7pm didn't start till close to 10!!! As much as I was enjoying myself, by 3.40am I knew it was time to leave if I was going to be able to function in less than 3 hours. Got home, slept a little, showered and got to the hotel on time.

During the trials I'd noticed her edges were resisting the eco styler gel I'd used even after I'd tied down her hair for a while - I later figured out that it was probably the oil I'd used prior to styling so made a mental note to skip that today. Thankfully it worked! Her edges were laid and I attached some marley hair to her bun, styling and pinning till we got it down to what was agreed at the trial.

It was lovely!

Bride Number 3: The Cute, No Fuss Bride.

Modupe's mane of thick hair.

Modupe is as cute as the proverbial button and was very clear as to what she wanted and didn't want. She didn't want to deal with her hair and didn't want any overly 'structured' style. She wanted something that was fun and flirty, which she could wear down after the wedding for a week or 2.

Now she has A LOT of hair! A mane of thick, voluminous natural curls so it was understandable why her hair was the last thing she'd want to worry about during her honeymoon.

For inspiration she sent me this picture and we decided that we'd crochet the centre of her hair (can you tell I love crochet braids lol) and leave her perimeter out so she could wear it up in a bun.

Braid pattern used and hair left around the perimeter

Installed, rolled and ready to be dipped in hot water

Now her wedding was on the 27th of December which meant the crochet braids needed to be done by the 26th. Seeing as the salon didn't open on Boxing day, I went to her house to get her hair installed and curled in time for the following morning.

Using just 2 packs of hair, I did the crochet braids right in the middle of her hair, brushed and rolled it afterwards and dipped it in hot water for the curls to form.

I took out the perm rods so the hair could air dry overnight and the following morning (no late night for me this time around) I went straight to her hotel room, separated the curls, brushed it all up into a bun and pinned the curls around loosely letting some come forward on her forehead.