Wedding Style Lookbook Series

Three-part, bridesmaid updo style series.

Purchases from links to Sally Beauty and Amazon are compensated.

I had the pleasure of styling my friend’s bridal party for her wedding in Chicago. In this series, I am going to show you three of the updo styles I created in three separate tutorials, perfect for weddings, special events and occasions or just anytime protective styling!

Products and tools used to create updo styles.
Products and tools used to create updo styles.

Products and tools (used for each style):

  • Aveda Control Paste is a flax seed based finishing product that makes it easy to lay fly- aways, edges and sculpt textured hair. It also has castor oil and marshmallow root to protect the hair. Unlike lots of edge gels, this one doesn’t have the possibility of reverting hair to its natural state because it’s a cream. Because I am working on straightened natural hair, I need something that will hold, but not revert the hair or cause any sticky or greasy messes. This paste is top notch for flexible, sleek hold!
  • Aveda Brilliant Medium Hold Hair Spray is made with aloe to give hair superior moisture and chamomile flower for brilliant shine. This spray is amazingly light weight but holds like fort knox! I love that it is a buildable spray, meaning it allows you to continue to comb and situate hair after spraying, and it is safe to use with thermal styling, so it won’t sizzle and fry when you need to apply a little heat.
  • Hydrasteam Finishing Oil is a light weight mist, and like the Aveda Brilliant hair spray, it is formulated with aloe to give the hair superior moisture and it has sunflower seed oil to protect strands from UV ray damage, and since the wedding is outside, this is important! And, this spray happens to be one of my favorite shine mists because it smells like pure, clean, crisp heaven!
  • Soft bristled styling brush always comes in handy for smoothing hair into ponytails and edge products into the hair.
  • Denman Large Grooming Brush gives me the option for a stronger pull when needed to smooth dense tresses.
  • Rattail comb is necessary for parting, smoothing and assisting me in sculpting the style.
  • Wide tooth styling comb always comes with me because there will always be a need for it when curling, detangling or shaping hair.
  • An assortment of croc clips, butterfly clips and metal clips come in handy to help hold sections while styling.
  • Fabric wrapped ponytail holders are perfect for holding hair in a way that prevents any breakage or snags in the hair.
  • Regular sized bob pins are great for all textures to hold tresses in place.
  • Ceramic Curling Wand will give me the option to make wavy curls or smooth fly-aways when necessary.
  • FHI Platform Series 1 inch Ceramic Iron will give me smooth, protected glide to make sure my styles are super neat and sleek.

Total time:

Total style time for all three ladies was about 25 minutes each.

Keep and care:

Although they will likely dismantle these styles after the ceremony, if you wanted to preserve yours, you can tie a silk or satin scarf around the parameter and cover the updo with a satin bonnet.