The trial is the appointment that matters
A bridal trial is not a rehearsal of one idea. It is where we work out which of three or four directions actually suits the dress, the veil, the venue and the way you hold your head when you are nervous. We photograph it from every angle, because a shape that reads beautifully in the mirror can collapse in a photograph taken from the aisle.
Bring the veil, the earrings, and a picture of the dress. Bring the hairbrush you actually use. The trial is booked far enough ahead that colour, extensions or a treatment can still be arranged if the look needs them.
The morning itself
Wedding hair is a logistics job as much as a styling one. Timings are written out and worked backwards from the car, with the bride placed in the running order where she will be calmest — usually not last. Mothers, sisters and bridesmaids are scheduled around her, not squeezed in.
The finish is built to last eighteen hours through hugging, dancing and a change of light, and you leave with the pins and the two-minute instruction for putting a fallen piece back yourself at eleven at night.
Red carpet, press and editorial
The same discipline applies to an evening that will be photographed. Hakim has been Head of Hair Design at London Fashion Week and has spent twenty years finishing hair that has to survive a flash and a long lens, and the house takes press nights, galas and shoots on that basis.
For evening work the atelier can open outside its published hours by arrangement. Ask when you book.
Questions we are asked
- How far ahead should I book a bridal trial?
- Three to six months before the wedding for most dates, and earlier for summer Saturdays. That leaves room for colour, extensions or treatments if the look calls for them.
- Do you travel to the wedding venue?
- The atelier's preference is that the morning happens at Blenheim Street, where the light and the kit are right. Travel is possible by arrangement — ask at the trial.
- Can you style the bridal party as well?
- Yes. Mothers, sisters and bridesmaids are scheduled around the bride with written timings worked backwards from the car.
- Do you do red carpet and press-night hair?
- Yes, and the atelier can open outside published hours by arrangement for evening work.