Your choice of wedding hairstyle can either make or break your overall look on your wedding ceremony. Whether you’re going for an elaborate updo, a half-up, half-down hairstyle or simply letting your locks flow freely with just some parts of your hair pinned back, you need the right bridal hair accessory to keep your gorgeous tendrils locked in place.

The hair pin is the perfect device you should use to make sure every single strand of your hair is in its proper position throughout the wedding ceremony and even until well after the reception. Hair pins come crafted from different materials with various styles and designs.

Hair Pin Variety

These hair accessories are made of ivory, bronze, wood and various metals especially designed to keep your locks firmly in place. Hair pins were used by women from ancient Egypt and ancient Assyria to adorn their locks and to help keep their elaborate hairstyles look neat and elegant.

A hair pin can be needle-like and loaded with ornaments and jewels, or it can be simple and utilitarian, created to simply "blend in" with the bride’s hair after being inserted into the hairdo.

These hair pins also come in varying lengths. Hair pins can be fashioned from wire that’s bent in half, with a u-shaped end and kinks on one side of the wire. These hair pins range from two to six inches in length. The kinks on the hair pin are designed to help the pin remain immovable during ordinary movements.

Whatever hairstyle you decide to sport on your big day, remember that hair pins help add that necessary flair and extra appeal to an otherwise simple or “bordering-on-boring” hairdo.

Tips for Choosing Hair Pins

To help you pick out your bridal hair pins, here is a list of tips designed to lead you to the perfect bridal hair accessories for you.

Tip 1: Before you can choose your hairstyle, make sure you’ve already picked out your wedding dress.

Your wedding dress style will help you and your hairstylist determine the appropriate hairstyle that will complement your dress.

Tip 2: When you go to your stylist, bring a picture of your dress to help your stylist determine the perfect hairstyle for you.

Depending on your hairstyle, your stylist will tell you how many hair pins you need to keep your locks in place.

Tip 3: Look for the perfect hair pins and other hair accessories online, in newspapers and bridal magazines.

Before purchasing or placing orders for specific hair pin styles, be sure to check all the available hair pin styles for great bargains and fabulous designs.

Tip 4: Consider the theme of your wedding when picking out your hair pins.

For a garden wedding, hair pins made to resemble flowers or pins adorned with flower appliqués can help you attain the overall look you’re after. You could also go for dragonfly-shaped wedding hair pins and diamond-studded hair pins to add an extra sparkle and shine to your hairstyle.

If you’re wearing a dress adorned by freshwater pearls, you can find matching hair pins that would emphasize your gown design and style.

Tip 5: Ask for second and third opinions on your hair pin choice.

Ask your stylist, a close friend and even your mother if your choice of hair pin design or style is enough or if they think it’s a tad bit overboard.

Tip 6: Tip 5 brings us to the last tip, which is to remember not to go overboard when using hair pins.

If you’re using hair pins, chances are, you’re also using hairspray to keep those tendrils and pins in place. Although decorative hair pins are lovely and feminine, be careful that you don’t put too much hair pins on your hairstyle.

Having too much hair pins on your hair would make these pins difficult to remove. Too much hair pins could also cause the early collapse of your chosen hairstyle, especially if you’re sporting an updo.

While decorative pins on the other hand, may be pretty, too much of these embellishments will only draw attention away from your magnificent hairstyle, and your stylist surely did not spend three hours dressing your hair for your elaborate hairstyle to wilt unnoticed.

Here’s a video on hair pins used for wedding hairstyles.

Use your hair pins to bring emphasis to your hairstyle, not to act as the focal point of your entire head.