Laura's Winter Wedding at Kingscote Barn

As a bridal hair specialist I travel across the country creating hair for brides at some stunning venues, one of my favourite venues is Kingscote Barn and just happens to be only half an hour away from where I live in Stroud.

Kingscote Barn is one of the most popular wedding venues in the Cotswolds and certainly I find that I am there a lot creating bridal hairstyles for some amazing weddings. Last year a quarter of all the brides that I styled were at Kingscote Barn, that shows the popularity of this venue. The interesting thing though is that every wedding that I do here seems like the first one for the great team at the barn, they really do put in 110%.

Laura went for a real classic bridal hair style. I love this sort of look, it really looks back to vintage Hollywood style updo's and it was the perfect style to compliment the look that Laura was going for. 

Dressed in a sparkling white dress and fur wrap Laura looked every inch the perfect winter bride.

I met a great photographer called Paul from Vanda Photography who was in charge of capturing the memories of the day, I think that the following images really give the feel of how magical Laura and Aaron's day was for them both.

Fordham Hair Design is based in Stroud in the Cotswolds. Owner Chris Fordham is the winner of 'Best Bridal Hair Stylist' SW in the 'Wedding Industry Awards' and has become one of the UK's leading bridal hair specialists. With over 20 years experience he is able to create classical, vintage and contemporary bridal hair style. Available to style hair in Gloucestershire, The Cotswolds, Bristol, Bath, Wiltshire, Somerset and further...

Stonehouse Court Wedding near Stroud

I headed from Stroud over to the town of Stonehouse for Lou's wedding at the impressive Stonehouse Court Hotel, originally a 17th Century manor house.

I was really looking forward to styling Lou's hair this morning as not only was I creating a really fantastic style but I was doing it for such a lovely bride!

I get to meet brides ahead of their wedding to have a trial run of the style we're going to do for their big day and when I went to do Lou's hair it was such a great experience, Lou is such a great person and creating this style really brought out my creative edge!

The interesting thing with this style is that it looks very simple as if it has just been curled and pinned up quickly....how deceptive! It's very often the very simple looking styles that take more work to make them look so soft, elegant and effortless!

In this instance Lou had beautiful hair naturally but we needed to increase the bulk of her hair to make the style look 'full' enough, the secret was clip in hair extensions. Once I'd curled Lou's hair I clipped the hair up adding the extensions here and there to seamlessly blend the two together to create this stunning bridal look.

Two of the bridesmaids went for a half up/half down look which is great for bridal hairstyles, individual jewels were added to the finished styles for decoration.

This style shows a classic 'French Pleat roll', a true classical style that is always a winner for brides and bridesmaids alike.

Whilst I was styling, the videographer and photographer arrived, Ben is from The Wedding Cut, a really nice guy who runs this company that will both video and photograph your wedding, you can see a preview of Lou's wedding video on his website. Here are some of his great pics of the wedding preparation that he kindly emailed over...

Fordham Hair Design is based in Stroud in the Cotswolds. Owner Chris Fordham is the winner of 'Best Bridal Hair Stylist' SW in the 'Wedding Industry Awards' and has become one of the UK's leading bridal hair specialists. With over 20 years experience he is able to create classical, vintage and contemporary bridal hair style. Available to style hair in Gloucestershire, The Cotswolds, Bristol, Bath, Wiltshire, Somerset and further... 

Emma's Wedding in Wiltshire & Kingscote Barn Nr Stroud

An early start saw me heading down to Wiltshire to a gorgeous little village where Emma lives and was getting married. The ceremony was held at the village church and then they held the reception at Kingscote Barn 

Clare Bryce was in charge of make-up, it's always good when Clare and I work together as we know what each other is thinking and work so well together making amazing bridal looks, tongue in cheek we are nicknamed .... 'The Dream Team!' 

Adding to the trio of our 'Dream Team' was photographer Matt Davis, the eagle eyed readers out there will notice his logo in the corner of most of the photos on this blog entry, his photos are fantastic!

Emma wanted a very relaxed hair style for her wedding, having added a soft wave to the hair I took the sides back and wove the back together adding diamante clips 

A side bun style was the order of the day for the bridesmaid I styled who, pictured above, looked fantastic in Midnight blue with a silver grey sash. Having styled the 2 girls I turned my attention to helping 'Mum' get ready, blow drying her hair before attaching and fixing the fascinator into place

 

The following pictures  (Credit ... Matt Davis) tell the rest of the story of Emma's day as she finished getting ready, then the ceremony in the church down the road and celebrations at Kingscote Barn near Stroud.

Fordham Hair Design is based in Stroud in the Cotswolds. Owner Chris Fordham is winner of 'Best Bridal Hair Stylist' SW in the 'Wedding Industry Awards' and has become one of the UK's leading bridal hair specialists. Available to style hair in Gloucestershire, The Cotswolds, Bristol, Bath, Wiltshire, Somerset and further... 

2012 Wedding Industry Awards .. Winning hairdresser

A landmark occasion arrived this week when I attended The 2012 Wedding Industry Awards. Not only was I in awe of being invited to such a glamorous award ceremony but to attend as one of the winners was amazing! 'Officially crowned' (pun intended!) Best Bridal Hair Stylist (South West)

Heading down to the big smoke with me was my partner in crime Clare Bryce (Bridal Make up Specialist) regulars of The Fordham Hair Blog' will know that Clare and I work together on weddings as the 'Dream Team' for wedding make-overs!

Before the ceremony Clare had twisted my arm into styling her hair for her (her exact words were something like... ' you can't expect me to go to the award with a winning stylist without a winning hair do!!' )

As one of the UK's leading bridal hair stylists not only am I passionate about the hair but also the accessories that go into the style. I regularly source vintage pieces for clients of mine. So heading out on a hunt for a bit of vintage sparkle to add the finishing touch to a gorgeous side bun chignon, I found this diamond clip.  

Vintage hair done we headed out to the ceremony but not before stopping in front of 'Eros' at Piccadilly Circus toi take true tourist photos of each other (it's not often our other halves let us leave The Cotswolds for 24 hours of freedom!)

 The venue for the 'do' was the world famous Cafe De Paris in the heart of London's West End. This ultra glamorous club has played host to scores of famous celebrities over the years including Marlene Dietrich, Frank Sinatra and Grace Kelly to name but a few!

We had a great night as the awards were handed out on stage and the ceremony was expertly handled by Sky TV's presenter and royal correspondent Sarah Hewson. It was an amazing night of flowing champagne and meeting old friends and making new ones....here's to the 2013 Wedding Industry Awards!!

Fordham Hair Design is based in Stroud in the Cotswolds. Owner Chris Fordham is winner of 'Best Bridal Hair Stylist' for The South West in the 'Wedding Industry Awards' and has become one of the UK's leading bridal hair specialists. Available to style hair in Gloucestershire, The Cotswolds, Bristol, Bath, Wiltshire, Somerset and further... 

Guyers House Wedding Hair Stylist

Catching up with updating the wedding hair blog, today's post is from the beginning of December. People often ask which are the busiest months for me with bridal hairstyling, December 2011 certainly proved to be one of my busiest months!

I travelled down to Wiltshire to style Amy's wedding hair at the beautiful 'Guyers House' in Corsham, a lovely boutique hotel in a glorious secluded setting.

 I started out with styling the bridesmaids hair, both bridesmaids had asked for a french roll style, a classical and timeless style which I then finished with antique cream roses individually pinned into place.

 

For Amy we went down the 'Classical' vintage path, there is a real movement in bridal styling towards more classical vintage hair styling, the shabby chic look is still very much in vogue but this more refined vintage look is becoming stronger. Think Downton Abbey, fur wraps, hand finished lace edging to dresses and veils,  elegant Edwardian hair styling and you get the idea!

The last few moments of getting a bridal party ready for the ceremony very often ends in an 'all hands to the deck' moment, here Amy is being laced into her stunning gown whilst Clare Bryce (Pure Pampering Gloucester) applies a final sweep of gloss.

All finished and ready to go the bridesmaids looking fabulous in beautiful 'petrol blue' gowns.....


Fordham Hair Design is based in Stroud in the Cotswolds. Owner Chris Fordham is winner of 'Best Bridal Hair Stylist' for The South West in the 'Wedding Industry Awards'. Available to style hair in Gloucestershire, The Cotswolds, Bristol, Bath, Wiltshire, Somerset and further...

The Greenway Hotel Cheltenham Wedding Hair Styling

The Greenway Hotel and Spa was the venue for Carole's wedding in November. This is a truly gorgeous luxury hotel just outside the regency spa town Cheltenham.

Starting with the bridesmaids hair, I curled them both then styled one into a half up hairstyle with woven detail below the crown area and diamante finished hair pins.

The other bridesmaid went for a side bun hairstyle which looked ultra glamorous with a vintage diamond clip added for detail.

Carole chose a half up hairstyle which I took to one side to add interest and also I wove curls around each other at the back for more detail. A simple diamante hair band added the finishing touch to this stunning elegant bridal hairstyle.

Completing the look with a beautiful feather shrug, Carole looked stunning and ready for her winter wedding!

Fordham Hair Design is based in Stroud in the Cotswolds. Owner Chris Fordham is winner of 'Best Bridal Hair Stylist' for The South West in the 'Wedding Industry Awards'. Available to style hair in Gloucestershire, The Cotswolds, Bristol, Bath, Wiltshire, Somerset and further...

Thornbury Castle Wedding in October

Abbie's Wedding at Thornbury Castle


I'm playing catch up with the blog at the moment. This year has been one of the busiest ever for Fordham Hair Design, I have travelled all over the place styling hair for some stunning weddings, counties and areas include ...  Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Somerset, Oxfordshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Wales!

So here is the first catch up Wedding from October ...

 Abbie's wedding was at Thornbury Castle in Gloucestershire, this castle just oooozes with history, once owned by the Tudor royals you feel as if Henry VIII is going to walk around the corner any minute!

 Abbie's bridesmaid went for an all down do that I created by using heated rollers to add body and volume

Abbie, went for a curled up do with a vintage feel, perfect for her stunning wedding dress with lace bolero jacket and perfect for the historic castle venue. I styled it with GHD's, curling the hair before pinning up and finishing it with fabric and bead tudor roses.

Clare from Pure Pampering was with me creating gorgeous bridal make up for the girls, we had a great morning helping them get ready and it was lovely to meet up with Sarah Cameron again who was photographing Abbie's wedding.