I went for my hair trial last Sunday afternoon. Kim and Marsha came with me for moral support and to make sure I did not walk out of the salon looking like I belonged in the broadway show "Rock of Ages."

Jenn, the stylist, was a wizard. She turned my mostly unmanageable poofy hair into pretty, polished, soft curls.

I did, however, learn something very important during the trial. I thought I was just going to be able to see what my hair would look like... but I learned to take my delicate skin seriously. Allergies are serious business.

At the last moment, she sprayed me with her long-lasting hairspray... and I got hives. Weird, long-lasting, puffy hives on my cheeks from where the spray had landed.

I am so very thankful we learned this during the trial... and not on the actual wedding day. It's an easy solution--I'll just bring my own hairspray--but still, pretty funny in retrospect.

I am succumbing to a recent "bridal fad" to complete the hairstyle. A few decades ago, brides wore tiaras to accent their hairstyle. And then, large ornate hair bands. And then, a few years ago, they wore ornate hairpins. Last year, they wore 1920s "hair fascinators" and bird-cage veils. Recently, the fad has been the "big arse hair flower."

Our wedding is heavily featuring dahlias. They are my most favorite flower. We're having a single large dahlia decorate our otherwise simple buttercream cakes, and both Kim and I will have them in our bouquets.

I found an artist, through www.etsy.com, and she makes custom clay dahlia hair clips. She makes each petal by hand, without using a cookie cutter, and carefully textures, tints, and assembles the flower petal by petal. The dahlias for the hair clips contain 102+ petals... she stopped counting after she got to 102. They are lightweight, will never wilt in the Vermont humidity, and are extremely affordable.



She makes each dahlia by hand for each client; my flower will be white with a light pink center. She is so very good at her craft: I cannot even tell this is a fake flower! After the wedding, I'll be able to capitalize on the fad and sell it quickly through a second-hand bridal site, like BravoBride.