How Much Should I Budget For My Wedding Hair Accessories?
Image credit: Jim Johnson
The finishing touches to your bridal look may be small but the costs can add up if you’re not fully aware of how much certain accessories cost.
And as one of the last things you buy, many brides end up settling for what they can afford, rather than something they fall in love with.
I’m going to help you work out what you need to spend on average by covering the following things (feel free to jump around by clicking the links!) or, if you prefer, you can watch my IGTV instead, which covers everything:
Is it really worth investing in my bridal accessories?
Cost versus value
We’ve all been there. Something sparkly catches our eye online and it is less than a tenner. What can you lose, right?
My concern about accessories that look detailed and cost very little is this: how much do the people get paid to make them? Have they been made ethically? (As in, have they used illegal child labour? Do the makers get a fair wage for their work?) What materials are they actually made from?
There is a BIG difference between plastic pearls and freshwater or Swarovski ones. The problem is that if you don’t know what you’re looking at, you may not be able to tell from a picture.
Plastic pearls will feel plastic to touch and the colour may chip off them. The sheen is also not as natural as on say a Swarovski pearl, which is a pearl created from crystal and then coated with a pearl finish. These are used widely in your mid to high range price points and they are worth the extra spend.
The same is true of crystals. I, and many other high end designers, use almost exclusively Swarovski crystals as they have a beautiful sparkle to them. Other crystals can appear dull, lacklustre or may even be plastic.
It’s usually a good indicator that the materials used aren’t of a high quality if someone is selling an intricate hair vine for £20.
Is it worth paying the extra? Yes, it is. You are worth more than knock off beading. You’ve put so much time and effort in to planning your wedding and a cheap hair accessory against a beautiful dress is going to make a difference.
When looking at the price of accessories, remember you are investing in high quality materials, a piece that will not break when you pick it up and ethical work practices.
Is it really worth investing in my bridal accessories?
The wedding industry is built on providing you with an experience.
Our job as suppliers is to make you feel amazing, elegant and confident.
It is definitely worth investing in your accessories as the experience will be so much nicer and make you feel that you matter. You’ll have an accessory that you feel special wearing, and that will make you walk taller and feel more confident.
It may seem trivial, but let’s imagine that you order an accessory off eBay for a fiver, it comes shoved in to an envelope, bent and misshapen and covered in bubble wrap. The envelope is torn.
How do you feel then? Me? I don’t think I’d feel so special wearing it in my hair and wonder why I didn’t just use that fiver for a coffee and cake at Costa. Or I’d not wear it and order something else, spending more money than I’d intended to in the first place.
How much should I be prepared to spend?
It’s probably easier to put this in terms of different accessories to give you a clearer idea.
Generally, the more detail an accessory has, the more you should expect to pay. Hair vines can range anywhere from £150 - £400, with most being priced at the middle ground of around £200. The length of the vine might also affect the cost, so if you’re on a tight budget but have fallen for certain details, a shorter version of a vine might cost you less but won’t compromise on the overall look.
Hair combs and tiaras are similar, starting generally around £80. For a side tiara or princess style tiara, I would aim to budget between £150 and £250. The length of the hair comb can be a factor in price, with larger, more detailed combs costing around £200, but a smaller version may save you a bit of money.
Hair pins come in sets so are great options if you’re on a stricter budget. You can get a fair bit of detail on a pin, so by working with a designer, you can create something that looks like a hair vine when you strategically pin them in your hair. This is also a great way for making it look like you have a vine weaved through plaits without getting it tangled up in your hair!
Again, for a set of simple pins, particularly for bridesmaids, you should budget around £40-£60 for a set. For more detailed pins for yourself, a set of 3 at around £150 - £180 is a reasonable budget for something intricate that coordinates with details on your dress.
Things to look out for - takeaways for you right now!
We buy with our hearts and then justify with out heads.
If an accessory you love is chosen with your heart, you will feel exquisite wearing it (it really does make a huge difference - I’d ask you to trust me on that but I’d rather you see for yourself!). When we buy with our heads, we don’t buy things that match up to out expectations or make us feel our best.
Be wary of anyone who claims they can recreate someone else’s designs for less
Legitimate designers factor in the small details, such as excellent customer service, little surprises to make the experience special for you and their ideas are their own. Anyone publicly saying they can recreate someone else’s work is not going to replicate the piece of a higher end designer to the same standard.
Unfortunately I’ve seen companies use this in their advertising. Please avoid at all costs, because it is not a good investment of your money and isn’t fair to the people who take the time to create the designs in the first place (planning a hair vine can take hours sometimes before even starting to make it). It would be better to see if the designer you love can create something similar within your price range.
There is so much more included in your accessory than you see in the price
Think about the overall experience, priority shipping included, ethical practices and processes, beautiful packaging that reflects the quality of your accessory, quality materials and excellent customer service.
For example, for each of my bespoke orders, I create a little story about the accessories being made for the bride to keep, create features on my blog and send a little something blue for good luck. It’s the little details that enhance the experience, and they’re things that you won’t get with bargain basement accessories.
The overall budget?
Factor in around £200 to kit out yourself and around £50 per bridesmaids. If your hair accessory works out at the top end of your budget, you could always buy a single set of pins and give one to each bridesmaid, helping you to keep within budget.
If you’d like to see what options are available to you, get in touch and I’ll be happy to help! You are not committed to working with me if you do, but it will give you a good starting point for planning your accessories. It’s completely free too!
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