The Truth About Meghan Markle's Wedding Hair
If you were one of the many people who took to social media to share your not-so-nice thoughts on Meghan Markle's slightly loose hairstyle, I’m here to fill you in on a few things: 1) It was intentionally unstructured; 2) she had a trial and collaborated on the style, so she knew what to expect; 3) she loved her look; and 4) no, she did not swap out hairstylists for her reception because she didn't like her wedding hair, so calm down.
Here's how I know this to be true: I went straight to the source, NYC-based celebrity hairstylist Serge Normant, who met Markle a year ago through friends, and was asked (two months in advance!!) to coif her hair on her wedding day.
Here's what I know, have learned, and am here to relay:
As you know, on May 19, California commoner Meghan Markle drove in Rolls Royce style to marry her prince in custom Givenchy with Queen Mary's diamond-encrusted tiara gently placed (and heavily pinned) onto her head. Her makeup was done by makeup artist Daniel Martin and her hair was finessed, as you now know, by Serge Normant. But while her face and hair both looked stunning, it was the latter that had everyone talking.
The chatter began when royal fans started noticing a few stray pieces that were slightly separating from Markle's style en route to St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle...
...and stayed that way as she walked down the aisle to meet her prince:
But contrary to what people were saying on social, her hair was meant to be loose and effortless. According to Normant, "It's what we decided on together." This is a man who touches the tresses of everyone from Gisele to Julia Roberts to Sarah Jessica Parker on the regular, and executes insanely gorgeous editorial hair looks for publications all over the world, so if he didn't want a hair to be out of place, it wouldn't be. But he also acknowledged that "sometimes hair takes on a life of its own."
"I wanted her to be able to have [face-framing pieces] in the front, because that style is very her, but when we put the veil on, we tucked them behind her ears to make it look a little cleaner," Normant explains. "I loved that during the ceremony one side was more tucked in and one side was looser, and then when she stepped out [after the wedding] into the wind, the little pieces came out and had movement, which is exactly what I was personally hoping for."
"The thing is, there is a difference between coming undone [and separating a bit]," he continues. "Coming undone means that it just didn't stay how it was supposed to when it was never meant to be [sleek and stiff]. For me, it was meant to be loose, because I love hair that moves, to be quite honest. If we would have decided to do something extremely sleek and tight that would have been different, but I knew [her hair] would be in front of her face at one point, so I liked the way it evolved."
"Personally, I liked the way she looked throughout the entire event," he says, "and I liked the way the hair the hair flew a bit when she was outside on the steps of the chapel and even when they got in the carriage - I love that kind of easiness."
After the ceremony, Normant mentioned he saw the flyaways that were created in the wind, but said he wasn't bothered by them (and seemingly neither was Meghan, TBH, because she was too busy being a DUCHESS). "We didn't want it to feel too structured," he says. "The structure was meant to be in the back - we were going for a controlled, messy, deconstructed bun - but there was only so much detail you could see through the veil. For any wedding, whether there is a tiara or not, there will most likely be a veil that covers a big part of the hair. So all you really end up seeing are the proportions through the transparency [of the veil] and the front pieces. For her style, we wanted [the focus] to be the center part, the tiara, which had a beautiful graphicness to it, and the pieces on the side."
Though the internet is a big (and sometimes bad) place, Normant isn't letting the haters get to him: "I try not to pay attention to what people are saying; it seems that a lot of people loved the way she looked and, for me, as long as she is happy and comfortable that's all that matters," he says. "Whether people think the style was right for this event or not, I mean, I can only do what I know how to do and I did the best I could."
Also, it's not like she's a model, standing at a press presentation not moving. I mean, a veil was pulled over her head by a man who isn't a professional veil-puller-off-er.
"I can't speak for everyone else, but I like the way easiness of her hair compared to a hard line [of hair] in front," Normant adds. "You know, hair moves during the day, so yes, you can see that, but I do like it. I mean, with how many millions of people who watched it, some people will always criticize what I've done. I just didn't expect that people would react the way they did about two or three loose pieces in the front to give it softness."
"But I'm at that point when you do something creative, it's all in the eyes of the beholder and I'm happy with what I did," he says. "What I can't do is please the whole world, but when I look at pictures of her, I think she looks absolutely radiant and while I'm sorry that some people didn't like it, I appreciate everyone's comments. For me, it was such a dreamy day, so that's the way I'd like to look at it."
Normant told me that post carriage ride, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex took official royal pictures inside...
...and for the outdoor photos, Normant removed the veil and untucked Markle's tendrils so they'd frame her face once again. See!
Once the pictures were done being taken, the newlyweds began prepping for their reception. At that point, Normant's duties were finished, as he was always - and only - booked to do Markle's hair for the wedding. According to a reliable source, George Northwood, who's been doing her hair sometimes in the UK, was booked in advance to do Markle's hair for the reception. Because, being the loyal royal she is, she probably wanted to show him some love too.
Either way, while her hair was similar to her wedding look, the hairstylist swap was, in fact, premeditated versus a last-minute call. So, bye, haters!
You Might Also Like
Solve the daily Crossword
