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The Most Important Part of Your Wedding Isn’t Your Dress

It’s your Jennifer Behr headpiece.

Designers
The Most Important Part of Your Wedding Isn’t Your Dress
Weston Wells
Tara Gonzalez
Jennifer Behr headpiece is so far beyond anything else youd ever find in the hair accessories category—light-years away from the flower crown you probably think of when you hear the word headpiece. Behr treats her designs like jewelry with shiny crystals, hand-painted gold flowers, and intricacies that go beyond scrunchies and barrettes. And because of those details, her headpieces are everywhere, worn by the biggest stars at the Oscars and pinned onto the done-up curls of brides. Chances are you’ve seen them, whether you realize it or not.

 

“I went to school for sculpture and art history, so I had sort of planned to do sculpture or painting, Behr says. “I started in school making hats!” Working for a milliner and then for Frédéric Fekkai, she began to notice that there were big hats and big hairstyles, but no big accessories to match. “There was nothing else in the luxury fashion market then. I loved the idea of taking headpieces that had always been so special and ceremonial and bringing them back to life.” Behr brought them to life one hundred and fifty times over with all the pieces in her namesake line; “Originally we did twenty styles. Now I’m like, ‘AHH! There are hundreds!’” Even if she’s a little overwhelmed at how big her line has become, we can’t help but be (a bit selfishly) excited that there are now so many options for dressing up our hair.

We aren’t the only ones. “Eva Chen is a friend, and we made one of her wedding headpieces,” Behr says. “She even introduced us to Eric Daman, the costume designer for Gossip Girl and Sex & the City.” And even if her shiny pieces were destined for stardom on the pages of glossy magazines and TV screens, she’s recently seen a shift in the bridal market that’s resulted in them taking a walk down the aisle. (And yes, she also takes bridal appointments in her studio.)

Behr remembers a time when convincing someone to wear a statement headpiece (especially for their wedding) was unimaginable. “People were always like, I could never wear that!” She favors the bold over the dainty and is starting to see people taking the kind of risks she lives and designs for. “Now for weddings, people are looking for statement headpieces or statement earrings. They are willing to be a little more adventurous than before.”

Her personal favorite wedding trend is also unconventional (and pink!). “I think color in bridal is great! There has been a real blush trend in wedding dresses the past couple of years. I think its really flattering.” As we walk through her studio, we see two women painting gold roses with light pink paint and are immediately reminded of CHANEL’s Haute Couture spring 17 show, with Lily-Rose Depp closing in a sea of blush-pink ruffles. “We have been doing a lot of these hand-painted blush tones, and I think they are really pretty in the hair and against the skin.”

“I think when things are made by hand, they have a certain spirit that people feel when they pick them up.” It’s the kind of spirit that makes Khloé Kardashian write a handmade thank-you note, that makes you want to take a risk on your wedding day, whether it be big and gold, or soft and pink, or shiny and silver. It’s the kind of spirit that makes us want to wear glitter in our hair and have a wedding tomorrow. That’s a trend we can get behind.

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