Offbeat Bride | Short hairstyles for hottie brides

I have short hair and have no interest in growing it out for the wedding. When I do searches for short hairstyles, you would not believe the psychotic blowout do's that come up. Where can I find a good selection of cool short hairstyles online? -Nicole

Nicole, look no further! I'm not sure how short you mean by short (inch-long pixie cut or chin-length bob?) or whether you're curly or straight or wavy, but regardless short hair means you can go high drama with your style. I went and scoured the archives and a few of my favorite shots from the photo pool, and here's what I came up with for you …

Well-styled short cut, no veil or other distractions:

Spiked pixie cut, with a feather fascinator:
Exploding dog tattoo

Wavy bob with a floral net veil:

Straight bob with a butterfly:

Bright pink spiked pixie:

Dramatic inverted bob puffed with daisies:

Straight bob with a veil:

Two inspirations in one: finger curls with a veil on the left, and faux hawky hotness on the right:

Short hair with tiara:

Straight bob with a dramatic cocktail hat:

Pixie cut with a headpiece:

Straight bob with a mesh headband:

I could keep going, but I'll open this one to the peanut gallery — offbeat brides, what's your favorite short-hair wedding style inspiration? Let's shower Nicole with links!

Comments (53)

On November 8th, 2007 at 6:53 AM
Kim said

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the idea of the mesh headband in that last picture. It's pretty, and a little frou-frou but with a modern take. so cool!

Reply to this comment
On November 8th, 2007 at 8:11 AM
Bevin said

Thank you for this! I'm growing my hair a little bit just so I have more options, but it's great to finally (FINALLY!) see some short wedding styles.

Reply to this comment
On November 8th, 2007 at 8:36 AM
Tammy said

I love the mesh headband in the last one. It's quite cute.

Sadly, I have no suggestions for short hairstyles. I have classic length hair (butt length). I love having long hair. )

Reply to this comment
On November 8th, 2007 at 10:04 AM
Lily said

I know that the picture shows a long style, but I love these little feather pins! One of the great things about short hair is that you can do a lot with it with just a handful of hairpins . I've seen a couple of good ones on theknot.com if you are willing to wade through all the frou-frou stuff.

Reply to this comment
On November 8th, 2007 at 10:52 AM
Liana said

Thanks so much for this! My hair is growing back from chemo and I have been kind of stressing on what to do!

Reply to this comment
On November 8th, 2007 at 6:02 PM
Abbie said

Wow! These are great…I've got short hair and it drives me CRAZY when I look for wedding hairstyles and they are ALL long…thanks offbeatbride!

Reply to this comment
On November 8th, 2007 at 7:03 PM
Nicole said

Yay! I like the wavy bob with the floral net veil best, but my hair doesn't do wavy (boo hoo). I also like the straight bob with the veil, that's about my length. I will keep checking this page for more comment post suggestions!

Reply to this comment
On November 9th, 2007 at 12:08 AM
Sam said

I think there's also a lot to be said for ging to a hairdresser you trust a few weeks before and saying "Do whatever you want" and see what they come up with.

Reply to this comment
On November 9th, 2007 at 4:44 PM
Sara said

O love the finger curls and the mesh band… but they're all good and suit each bride. I also LOVE that red cocktail hat…. that thing rocks.

Reply to this comment
On November 9th, 2007 at 9:06 PM
Melissa said

I'm a short-haired bride and I'm going to be rocking the mesh hair band, most likely. I'd love to do a feather headpiece, but the ones I've been looking at are most expensive than my dress.

Reply to this comment
On November 10th, 2007 at 8:23 PM
Jesse said

Melissa, you should check out www.unveiledbridaldesigns.com!

Reply to this comment
On November 11th, 2007 at 8:41 AM
Shelene said

Another option for where to find feather fascinators is Ebay– I've found a few really fabulous ones for really reasonable prices. Another of my fave wedding hair looks is the classic Billy Holiday flower behind the ear.

Reply to this comment
On November 26th, 2007 at 10:16 AM
Becki said

Yummy! Thank you so much for doing this! I HATE having my hair "done" (i.e. curled and poofy) and am glad see DIY ways to rock my bob.

Reply to this comment
On December 3rd, 2007 at 5:23 PM
Steph said

I really love the floral net veil. That's just gorgeous. (They all are, but that's the one I most see myself having.)

Reply to this comment
On January 18th, 2008 at 11:38 AM
ange said

Thanks for this section! I have always had long hair, but recently cut 11 inches off for Locks of Love. I love my short hair so much and I have no plans of growing it out anytime soon!

Maybe I can ad some highlights to my hair to match my flowers.

Reply to this comment
On January 29th, 2008 at 8:30 AM
Jesse said

THanks for all your great advice. I have a very short and modern looking A-line bob and got a sleek, informal gown. I never thought I'd like the long veil but I tried a floor-length one clipped to the BACK of the crown of my head and I loved it! It made my informal dress look a little more special.

Reply to this comment
On January 29th, 2008 at 11:25 AM
Trish said

THANK YOU!!

I'm so glad I came across this. I've been shaving my head bald for a couple years and have been growing it back for the wedding. I recently gave up cause it's not me. It's awesome to see these! I love the finger curls and the mesh headband too.

Reply to this comment
On January 30th, 2008 at 12:50 PM
Blair said

yay! I had always had crazy long hair all my life , and chopped it when I turned 18 and never went back (just shorter and shorter) and have had an A-Line due for quite a while now. I grew it out for almost a year after getting engaged and HATED it. So my "hair girl" and I decieded it was not worth it and am now going with the finger curl type look with nice big side bangs pulled to the side for a nice elegant feel to it. Plus I am rocking the rinestone vail for the rockstar touch!

Reply to this comment
On February 1st, 2008 at 3:07 PM
Erin said

I came across this via another indie wedding website, and just wanted to add my two cents. I've got a pixie cut, and I wore a net veil for the ceremony and a headband for the reception (both DIY).

http://i37.photobucket.com/alb…g_0072.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/alb…g_0221.jpg

Reply to this comment
On February 3rd, 2008 at 9:25 PM
robin said

this was PERFECT! where were you last Oct! I did a pixie with a wreath of rosebuds with ribbons, but I was looking for non-icky pics JUST LIKE THIS!

Reply to this comment
On February 10th, 2008 at 10:37 AM
Jennifer said

I had short hair for my wedding, and I went with a simple flower over one ear. It wasn't until after the wedding until I found some great floral clips at retroglamourgirl.com. They seem great for the non-veil, DIY-impaired types (i.e. myself).

Reply to this comment
On February 19th, 2008 at 11:27 AM
ziy said

I appreciate these for sure… but what about serious curls? my hair has also been growing back from chemo, but it's super thick outta control curliness. I want to look myself for the wedding, but don't know how to tame my curls, or what to tame then into…

Reply to this comment
On February 22nd, 2008 at 4:46 PM
Shawna said

I really like the floral net veil… anyone know where to find one?

Reply to this comment
On February 27th, 2008 at 10:02 AM
V said

Hmm….maybe I could do the mesh headband, but my hair is super short, like, just an inch or so, but I want to do something fun with it. I need some dyke suggestions–nothing too feminine, but not super butch, either.

Reply to this comment
On March 21st, 2008 at 5:59 AM
joebai said

i like Wavy bob with a floral net veil, it look very beautiful.

Reply to this comment
On May 6th, 2008 at 12:53 PM
Kym said

I love the Mesh Headband. Does anyone know where I can find one or how to make one?

Reply to this comment
On May 25th, 2008 at 9:48 AM
Jill said

Try these very affordable feather headbands and barrettes from Gaia Trove Chicago on Etsy.com.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5869576

Reply to this comment
On May 26th, 2008 at 10:29 AM
Jonesy said

I love this brides hair, and her sleeve looks amazing on her…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/p…341016875/

Reply to this comment
On June 19th, 2008 at 4:26 PM
Bex said

even just a plain headband looks nice…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9…396969615/

You cant see it, but it has a diamante thingey on the other side.

Reply to this comment
On July 11th, 2008 at 11:00 AM
bunnygrrl said

I keep my hair shaved very close, so I was spazzing out about what to do for a tiara or some-such to decorate my head. I love the feather fascinaters! I'll just have to spirit gum it to my scalp!

Reply to this comment
On August 18th, 2008 at 11:21 AM
Jill said

This makes me want to cut my hair before my wedding

Reply to this comment
On August 22nd, 2008 at 3:53 AM
alex said

Hmm, my wife is going to have her hair cut short soon. Maybe I should show her these pics before she goes!

Reply to this comment
On September 10th, 2008 at 5:49 AM
Tracey said

please help, i've got short spikey hair, im only getting married but dont want to grow my hair, i love it, i need a style thats going to make me look sophisticated and im wearing a veil over my face…please help, i beg you all

Reply to this comment
On September 19th, 2008 at 2:12 PM
kaitlyn said

where might i find a veil similar to the 'wavy bob with floral net veil'? i LOVE that look. wasn't thinking i wanted a veil but that photo may have just changed my mind.

Reply to this comment
On September 21st, 2008 at 8:10 AM
Lisa said

try etsy!! look under "french netting" or birdcage veil. i just purchased one for like $20.00… you can find good prices or you can find vendors that are willing to make custom ones for you. you might have to buy the fascinator (headpiece, flower, feathers, etc.) seperately.

thanks for this, by the way. i'm sick of looking at luscious-long-haired bridal updo's.

Reply to this comment
On September 22nd, 2008 at 6:56 PM
Jeanette said

I am soooo glad I found this. It was not easy to find this site though. I have short hair and just wanted something to look at other than long , curled updo hair. All the other suggestions I found were "get extentions"!!!

Reply to this comment
On October 19th, 2008 at 2:50 PM
faith said

i don't only have short hair but i am also going bald. can any one tell me what kind of short style will be good for me?

Reply to this comment
On January 11th, 2009 at 12:42 PM
Kimi said

Now this is just fabulous for any girl who just does NOT look good with longer-than-ears hair [[namely, me]]. It's so hard to find nice ideas for short wedding hair but I think I got a few now that I found this page.

Reply to this comment
On January 21st, 2009 at 9:19 PM
christin said

I also love the mesh headband…never would have thought about that..i HATE long hair so this givens me confidence to keep my short for our upcoming wedding!! Thanks!

Reply to this comment
On February 2nd, 2009 at 2:42 AM
Kay said

Yay for offbeatbride! I have short hair and went to a wedding expo yesterday and when we spoke to the hair people, they said I could grow it for my june wedding or just get extensions. another woman suggested i wear a dress that's a bright colour like red to go with my 'funky' hair. what is wrong with these people? can't they accept that i want a plain white dress and short hair? am totally choosing a dress around my veil. am having a birdcage veil. might even cut my hair shorter.

Reply to this comment
On February 12th, 2009 at 7:51 AM
Karen said

Tracey, how about making your very short hair very flat on your head with gel? Then using a poofy-veil mounted on a headband..

Reply to this comment
On February 25th, 2009 at 7:39 AM
Amber said

I love pixie-cut brides
They are so much cuter.

Reply to this comment
On March 2nd, 2009 at 8:06 PM
hair goddess said

look up Burlesque clips….or Feather fascinators, or why not just use hair falls?

Reply to this comment
On March 10th, 2009 at 7:28 AM
Emmy said

I really appreciate this. I've been feeling like I have to grow my hair out for the wedding. I hate having long hair. I dont like it on my shoulders. But this makes me feel like its possible to have short hair and still be bridely.

Reply to this comment
On March 26th, 2009 at 10:24 AM
natalie said

thanks so much for this! i love the feather and the mesh headband idea! i have a "rihanna" style pixie with long bangs in front and have no idea if i want to grow my hair out or not for my wedding!!!! these were so helpful!

Reply to this comment
On April 16th, 2009 at 4:33 AM
Alex Davies said

Short hair is just made for headpieces

Reply to this comment
On April 19th, 2009 at 8:44 PM
Meran said

i also have short hair. it varies from a super short pixie, to an asymmetrical bob. for my sister's wedding a few years ago i did finger-waves.

my husband and i are renewing our vows and i want something a little more relaxed. i'm trying to figure a way to make my short hair work for this up-do shouldn't be too hard.

Reply to this comment
On July 2nd, 2009 at 12:19 AM
Tribal Squirrel said

Thank you so much! my family seems to be dead-set on me getting some sort of extensions so that i can have an up-do that most people envision on brides… i'm hoping that i can show them some of these ideas and turn them to my side!

Reply to this comment
On November 11th, 2009 at 9:12 PM
Tobi said

My hair is quite short, under 2 inches. For my wedding day, I just wore my hair as usual, but I had really long, dramatic earrings from an Indian store. They were gold with black stones, and they were huge, all the way to my shoulders. Anything more would have been too much.

Reply to this comment
On January 26th, 2010 at 3:34 PM
anna said

My mom threw such a fit over my dreadlocks, that I chopped them off just to make life easier on me. Now I have short hair and a wedding in 6 months. I knew I could find some short-hair pics here, there are none on theknot.com–go figure! Thank you!!!

Reply to this comment