47 best wedding guest hairstyles so you can show up and show out

Wedding guest hairstyles can be a tricky one. You don't want to steal the spotlight from the bride, but also, you want to show up and show out for your friends on their big day.

If you're unsure of what direction to go in, there's a few factors that can play into what style you go with. For starters, do you have a read on what the vibe is for the day? Is it boho? Is it classic? Is it romantic, beachy, OTT or understated? If you really want to represent, ask the bride (or groom) what the mood is, that way you can lean into the wedding aesthetic with a co-ordinated look.

Next, take the weather into consideration. If it's an outside event, or destination wedding, updos and braids can help keep things looking cool, calm and collected, whatever the sun or wind decides to do.

But, if there's no real theme specified, it's game on. There's loads of wedding guest hairstyles that can up the ante of your outfit – and they don't have to feel prim and traditional. In fact, we love seeing guests bring their personal style to wedding proceedings. And, since you've been hand-picked by the happy couple to bring the party, it makes sense that they'd want you to add a little of your own flair in there.

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With weddings becoming less prescriptive, the guidebook has pretty much gone out of the window, so if you're looking for a one-size-fits all answer to the question: “how should I wear my hair as a guest to a wedding?”, or “is it OK to wear your hair down to a wedding?” the rules are… there are no rules. Our best advice would be to check in with the nearly-weds on how formal they envision the day being – and go from there.

One way to show your support though, is to put in a little more effort than you would on a regular, off-duty day. But you can re-examine the looks you'd consider wedding-appropriate, provided you give them a little polish. Among the anti-prim hairstyles we love are slick high ponytails, ultra-sleek, ultra long plaits, braids and pigtails, '90s loose updos worn with a modern spin, cute baby braids, mussy, sexy texture (or sexture) and accessories: the more the merrier.

Here's some of our favourite wedding guest hairstyles to save for later (and, once you've got your hair look sorted, we've also rounded up the best wedding guest dresses)…

Sleek, simple chignon

Sextured waves

Mussy chignon

Butt-length braid

Super slick bun

Braided bun

Side-swept curls

Feathered bun

Embellished braid

Curly updo

Ballerina bun with a modern twist

Impeccable edges and a sleek braid

Statement hair slide

Ultra slick plait

Bantu knots

Messy claw-clip ponytail

Slick spiky bun

Curly half-updo

Loose tumbling updo

Accessorised buzzcut

Loop bun

Slick chunky bun

Waterfall ponytail

Immaculate braids

Rope braid

Stacked-up curly updo

Flicky ponytail

Bow braid

Half-braided ponytail

'90s updo

Locs updo

Loose updo

Chainmail ponytail

Rainbow clawclip braid

Ponytail braids

Gift-wrapped ponytail

Pigtail braids and baby braids

Flower-studded low bun

Pearl embellished bun

Baby braids

XXL bobble braid

Glitz headband

Flower French twist

Low chignon

Ear tuck bob

Ribbon-wrapped bun

Curly updo

Spiky bun

Preppy ponytail

For more from GLAMOUR's Senior Beauty Editor, Elle Turner, follow her on Instagram @elleturneruk