PICTURES: OLGA BECKER, PENGELLY PHOTOGRAPHY, RUTH LEACH

EVER since she was a young girl watching her mother cutting and dressing hair, Kelly Pooley has known she wanted to follow in her footsteps.

Now tending to locks and curls across the region, Kelly is fulfilling her ambitions and making the dream styles of brides-to-be become a reality.

Kelly stepped into the hairdressing world at only 16 taking on an apprenticeship and working in local salons.

Working her way up, Kelly became fascinated by specialist ‘up dos’, indulging that her house has become a homage to hair – full of books, sketches and mannequin heads dedicated to her art.

Through years of practice and a natural creative streak, Kelly began to become recognised for her unique hair styles, eventually branching out three years ago with her own business Simply Beautiful Hair.

She said: “The difference with wedding hair is that it’s really about tailoring a style to someone’s needs. Weddings are special full stop, so I really want to work with brides and get a look that is memorable for them.

“To get an idea of the style we can achieve I ask them about their dress, the jewellery, the beading of the dress, whether they want to wear accessories and lots more. It’s all about tailoring it to them. No look is ever the same.”

During a consultation and trial Kelly really tries to get to know the bride’s needs and hair. She’ll look at whether your hair is thick or thin, flyaway or greasy – everything is taken into consideration.

She’ll want to know if you wish to wear flowers or other adornments in your hair (Kelly also makes hair pieces and accessories to order) and will try out various styles to see what suits you.

Trials usually take between two or three hours and Kelly always takes pictures of each of the styles tried and emails them to her brides so they can see exactly what they looked like.

It’s recommended that trials are taken six to eight weeks before the big day because, Kelly says, your hair changes throughout the year according to the weather and other factors.

Once your style has been decided upon, Kelly prides herself on coming direct to your venue on your big day.

“You don’t have to move a muscle. I bring everything with me and am there for the duration. There’s no time limit.”

See our hair gallery above for typical examples of Kelly’s designs.

Call Kelly on 01473 240713 or 07846211985, or visit www.simplybeautifulhair.co.uk for more information.

Kelly’s top tips

1. Look after your hair. Treat it with a conditioning treatment from any good chemist every two weeks in the six to eight week run up to the day. You don’t have to spend a fortune. Just buy products that go on for more than five minutes. Don’t get just one packet, buy several, especially if your hair is long as it has to be totally saturated from root to tip. Leave treatments in for at least 10 minutes and comb through.

2. Unless your usual routine requires you to wash your hair every day don’t wash it on the day of the wedding as it can become flyaway.

3. I swear by Elnett hairspray and advise you to have some on the day for touch-ups. It gives hair life rather than making it sticky and dull.

4. Have hair trims every six to eight weeks in the six months before the wedding, with the last cut six to eight weeks before the wedding to get rid of dead ends and splits.