It all began with a flight from Málaga to Mallorca, where two brides were waiting for me. Ashton and Jordan had come from the United States for their Mallorca wedding, a destination celebration full of symbolism and of details that meant something to them. Marrying so far from home and bringing the whole family together there is a big decision, and it showed in the care behind every corner of the day.
The morning preparations took place in a private villa in Valldemossa, and the celebration at Sa Pedrissa, the hotel in Deià where they were staying, with spectacular views over the port of Valldemossa.
The two of them had very different styles, and each bride's wedding hair had to tell its own. Ashton is a deeply feminine bride with long, abundant hair, and she wanted glam waves with a touch of romantic fantasy. At the trial we talked about how she looked like a fairy, and with those waves she truly did.
Jordan, on the other hand, wanted a polished finish. She comes across as elegant and orderly, and her updo was just the same: disciplined, with everything in its place, and never losing its elegance.
Jordan's mother and her sister-in-law were there all morning too. Her mother struck me as an incredible woman: warm, homely, affectionate and cheerful, with an almost carefree energy. She didn't ask for anything in particular; she told me that on that day she would let herself be guided by whatever I chose. She was all but playing the part of the madrina, the godmother who stands beside the couple at a Spanish wedding, so I felt her hairstyle as godmother had to reflect everything she conveyed, and I think it did, because she looked truly stunning. Her sister-in-law, very young, wanted a youthful style with a touch of elegance, and with her red hair she looked almost like a rose.
The whole wedding was full of symbolism. Jordan's suit carried embroidery, and her shoes had drawings and patterns, each with a meaning for the two of them. But Ashton's cape deserves a mention of its own. Ashton is of Pakistani descent, and she wore a white Pakistani cape with stunning gold embroidery, inherited from her grandmother, which brought a part of her family's story to the wedding.
The wedding was in July, in the middle of a heatwave in Mallorca, with very high humidity, and for a hairstyle that is a serious challenge: humidity takes the shape out of waves and loosens an updo. Even so, both hairstyles held up in the heat, as the photographs show, thanks to the way the hair was prepared from the very start.
The celebration was at Sa Pedrissa, with the whole family together. The wedding's colours were vibrant, in the cake, in the bouquet and in the flowers dressing the porch, and they gave everything a touch of fantasy that spoke of joy and of family.
And above all, there was complicity. Between the two of them and across the whole family there was a care and a respect I have rarely seen, and love could be felt in every corner.
At the end they raised a toast on the porch of Sa Pedrissa, among colourful flowers and with the whole family around them. After a whole day of heat, Ashton's waves were still open and Jordan's updo was still in place.
