Weddingbee boards

Hi everyone!

First of all, I'm so excited to have discovered Wedding Bee.

For full disclosure - I just posted a shorter version of this issue on 2 other general cultural blog posts on here, as well as on Miss Champagne's "hair clip" blog post and on the Destination Wedding board (LOL-just to make sure I get an answer. lol), but I decided to write my own post about this issue since it's a pretty specific call for advice...

My parents are Costa Rican (my mom is from the Caribbean part of the country, called Limón) and Panamanian. I'm marrying an awesome man of West-Indian (St. Vincent/Trinidad) descent.  We're having a destination wedding in Costa Rica next year (yay, I can't wait)!

The thing is, we plan to do a fun group activity - like ziplining or white water rafting - the day before the wedding to get our folks to bond. The problem is that the activity is going to seriously to jack up my hair, which I'll likely fly down there already having had it done professionally.  I'm wondering if we should schedule the group activity for the day after the wedding (and skip the pre-wedding bonding??) or bring my hair stylist down to Costa Rica with me (he's ok; not great). Or just do my hair myself (i.e., bringing lots of hair products, a great curling iron & blow dryer, and one of those hair clip-wig pieces with me to Costa Rica - just in case).  But, using one of the stylists down there is not an option since I need personal experience with a stylist before I'll trust him/her with my hair on the BIG DAY!  And, the coordinators we're working with said they "know a person who could do 'my texture' hair for $400"!!??! That's crazy. I'm asking my family in Costa Rica for their advice, but the Wedding Industrial Complex is not so big down there (lol) so they just recommend family do my hair.  For that, I might as well do my own since I'm already used to it. 

What do you all think?  Are any Black brides on Wedding Bee having a destination wedding?  Are you also doing a group activity? What do you plan to do about your hair???

Thanks, in advance!

Have you thought about having your hair braided before you travel for the wedding.  Maybe micro braids or kinky twists depending on how long your natural hair.

Is your hair currently in its natural state?  If so, would you consider a relaxer or texturizer?  It may make the hair more "mangeable"

Another option would be to invest in a really good flat iron like a CHI flat iron.  Maybe test it out on your hair a few times before the wedding.  I am African-American and used to relax my hair regularly but I haven't relaxed my hair in over 3 years.  All I do now is blow dry my hair as straight as possible using a little leave-in conditioner.  Then I spray my hair VERY LIGHTLY (this is critical, too much product will weigh the hair down and prevent the blowing in the wind effect) with an Oil Sheen Spray, then I flat iron the hair using the CHI.

I think Mssweettea' suggestions (wrapping, getting someone to do your hair a day or two before the wedding to test them out, etc) would work as well

Hope that helps!

Ooooh, thank you all for your feedback! I haven't been on Wedding Bee for like 2 weeks (whoa!) so apologies for the delay.  I'm just reading your responses now.

@ mssweettea

I agree- we should totally do the activities before the wedding - so that our guests can get to know each other and so that we can have some fun with folks.  I may wrap my hair (or pin curl it and then cover it up!).  I'm going to have to buy/bring some really good hair products! Maybe I'll test some folks out before the big day but I'll likely go down to Costa Rica with it already done. :)

@ mschampagne

Thanks so much for the links!! I may just get them (along with hair products, of course).  It's nice to see a site that has hair clips for black women. :)

@ IJC

Thanks! Never thouht about micro braids. I'm not a braids kind of person. They look fabulous on other people, though. Plus, I've had weaves before and the braiding was always the WORST part of that process. Soooo painful!  My hair is relaxed right now.  Just a mild relaxer, though, so it's prone to FRIZZ!  I may get a "super" relaxer before the big day. But I also color my hair (highlights) so I don't want all the chemicals to leave me BALD! That would really suck. The relaxer definitely makes my hair more manageable.  I'm going to check out the CHI flat iron you suggested.  I love Infusium Leave-in.  What do you use? I recently discovered the round brush! LOL That + leave-in + a good shampoo & conditioner + olive oil smoothing oil helps a lot. It takes like 30 minutes to blowdry and 40 minutes to flat iron, though!

 @ GetMarried4Less

Thanks! I definitely like the flowers in my hair look. I think I want it wavy and down. That requires heat (flat iron and blow dryer) and chemicals (relaxer). LOL I am Of Costa Rican & Panamanian descent but of Afro-Diasporic heritage. Oooh, I'll look into jeweled sticks!  My hair is a little past shoulder-lenth, though, and the sticks look awesome on long hair.

Thanks again, all! :)