The image of the bride persists, despite secularization and the feminist movements that gained strength during the 20th century. Sherril Horowitz Schuster, in her doctoral dissertation, emphasizes this point: “Furthermore, visually, within the United States, the familiar bridal image and the basic elements of the traditional wedding appear similar, and remarkably stable, across social categories, such as socio-economic status and religion” (2002). Nevertheless, while the appearance of the ritual has not changed, the discourse surrounding it has. As Martine Tremblay points out, “couples who engage in the ritualization of marriage imbue the ritual with meanings that illuminate their conception of family and their own place within the family structure. They take hold of the ritual and project onto it their understanding of marital relations and the differences between the sexes” (2007). Thus, marriage is no longer the product of a family or societal expectation, but rather a way for the couple to assert their own ideologies. Therefore, this study will focus on the agency of the bride, who is granted central decision-making power in the organization of the event (2002), in order to better understand how the hairdresser can serve her.

Early 20th-century critics agreed on the traces of postfeminism in the modern bride. Broekhuizen and Evans describe her as follows: “Combining neoliberal values ​​and re-articulation of older understandings of femininity, the wedding is placed firmly within the postfeminist rhetoric, with brides no longer understanding themselves as passive objects, waiting to get married, but as active agents using the wedding as an occasion to act out choice, autonomy, and power” (2016). Franka Heise also sees the bride as a figure whose autonomy and individual freedom are celebrated (2012). This is why the bride, as a consumer, remains at the center of her own purchasing choices. Freedom and individuality then animate the ritual, which becomes a canvas on which these values ​​can be displayed. In this respect, marriage, and more specifically the white wedding, constitutes a space conducive to individual choice, where autonomy and individualism can be asserted (Heise, 2012).

Furthermore, we argue that consumer autonomy extends to the choice of hairdresser. As Hassar and Machrafi state in one of their studies on customer experience, “beyond product features and pricing policies, the value perceived by the customer now rests on the overall quality of the interactions experienced throughout their relationship with the company” (2026). Although this study does not specifically focus on the behavior of brides, the highlighted relationship between customer and company reveals the importance of individuality in the purchasing process. When an interaction is established between the consumer and the business, it implies a form of intimacy. This intimacy seems all the more pronounced in the digital age where “thanks to technology, consumers make assessments based on their own experience” (2026). The modern consumer thus wants to be “connected and aware of what they can do” (2026). From this perspective, the "post-feminist" bride necessarily values ​​"interactions with the company," whether digital or not, where her individuality is recognized and taken seriously.

The hairstylist must then prioritize interactions where the client's autonomy remains paramount. To do this, it's not simply a matter of respecting her choices, but rather of determining what she truly wants to highlight through her hairstyle. For some brides, the priority may be simply comfort or the aesthetic appeal of an Instagrammable updo . It's not about adhering to a superficial individuality, but about trying to connect with the more implicit aspects of her relationship to her body and the ritual. In this way, the hairstylist can identify any inconsistencies between the desired hairstyle and the client's more fundamental needs. The interaction between the client and the hairstylist is thus enhanced.

While the image of the bride has endured through the centuries, the motivations behind the ritual have transformed, revealing a bride who embraces the event as a space for self-expression. This is why the relationship between the hairdresser and the bride is not limited to a financial transaction, but becomes a dynamic relationship centered on self-construction. The hairdresser's work then consists less of reproducing pre-established aesthetic models than of guiding a subjective process. The hairdresser's role thus highlights the transformations in our relationship to the body, identity, and consumption. The bond between the bride and the hair professional underscores the importance of autonomy and individuality in our daily practices, extending even to the wedding ritual, where the goal is no longer to reproduce societal norms, but rather to create a personal narrative.

Article written by Euniden Urias

Bibliography:

Broekhuizen F. and Evans A. (2016). Pain, pleasure and bridal beauty: mapping postfeminist bridal perfection, Journal of Gender Studies , 25(3), 335-348. 10.1080/09589236.2014.959478

Hassar, R. and Machrafi, M. (2026). The contribution of digitalisation to the improvement of customer experience, International Journal of Accounting, Finance, Auditing, Management, and Economics , 7(1), 713-724.

Heise, F. (2012). “I’m a Modern Bride”: On the Relationship between Marital Hegemony, Bridal Fictions, and Postfeminism. M/C Journal , 15 (6). https://doi.org/10.5204/mcj.573

Horowitz Schuster, S. (2002). Princess for a Day: Perpetuating the “White Wedding” as a Traditional Ritual [doctoral dissertation, The State University of New Jersey].

Tremblay, M. (2007). The staging of love: wedding photography in the second half of the 20th century, Enfances, Familles, Générations , 7, p. 76-92.