From Sketch to Celebration: How a Custom Bridal Hairpiece Comes to Life
A Look Inside the Marian May Atelier Custom Design Process
Creating a custom bridal hairpiece is more than a design service—it’s a deeply personal art form. Each piece begins with a bride’s vision (whether crystal clear or still tender and unformed), and through a series of intentional steps, transforms into a handcrafted heirloom she’ll treasure for decades.
Today, I’m sharing what the journey looks like inside Marian May Atelier—from the very first spark of inspiration to the moment a bride wears her finished accessory down the aisle. And to bring the process to life, we’ll be walking through Josie’s real custom design story.
I. Beginning with a Vision: The Custom Design Consultation
The journey begins with a conversation—a gentle exploration of a bride’s aesthetic, priorities, personal symbolism, and emotional tone for the wedding day.
When Josie arrived for her consultation, she was excited but unsure. She knew she wanted a back-facing bridal hair comb with a soft, garden-inspired feeling, but many of her details were still undecided. She hadn’t chosen a florist or finalized her bridal party attire, and she wasn’t certain what hairstyle she would wear.
And yet, she had a feeling she wanted the piece to evoke:
Something organic, fluid, and naturally beautiful
A softness reminiscent of her garden venue in Oceanside, CA
Rose-gold accents to match her engagement ring and jewelry
A hint of bohemian romance to echo her gown
These were some of the inspirations Josie brought with her to the Custom Design Consultation:
Wedding color palette
Floral style
Wedding dress
A hairpiece she’d seen and liked on Pinterest
A bride doesn’t need every detail figured out to commission a custom bridal hairpiece. If anything, the design process helps clarify what she truly wants. My role is to listen closely—not just to her words and ideas, but to the emotions beneath them.
II. Translating Emotion Into Concept: The Initial Design Sketches
This stage of the custom design process is where artistry, intuition, and experimentation meet. Through researching materials and sketching out designs, I explore the emotional character of the accessory—how the shape (what we call the silhouette), colors, and materials will visually “speak” when worn.
I begin with a series of rough sketches to explore the silhouette and main “ideas” of the piece. Then I research which types of materials will best lend the accessory the desired tone and vibrancy. Bringing these two elements together, I create refined renderings for the bride to choose from.
The three design concepts I created for Josie after her consultation were each rooted in her love of organic, floral shapes, but expressed these ideas through different levels of structure and symmetry.
Sketches ranged from:
Fully asymmetrical, airy botanical forms
Softly balanced, floral vines with fluid movement
More structured silhouettes, still romantic but with clearer shape
Each design preserved her essentials: floral motifs → rose-gold warmth → organic flow → soft bohemian tone.
Josie ended up selecting this design (pictured below), and it perfectly captured her hopes for a hairpiece that was organic, luminous, garden-forward, and expressive without overwhelming her gown.
The materials selected for this design were crucial to capturing the emotive narrative Josie wanted to tell. Knowing that her ceremony would take place in an outdoor venue with a mix of direct and indirect sunlight, the materials needed to be able to shine in the shade without feeling too harsh in the sun.
To achieve this, I incorporated:
Soft-white handmade ceramic flowers to add brightness and airiness to the piece. Choosing genuine ceramic flowers over Polymer-clay (a type of moldable PVC plastic used in many mass-produced hair accessories) gave the white flowers a completely matte finish that wouldn’t look glossy in the sun, and added a unique touch of luxury to the main floral elements.
Cultured freshwater pearls in a variety of shapes and sizes to create an organic, bohemian feel. By playing with the density of the pearls throughout the design, I gave the hair comb a sense of movement and depth. Opting for an off-white color option allowed the pearls to visually cohere with the ceramic flowers.
Hessonite garnet accents for warm, honeyed depth that stayed within the burnt orange range of Josie’s wedding color palette. The micro-faceted cuts of the gemstone beads brought a fresh, contrasting visual texture. Strategically placing the garnets in areas of depth, the subtle sparkle they generate would be used to draw attention back to the primary floral focus.
Peach moonstone leaves to minimize harsh metal while keeping a glowing, rose-lit tone. Pairing the structure of rose gold colored metal leaves with softer ones made from tiny, rounded gemstones kept the hair comb from glinting too much in the sunlight and added to the overall romantic bohemian style.
These selections allowed the piece to feel like a tiny botanical world—dimensional, textural, and quietly radiant, perfectly at home in Josie’s lush garden venue.
III. Crafting the Structure: Where Technique Becomes Art
Once materials and design direction are finalized, the true making begins.
The structure of a custom bridal hairpiece determines:
how securely the piece will anchor
how naturally it curves to the head
how comfortably it wears for 8–12 hours
how seamlessly it interacts with different hairstyles
Getting the main structure correct serves as the foundation for every other aspect of the custom hairpiece. This is why it is so critical that every bride’s custom journey includes a guided virtual fitting.
As part of the welcome package, the bride receives a tailor’s measuring tape. After the consultation, once I get a sense for the silhouette and how the bride wants the piece to be worn, I guide the bride through taking a series of measurements that will ensure her custom accessory fits perfectly.
In Josie’s case, she started the process knowing where the comb should sit, but hadn’t decided yet on her exact hairstyle (although she knew she wanted half-up). To accommodate this, I gathered measurements from her that told me how long and wide the comb should be, but left the decision for attachment style until later in the process.
This meant that the comb needed to be relatively flexible in the middle in order to bend to fit whatever exact hairstyle Josie later chose and to curve slightly around her head. The piece also needed to be light-weight enough to be gently secured above the half-up hair without interfering with the hairstyle’s delicate design.
With all of this knowledge, I decided that the best way to build her particular custom comb would be by starting from each end and working inwards, saving the central flowers for last to keep the middle section flexible. I had to be very attentive to the spacing of each element in order to keep the total length between 7” and 7.5”.
IV. Assembly & Fine Detailing: The Craft of Beauty
This is where the piece truly becomes a unique work of art! Once the initial structure is laid, the piece comes to life through careful craftsmanship.
Each pearl is selected and placed intentionally.
Each blossom finds its perfect angle.
Each gemstone meticulously chosen for color, clarity, and matching size.
In custom work, these details matter. They’re truly what separates an artisanal handmade bridal hair accessory from a mass-produced approximation.
To me as the artist, this phase of creation often feels like a blend between painting, where each pearl or gemstone is a carefully made brushstroke, and arranging a wild flower bouquet, where bundles of organic beauty are joined together to create a in intricate, stunning whole.
As the details come together, sometimes adjustments need to be made to the original design. What worked on paper may feel too busy or too soft-spoken in real life, or requires a different technical solution than I expected. Because I’m able to spend time individually crafting each piece, I can make these assessments and adjustments as I go. Occasionally, this may require reaching out to the bride to ask if she has any preference on adjustments that need to be made.
For Josie’s custom hair comb, the peach moonstone leaves as depicted in the sketch ended up making the design feel too bottom heavy, and restricted a sense of free-flowing movement. So instead, I moved a few of the leaves to the upper portion instead, swapping their positions with a few of the other gemstones and pearls. This allowed the design to keep its flowy feel and shape without feeling weighed down.
Once the details have been crafted into the piece, I send the bride photos so that she can request any minor adjustments of her own. Perhaps after seeing the hair comb, she’d like to add a bit more sparkle, or perhaps she would like more/fewer pearls in a certain area. In my experience, most brides decide it looks perfect just as it is!
Some brides prefer not to see the sneak peaks and would rather be surprised when they unbox the custom accessory. We’ll review your preferences for this during the consultation and do what feels right for you—this is your journey after all!
V. Finishing Touches: The Secret of a Truly Luxury Experience
The piece is complete. The bride is excited. All that’s left is to sprinkle on the finishing touches.
Although this step sounds simple, it’s actually one of the things that makes our custom accessories truly one of a kind. Our finishing process elevates the accessory from something that can be worn for a day, to something that can be cherished for a lifetime.
Depending on how the custom piece will be worn, I employ a series of techniques to ensure that every aspect of it is comfortable, secure, and in stunningly perfect condition.
Once the piece is completely finished, it is beautifully packaged and ready for your big moment. Packaging is chosen with just as much care and consideration as the materials in the design itself, ensuring the custom accessory is protected enroute and for long-term safe keeping.
VI. The Final Moment: When Vision Comes Alive
What makes a custom design truly come to life, however, is you. A handcrafted accessory looks beautiful on its own, but it will never look as radiantly alive as when you wear it.
From being perfectly tailored to your measurements, to incorporating flattering silhouettes and materials, to fitting your overall aesthetic vision, the custom piece was always intended to do one thing: complement and adorn you on your special day.
On her wedding day, Josie looked luminous. The finished piece nestled beautifully into her bohemian-inspired hairstyle, echoing the surroundings of her romantic garden venue and complementing her gown’s soft, textural details.
Later, she shared this about her experience:
“[Naomi] took the time to truly understand my vision, presenting me with different designs and guiding me through options until we landed on the perfect piece.
Her attention to detail is unmatched—she carefully incorporated my preferences while infusing her artistry to create something that felt uniquely mine. The final hairpiece was nothing short of stunning…a beautifully crafted, timeless accessory that I will cherish for years to come.”
Hearing a bride describe her custom piece as timeless and cherished is one of the greatest gifts of this work.
How to Begin Your Own Custom Bridal Accessory
If you feel drawn to a one-of-a-kind accessory crafted just for you, the process begins with a simple conversation.
Josie’s story shows that you do not need to have:
florals decided
bridal party colors finalized
your hairstyle chosen
or a dress fully picked out
All you need is a sense of the feeling you hope to create—or even just the desire to explore.
I’ll guide you through the rest.
Ready to begin?
