Being a bride is tough. Women are told our whole lives that brides have to look and act a certain way on their wedding days, adhering to beauty norms and traditions that are plentiful enough to spawn dozens of magazines and thousands of guidebooks to “help” us keep track of these dubious social and fashion requirements.
But what happens if a bride says, “Screw it!” and decides to just live her best life on her wedding day? Well, judging by these glorious bridal photos of motivational speaker, model and purveyor of British imports Kylie Bamberger, the results are pretty fantastic.
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Bamberger has alopecia, an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss. She started losing her hair in high school, but wore wigs on the regs to try not to stand apart from her classmates. But one day in 2005, she decided to shave her head, and has rocked the bald look since then. “Hair loss doesn’t make you unhealthy, and it doesn’t make you ugly… those are two massive, massive misconceptions,” Bamberger said in an interview. We second that!
Bamberger loves the way it makes her stand out — even kindly putting up with people who randomly give her hugs at the grocery store thinking she has cancer, which is more than I think I would be able to tolerate! Like, can we all agree not to make assumptions about or comment on random women’s appearances?
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When it came time for Bamberger’s wedding, the answer to the question of whether or not she should wear a wig was obvious to her: “There was no way I was going to wear a wig at my wedding,” she said in an interview with Inside Edition. Instead, she wore a beautiful beaded headband during the ceremony (and while playing with this super-cute wedding crasher!).
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Every person with hair loss experiences it differently, and people should present themselves in whatever way makes them the most comfortable, whether that means wearing wigs, going bald or donning hats and scarves. But for Bamberger, it wasn’t until she ditched the wigs that she began to feel truly empowered.
“When I lost my hair I was so focused on what I had lost, that I hadn’t necessarily realized what I had gained… I gained the ability to finally love myself. It’s something I encourage so many others to try and do. No one should ever be alienated because of the way that they look,” she said in an Instagram video.
We’re so glad to have another example of a badass bride looking like her gorgeous, authentic self on her wedding day. TV and magazines may push a singular beauty standard on us, but seeing brides like Bamberger just serve to remind us that there’s not just one type of wedding day look that should be celebrated.
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