Hairdresser Negligence Wrecked my Wedding

I Sued My Hairdresser For Wrecking My Wedding

Every woman's nightmare is walking down the aisle looking ridiculous. The average wedding costs £17,000, yet the entire day can be ruined by one terrible haircut. Hair that goes wrong can rob brides like Natalie Jackson of their fairytale wedding, but some are fighting back by making compensation claims.

Additional article resources:

It should be the happiest day of a woman’s life. The dress is fitted, the tables lavishly decorated and the beautiful flowers have arrived. The first job of the big day is a trip to the local salon to transform the nervous bride into a glowing princess. Many brides spend weeks choosing their exact hairstyle, and even have a rehearsal so the hairdresser can do it perfectly. Despite meticulous planning, some brides leave their salons in tears, with hair that has simply gone wrong. This nightmare happened to Natalie Jackson, a teaching assistant from Liverpool:

‘The hairdresser’s hands started shaking and I knew that something wasn’t right. Everyone in the salon went quiet. I didn’t dare open my eyes, but when I did, I wish I hadn’t. I was staring at a massacre. She had killed my beautiful hair, and my wedding day. The product she had used to style my hair had reacted with my colouring. Instead of staring at classy platinum blonde curls, I was looking at a faintly green frizz-ball. They tried to rescue it, but nothing worked. In the end, I had to wear a hat, and it didn’t even match my dress. I felt like a fool walking down the aisle. The hairdresser didn’t just ruin my hair; she destroyed my dreams of a fairytale wedding. A year later, I still get tears in my eyes whenever I think about what happened.’

Natalie’s story is not unique. Brides across the country flock to salons on their wedding day, trusting them to provide a haircut which makes them look stunning. Whilst many brides are happy with the results, everyone has heard about wedding hair disasters that ruin the day. One wrongly applied product, or scissor happy hairdresser, can change a glowing princess into an ugly duckling.

Natalie continues; ‘We spent nearly £20,000 on my wedding. We had 250 guests, a string orchestra and an ancient castle for the ceremony. My father had saved for thirty years to pay for his only daughter’s wedding. He had to walk his baby girl down the aisle blushing with embarrassment and shame. I’ve never seen him so upset, or so angry. It wrecked the day for everyone. Even worse, a few weeks later I found out that my old school friends had been spreading the photos on Facebook and everyone was laughing at me. It was unbearable.’

Hair Gone Wrong Picture 11

Natalie may have been robbed of her fairytale wedding, but her story does have a happy ending. Like many women in the UK, she recognised that she was not to blame for hairdresser negligence. She took the salon to court and was awarded substantial damages which she shared with her father, to help compensate for the trauma of the wrecked wedding.

‘Nothing is ever going to bring my wedding back, nor remove the terrible memories. The compensation at least recognises that we were wrongfully treated and the salon was to blame. My husband and I are planning to use the money to help with the costs of our first child, who is due in a few months. I will never forgive the woman who wrecked my dreams, but at least now I can move forwards.’