The Prettiest Updos For Your Maid Of Honor

Standing right beside the bride for an entire wedding day means the maid of honor updo gets a lot of camera time, arguably more than almost any other bridesmaid’s hairstyle. It makes sense that so many maids of honor want something that feels just a little more special, while still clearly belonging to the same bridal party as everyone else. Getting that balance right is less about picking a completely different style and more about a few intentional details layered on top of a shared foundation. It’s a small distinction, but it’s the difference between an updo that reads as thoughtfully coordinated and one that accidentally looks like it belongs to a different wedding altogether.

How A Maid Of Honor Updo Can Feel Special Without Standing Apart

The easiest way to think about a maid of honor updo is as the same base style as the rest of the bridal party, just with one or two extra touches added on top. If the bridesmaids are wearing loose, textured low buns, the maid of honor’s version might add a delicate braid wrapped around the base or a slightly more sculpted part. If the group is wearing soft half-up styles, hers might include a few more curled pieces or a small decorative pin the others aren’t wearing.

This approach keeps the whole bridal party looking cohesive in group photos while still giving the maid of honor a look that feels personal to her role. Many brides find it helpful to talk through this with their stylist ahead of time, specifically naming which small details should shift for the maid of honor, rather than leaving it to be decided the morning of the wedding when there’s less time to problem-solve.

A Few Updo Options Well Suited To A Maid Of Honor

A textured low bun is a reliably flattering option that reads as polished without looking stiff, especially with a few pieces loosened around the hairline for softness. It tends to photograph well from every angle, which matters for a role that spends so much of the day standing directly beside the bride during the ceremony and formal portraits.

A twisted half-up style is another strong option, especially for a maid of honor who wants to keep some length down while still having hair secured off her face for the ceremony and toast. Two twisted sections meeting and pinned at the back of the crown create structure up top while leaving soft waves to move naturally underneath. A deconstructed bun with face-framing pieces left loose around the temples is a slightly more romantic alternative, and it tends to suit maids of honor who want their updo to feel a little more relaxed than the rest of the group’s more contained styles. A braided crown updo, where one or two braids wrap gently around the head and tuck into a low bun at the back, is worth considering too, especially for a maid of honor with a lot of length to work with, since it reads as more elevated than a simple bun while still coordinating easily with softer bridesmaid styles.

Small Details That Elevate A Maid Of Honor Updo

Face-framing pieces, whether that’s one soft curled strand on each side or a slightly deeper side part, are one of the simplest ways to add polish without changing the overall structure of an updo. They soften the face for photos and give the style a bit more visual interest up close, which matters since the maid of honor is often photographed at a closer range than the rest of the bridal party during toasts and candid shots.

A subtle accessory, like a single decorative pin, a small comb, or a thin ribbon woven into a braid, can also mark the maid of honor’s look as slightly distinct without pulling focus. The key word here is subtle. Many clients notice that a single well-placed detail reads as intentional and elevated, while multiple accessories layered together can start to compete with the bride’s own hairstyle, which is worth avoiding regardless of how good any individual piece looks on its own.

Choosing An Updo That Photographs Well Beside The Bride

This is the piece most generic hairstyle guides skip entirely, and it matters more for a maid of honor than for almost any other member of the bridal party. Because she stands directly beside the bride for so much of the day, her updo needs to hold its own in photos without visually competing with the bride’s hairstyle, particularly if the bride is wearing a veil, a statement headpiece, or an especially elaborate updo of her own.

In our experience, the safest approach is choosing a maid of honor updo with a similar overall height and silhouette to the bride’s style, even if the finer details differ. A maid of honor in a very tall, dramatic updo can inadvertently pull the eye away from the bride in side-by-side photos, while a style that’s too flat or plain can look like an afterthought next to a more elaborate bridal look. Sharing photos of the bride’s planned hairstyle with your own stylist ahead of time is one of the simplest ways to get this balance right before the wedding day itself. This is worth thinking through even for candid, non-posed photos, since the maid of honor tends to appear beside the bride in far more of the day’s images than any other single bridesmaid, from getting ready shots through the final send-off.

Common Mistakes When Choosing A Maid Of Honor Updo

The most common mistake is picking a completely different style from the rest of the bridal party in an effort to stand out, which can leave the maid of honor looking disconnected from the group in photos rather than simply elevated within it. A shared base style with a few personal touches almost always looks more intentional than a style that doesn’t relate to the others at all.

Another common mistake is choosing a style based purely on trend photos without considering how long it needs to last. A maid of honor is often on her feet more than other bridesmaids, helping the bride throughout the day, giving a toast, and dancing well into the reception, so an updo that can’t hold up to that level of movement tends to need more touch-ups than anyone anticipated. Testing the style at a trial, not just approving it from a photo, is worth the extra step, since seeing how the pinning holds through a few hours of normal movement tells you far more than a single still photograph ever will.

What To Expect When You Book Bridal Party Hair With Reign Beauty Collective

Reign Beauty Collective is a licensed, published on-location hair and makeup team based in Tampa, Florida, serving brides throughout Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Sarasota, Orlando, Miami, and beyond, with the ability to travel worldwide. We build every maid of honor updo as a coordinated variation on the bridal party’s shared style, balancing personal touches with a silhouette that photographs well beside the bride rather than competing with her.

Our Best Hairstyles For Every Bridesmaid guide is a great starting point if you’re planning the whole bridal party’s hair together, and if you’re also looking for gift inspiration for your maid of honor, we’ll be covering that in a future guide. If a looser, more romantic style is more her speed, our Dreamy Boho Hairstyles For Bridesmaids guide covers that direction too. You can browse real finished looks on our gallery page and see current pricing on our Price List.

Frequently Asked Questions