Ashley Herman has been styling hair for 16 years and has worked the last five years at Ultimate Design Salon & Day Spa. Ashley loves weddings and enjoys styling a bride’s hair on her big day. She says she normally allows about 45 minutes per person when styling members of the bridal party.

The bride’s big day is finally here. The venue for the wedding, the wedding party and the invitations were all taken care of long before the wedding day.

Now the day of the wedding has arrived and the bride’s focus shifts to getting herself ready to walk down the aisle. That means doing her make-up, putting on her dress and one more thing – getting her hair styled.

And that’s where Ashley Herman of Ultimate Design Salon & Day Spa of Wells comes in.

“My part in the wedding day usually starts about six hours before they have to start getting dressed,” Ashley says. “That means I am probably going to get to work by 7 to 7:30 a.m.”

The first thing to be determined is what hair style the bride wants for her wedding.

“The bride will usually show me photos from various social media platforms of what she likes,” Ashley explains. “Then I have to determine if that style will work for the bride’s hair.”

Ashley began her career as a hair stylist in Lake Mills, Iowa before working at Headlines Plus in Blue Earth from 2010 to 2021.

“My husband, Paul, and our two girls live in Wells,” Ashley comments. “So when I got the chance to work at Ultimate Design in 2021, I took it.”

Ashley was originally from MacGregor, Iowa in the northeast corner of the state. She says hair styling was just something she always wanted to do.

“I didn’t want to be a nurse because I didn’t like needles,” Ashley admits. “I didn’t want to sit in an office. I had neighbors who were stylists so that is kind of how I got interested in being one.”

Ashley admits the bride is not the only one who might be nervous on her wedding day.

“I usually feel a little stressed – but not enough to lose any sleep,” Ashley remarks. “The morning of the wedding I may have some jitters. But once we get going, I relax and I am fine.”

Remember, it is not just the bride’s hair that Ashley will be styling on the wedding day.

“I normally do all of the females in the wedding party,” she says. “I can do a maximum of six people on my own. If the wedding party is larger I will need someone else helping me. The largest wedding group was 14 females so I had a lot of help getting everyone ready.”

Ashley allows about 45 minutes per person to get their hair ready for the wedding and photos.

“I had one styling that only took 30 minutes,” Ashley remarks. “But I have also had ones where it took 60 minutes.”

Ashley notes she seldom styles a bride’s hair at the salon anymore.

“There aren’t as many church weddings as there used to be,” she comments. “So many of the weddings are at a venue and most of those venues have a place for the wedding parties to get ready for the wedding, including the hair styling.”

Ashley says for the most part, the weddings she has helped brides get ready for have gone pretty smooth.

“There was one bride that showed up an hour late to get her hair done and she was just sobbing,” Ashley states. “We just had to help her calm down. Everything worked out and I can report that she is still married.”

The fact that more weddings are taking place at venues also means that Ashley has to do some traveling to perform her styling.

“This past summer I went to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to do the hair styling for a wedding,” Ashley comments. “That is the farthest I have traveled to do hair styling for a wedding.”

The most weddings she has done in one year is 11. She is doing six this year and already has four booked for next year.

It can get to be a long day for Ashley, especially if the wedding party is large.

“It’s not really my feet that bother me,” she states. “I am only 4-foot-11 so I don’t want ladies sitting on a bar stool when I do their hair. My back and shoulders are what tends to get sore. Fortunately, many of the venues have low chairs similar to what we have in our salon which makes it nice for me when I am doing someone’s hair.”

It has been a job that Ashley really enjoys.

“I love weddings so it is fun to be a part of it,” she comments. “I get to have a hand in the wedding without being an actual part of it.”

And what is her favorite part of the wedding day?

“That occurs when I add the veil,” Ashley says with a smile. “That is the moment when they see themselves as a bride for the first time. It is very rewarding watching the giggles and the smiles – seeing it all come together and then looking at the photos of how happy they all are.”