wedding nails for brideYou’ve got the dream wedding dress, the perfect bridal shoes, maybe even decided on the hair and makeup: now it’s time to ‘nail’ the wedding manicure. Your hands will actually be subject to a fair amount of attention on your big day–from close up ring photos to bouquet detail shots to the vows–so take this opportunity to express your personal bridal style. Your bridal nails, like everything else about your look, should feel uniquely you.

There are a lot of designs out there though, so to help cut through the nail-art noise (um, you’ve got enough details to worry about) we turned to nail artist Cassandre Banel (check her out at @cassmariebeauty) for some modern manicure inspiration. Any of the ideas ahead are guaranteed to look cool, modern, and elegant all at once–and Banel tells us exactly how they’re done. Whether you’re attempting these yourself (oh, hay) or taking the inspo ahead to your local manicurist (raises hand), get ready to check beautiful bridal nails off your to-do list.

Brush Metallic Half Maniwedding nails for bride - lulus

Create an elegant half-nail design by adding a ribbon of brushed metallic polish. First, choose any nude shade to paint about half the nail with, leaving a negative space near the bottom of each nail. Gently brush any metallic polish along the border of the nude polish to create a sophisticated and romantic ribbon across the nail. Seal with a matte top coat for an even softer look to your bridal nail art!

Celestial Bridemanicure inspiration - lulus bridal

This nail art is like a nude version of the popular ‘galaxy’ nail art. Lightly apply gold or silver glitter polish in galactic waves to create a chic burst of glittery stars. Have your nail artist add small twinkling stars (in a cross shape) in white to complete the celestial look. Using the nude nail as the backdrop for your design makes this nail art subtle, romantic, and classy enough for your special day.

Gold-Dipped Tipsmanicure inspiration - lulus bridal

This is another half-nail design that uses a sheer amount of gold, just gently dabbed onto nude nail tips in a rounded design like shown. Even the most nail art-averse brides will absolutely fall in love with this mani. It’s so simple and sophisticated!

Got some gorgeous manicure inspiration? Show us your bridal nails on Instagram @lulusweddings using #lovelulus!

(Images via Cassandre Banel)