Call me silly, but before my April 2024 wedding, I spent approximately a year gathering the best inspiration for bridal wedding nails. You see, I have had countless friends get married this year, and every bride I've spoken to was left stressing about their wedding manicure at the final hour—and I was determined to not let that happen to me.
As a beauty editor, I'll admit that my wedding-day beauty prep was a little more extreme. Everything from my hair and skin to my nails and teeth needed to be looking their best. But when it came to nail trends, I was indecisive. My signature is a simple, milky, BB cream manicure (always has been, always will be), but for my wedding day, I wanted to try something a little different.
I dedicated an entire year to trying out a variety of different manicures in a bid to settle on the perfect wedding nails. I toyed with spring designs, a unique French manicure and even a sheer brown shade. Essentially, if it looked bridal I wanted to give it a go. And, actually, my manicure of choice ended up being as far away from bridal as you can imagine—a deep, dark glossy, red manicure. And while I was absolutely thrilled with the result for something a bit alt-bridal, I saved down so many amazing designs that it would be a waste not to share them. My Instagram saved folder is still filled with the very best wedding nails for brides inspiration—so here they all are.
1. Clean glitter
I wouldn't typically opt for a glitter manicure, but for my wedding day this is exactly the sort of shimmering look I can get on board with.
2. Milky mani
A milky mani, exactly like this one, has been my go-to nail look for years. In fact, I hardly ever stray from it. It is, without doubt, one of the most classic and chic wedding nail looks for a bride out there.
3. Classic French
You didn't think I'd skip a classic French manicure, did you? Personally, I adore the skinny French look, like this one, which keeps the tip super fine and delicate.
4. Reverse French with glitter
I'm a sucker for a minimal mani and a reverse French ticks all of the boxes. As something particularly special for a wedding day, I'm very into the incorporation of glitter.
5. Doughnut glaze
We had Hailey Bieber to thank for this trend earlier in the year, and it's not going anywhere. A sheer, iridescent glaze on lengthy nails makes for the perfect bridal mani.
6. Sheer nude
I love the idea of having a bare, preened nail on my wedding day, but in reality the look never lives up to my expectations. This sheer manicure lets the whites of the nails shine through and gives a nude-looking, perfectly polished finish.
7. Icy iridescence
Not quite white but not quite blue, this sheeny, icy white is the stuff that wedding nail dreams are made of.
8. Holographic tips
If you like to keep your nails long, this metallic tip could be the bridal manicure for you. If, like me, you prefer to keep your nails shorter, why not try it as a skinny-French?
9. Gold leaf
I've been staring at this gold leaf design for weeks and I am fully on board. In fact, it's probably top of my list for the big day itself.
10. Celestial art
If you're partial to a bit of nail art, may I point you in the direction of this stunning celestial design? It's minimal, it's chic and it's perfect for a wedding.
11. Blue reverse French
Stuck for ideas on your 'something blue'? This reverse French manicure has it sorted for you.
12. Florals for spring
If you have a spring/summer wedding, this delicate floral design is minimal enough that it won't hog all of the attention but beautiful enough to make a subtle statement.
13. 3-dimensional pearls
For those that want to go a little bolder with their wedding-day nail choice, this shimmery pearl manicure is ideal.
14. Matte skinny French
The skinny French has had a lot of air time in this round-up, I know, but it's incredibly versatile. Instead of going for a high-shine, gel finish, why not keep things matte and understated?
15. Bow micro-accents
Combine a high-shine glitter tip with teeny-tiny accents in gold. I'm obsessed with how cute these little bows look.
16. Micro shimmer
This might just look like a normal pinky nude mani at first but look closer and you'll see flecks of gold shimmer in there. Dubbed 'micro-shimmer', these nails will hit the sun in the most beautiful of ways.
17. Negative space
For brides who like something a little cooler than a standard white polish, try a negative space design like this one.
18. Mermaid tips
I can't stop staring at these beauties. With a pearly, mermaid-like tip, this is the ideal way to make the classic French manicure super special for your wedding day.
19. High-shine grey
Proving that wedding nails don't need to be all things pink and nude, this gel-finish grey is equally as pretty.
20. White dots
Something about the simplicity of this white-dot design is really calling out to me. If you're not into matte finishes like this one, it would look just as great with a sheen.
21. Olive green
A green polish might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of bridal nails, but just imagine how good this shade would look wrapped around your bouquet.
22. Black micro-French
If you favour dark shades, this black French manicure is a great way to add some personality into your wedding-day look.
23. Precious gems
It's a little extra, I know, but I'm kind of loving the idea of nails that sparkle with my ring. My engagement ring has a yellow sapphire stone, so I'd swap out the green gems for something yellow to follow the look through.
