The "Wedding Chop" Is the New Dress Change

There are a lot of ways you can make a statement at your wedding. Maybe you coordinate a big dance number with your partner, or you plan a dramatic dress change between the ceremony and reception. Now, there's a new beauty trend taking the mid-event switch-up to a whole new level: brides are chopping their hair off halfway through the big day.

Instead of going from a long and formal dress in the daytime to something shorter and a bit more fun at night, they're doing it with their hair — taking their longer lengths to a lob or bob that barely reaches their shoulders. It may sound dramatic, but that's kind of the point. A quick search of "wedding chop" or "wedding haircut" on TikTok produces thousands of videos with a collective 81 million views of women cutting their hair mid-event.

"Most brides tend to grow their hair out for the big day and are usually really ready for a change by the time the wedding day gets there, so why not change it up at the wedding?" celebrity hairstylist Alex Brown tells POPSUGAR. "It can really create a whole new look without having to spend hundreds on a second dress."

One of the top videos with 5.6 million views was posted by salon owner and hairstylist Stephanie Lee. It shows Lee putting a cape over a bride, still dressed in her white gown, as she trims three to four inches from her ends. The second video, shared by bride Livi Lopez, is similar. At the start of the clip, she has a long, voluminous ponytail, which she then chops into a "clavicut" that falls just below her shoulders. She also changes into a sequined jumpsuit to complete the transformation before heading off to her ceremony. Talk about making an entrance.

Lee says it's a great way to "have fun and do something you'll always look back on and smile at the fact that you did it."

If you're considering undergoing your own big wedding chop, you'll need to pay a little extra to keep your hairstylist around — unless you're lucky enough to have a hairstylist among your friend group. This isn't something you want to attempt to DIY or enlist the help of any old guest. "Set aside enough time after dinner and before the dance for the big cut," Brown says. "Roughly 30 minutes is what it should take on average, depending on your stylist." Depending on what your starting wedding hairstyle is, such as an updo, you may also need to consider redoing your hair after the chop, but that hassle may be worth it. Just think of the reaction your partner and wedding guests will have when they see you emerge with a whole new look. There's no better way to embark on a new journey.