Welcome to Cliphair’s annual Bridal Hairstyling Awards, where we celebrate the crème de la crème of bridal hairstyling talent from around the world. This year, we are thrilled to introduce our panel of distinguished judges who bring a wealth of experience, creativity, and expertise to the table. From working with high-profile clients and fashion houses to educating the next generation of stylists, these industry leaders have done it all. Let’s meet the remarkable individuals who will be evaluating the stunning entries and deciding who will take home the coveted awards this year!
Meet Our Judges
Kasia Fortuna: Best Bridal Look
Credit: @kasia_fortuna
Kasia is one of the most renowned and respected hairstylists in the bridal beauty industry with a large fanbase who follow her every move. She has been styling bridal hair since 2010, teaching since 2016, and is the co-founder and tutor for the Kristina Gasperas Online Academy, which has close to 3,000 professional bridal hairstylist/makeup artist members in over 40 countries.
On the judging panel for the UK’s Wedding Industry Awards and annual Moroccanoil x Eurovision Song Contest ‘Show Us Your Style’ competition, she is also an educator for the Behind the Chair online education portal's BTC University, as well as a regular finalist in their prestigious One Shot Hair Awards.
Kasia teaches courses and masterclasses all over the UK, Europe and the US, including at the Moroccanoil Academy in New York, as well as releasing regular online training tutorials and streaming live sessions. She shares daily hairstyling content on Instagram with her loyal followers of brides-to-be and professional hairstylists, with many of her photoshoots making an appearance in bridal and fashion magazines, as well as catwalk shows, and even royalty.
Stacie Goodwin: Best Hair Down
Credit: @staciegoodwinbridalhair
Stacie Goodwin is a well-respected and recognisable figure within the bridal industry. Stacie admits she had initially had a difficult time practicing bridal hair in the early stages of her career, and that it was something that came to her much later on. Since then, Stacie has invested in training with top industry stylists and realised her love of the craft and has worked with over 300+ brides around the globe.
In terms of accolades, Stacie is a proud, two-time winner of The Wedding Industry Awards (Regional Hairstylist), as well as a variety of impressive magazine and editorial features, including Rock My Wedding.
Above all, Stacie is highly passionate about providing her brides with a sense of calm and an overall enjoyable and relaxed experience, so each bride can feel their best self on their big day. Her speciality is glam waves, a hairstyle that she teaches in her masterclasses and 1:1s with stylists in training, an opportunity that allows her to give back to an industry that has brought her endless joy.
Hannah Taylor: Best Hair Up
Credit: @hairbyhannahtaylor
Ever since she was a little girl, Hannah Taylor always knew that she wanted to be a hairstylist and began working in a local hair salon at the age of 14, working their full time after leaving school and working there until she was 22. Now with an impressive 17 years of hairstyling experience to her name, Hannah has been specialising in bridal hair for over a decade and dedicates her time to travelling the globe for her bridal parties and educating and inspiring other hairstylists.
Based in Sheffield, Hannah now has her own hair studio, where herself and her dedicated team have also developed in-depth, online hairstyling and bridal hair courses and workshops, with a loyal community of over 1,300 student hairstylists worldwide.
With endless bridal experience and many opportunities working in different wedding locations and environments, Hannah and her team are deeply passionate about making every bride’s getting ready process completely stress-free, with a mission to make their special day as magical as possible.
Olga Markuse: Best Half Up Half Down
Credit: @bridal_hairstylist
Olga is an established bridal hairstylist and wedding hair educator based in the UK. Hair has been Olga's hobby and inspiration since early childhood, many years before becoming a full-time job. The way the right hairstyle can change people's mood and how they feel and present themselves fascinates Olga and drives her ambition to acquire new techniques and also share them with her students.
Specialising in elegant, carefully curated hair and makeup looks for brides, Olga has been heavily inspired by timeless icons such as Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly, seamlessly blending the past and present to make her clients’ hair dreams a reality. With a mission to bring out her clients’ best features, she believes that the best sign that your hair looks right is when you feel completely at ease and are able to leave the house and completely forget about it.
Liz Cooper: Best Braid
Credit: @theartfulhairstylist
After kickstarting her career as a freelancer over a decade ago, Liz Cooper is now an award-winning hairstylist known for her love of everything ‘boho’. Free-spirited, meticulous and fuelled by her desire to create, Liz has a love of dried flowers, floral accessories, and is deeply inspired by the nature around her, particularly from her bridal boutique nestled away in a log cabin in Southdown’s National Park in Catherington, Hampshire.
Fast forward to today, Liz has now handed over the baton and is educating other aspiring boho hairstylists through online and one-to-one workshops. Specialising in creating textured, voluminous hair looks for all hair types, Liz also incorporates the use of hair extensions and cruelty-free, Vegan hairstyling products to ensure every bride is instilled with confidence, radiate the beauty that they have within, and is completely comfortable regarding both their appearance, and their ethics.
Claire Hartley: Best Ponytail
Credit: @clairehartleystylist
Based between Devon and Cornwall, Claire Hartley is a highly capable bridal hairstylist who has primarily served South West brides for the past 20 years. Claire completed a HND in Fashion Styling and Photography at the prestigious London College of Fashion. Having completed her degree, she went on to further her passion of clothing, styling and hair, and took the natural route of training has a hairdresser.
Claire not only has extensive experience in the hair industry but also in photography. A keen photographer, she found herself capturing weddings and soon established herself as a professional wedding photographer. It was here that she discovered her love for the wedding industry.
Since 2018, Claire has set up her own business and won the National title of ‘Wedding Hairstylist of The Year’ at the Wedding Business Awards 2020, as well as first place in the South West for Best Bridal Individual (Hair) at the HBA Awards 2023 and National Second Place for the same category for HBA 2024.
Claire’s feels it is a great privilege to be selected as a hair artist for a wedding or special occasion and one that she thoroughly enjoys.
Ulyana Aster: Best International Look for Any Hairstyle
Credit: @ulyana.aster
Ulyana Aster has become one of the world’s most renowned hairstylists, building her brand in the bridal hair industry to exciting new heights over the course of the past 15 years.
She has educated thousands of hairstyling students both online and in person, teaching not only how to create trendy hairstyles, but also how to effectively build a digital portfolio and optimise social media channels for hairstylists to communicate their brand and talent in the best way possible. Ulyana also provides guidance on taking professional photos and videos, along with easy and accessible marketing steps to help grow your business into a success.
Overall, Ulyana’s mission is to help hairstylists to become successful and empowered individuals, equipping them by sharing her expertise, knowledge on how to gain financial independence, and create a thriving, booked-out business.
Zoe Webbe: Best Cliphair Look / Previous Winner
Credit: @zwhairmua
After taking a liking to hairstyling at just the age of 14, running a successful hairstyling column in a salon, and training in musical theatre at the Brit School, Zoe is proud to have amassed over 13 years of professional hairstyling experience under her belt.
Zoe soon decided that musical theatre was more of a hobby, and that hair and makeup was a stronger passion that she wanted to pursue. She went on to train at Brushstroke Hair and Makeup School at Shepperton Studios and has since worked in successful Blowdry Bars: Duck and Dry (Chelsea), Vanity Lounge (Sutton), and Blow Garden (Kent).
In this time, she was privileged enough to have styled hair for the likes of Pippa Middleton and Lottie Moss. Zoe enjoyed a 4-year career as Brand Manager for a new starter Blow Dry Bar, where she represented the salons backstage at London Fashion Week in 2019 alongside Label.M, as well as heading up their Bridal team as Director, in salon as management, Senior Stylist and trainer.
Fast forward to January 2022, Zoe took the leap to go solo and concentrate all of her energy into her main passion: the wedding industry. In November 2022, she won Best Hairstylist and Best Newcomer for the South-East region in the prestigious Wedding Industry Awards. Zoe then went on to win National Best Newcomer to the wedding industry a few months later. In 2023, Zoe won Best Hairstyle in Cliphair's competition where she had the opportunity to demo her signature Glamour Waves at Salon International alongside her brand.
Since then, Zoe's love of hairstyling has recently turned to education. Hosting masterclasses and regular 1 to 1s with bridal hairstylists, she loves to share her knowledge and skills with others. Her newest venture is a podcast titled 'Your Bridal Besties' where she speaks fort-nightly about all things weddings with her MUA friend, Eloise, and guests in the industry.
Stay Tuned
Our esteemed judges represent the pinnacle of bridal hairstyling excellence, bringing diverse experiences and a shared passion for beauty and creativity. We are honoured to have them on board and excited to see the incredible talent that this year’s competition will showcase. Stay tuned for more updates, behind-the-scenes insights, and the announcement of our winners!
