- A Florida bride whose hair naturally turned gray when she was 16 kept it that way for her wedding.
- Kadeja Jackson, 38, starred in a viral TikTok taken by her bridal makeup artist on the special day.
- Jackson said her relationship with her hair has been a journey but she's learned to embrace it.
A bride whose hair turned gray when she was a teenager is the star of a viral TikTok that she hopes empowers others to embrace their natural looks.
Kadeja Jackson, 38, told Insider she married her husband Derrick in June — 20 years after they first started dating. They met in high school, but their love story might've started earlier as her sister tried to introduce them way back in the fifth grade, she said.
Even so, Jackson said that for her and her husband, who share two sons, getting married when they did was "perfect timing."
"It really couldn't have been a better time because we would've got married 20 years ago but we wouldn't have been able to have a wedding of our dreams," she said. The wedding took place at the Hotel Colonnade in Coral Gables, Miami, which Jackson described as elegant, romantic, and filled with flowers.
Thousands of people have messaged the bride about her hair, she said
While wedding guests loved hearing about the way they met, she said she was completely unprepared for how much interest there's been in her naturally gray hair after her destination bridal makeup artist, Tia Codrington, uploaded a TikTok clip showing off the bridal beauty look on Saturday. Codrington, who goes by @mua_ttt_tia on TikTok, has over 1.3 million views on the video as of Friday.
"I was totally taken off guard. I see myself every day, so it's not a big deal," Jackson, a regional manager with the housing department, said.
Since it was posted, she said she's gotten thousands of messages from people asking questions about her hair and bridal look.
"Is that your real color? Do you really wear your hair like that? What motivated you?" are just a few examples of the reach outs she's gotten so far, she said, with many people telling her they were inspired to see her embracing her naturally gray hair.
"I can see how because at one point I didn't want it," she said. "But it's empowering because you feel comfortable being yourself."
The road to loving her gray hair was long, Jackson said
Learning to love her natural locks has "been a journey," she said. Going gray at 16 was nothing short of a surprise, and she said would dye it for years on end just trying to keep the natural color at bay.
But seven years ago, she decided enough was enough. "The roots, they're going to turn gray regardless," she said, so what was the point in continuing to damage her hair with hair dye?
So she embraced it: "And it looked like a whole lot of other people did too."
Even before the viral TikTok, she said people have loved looking at her hair. "I get stopped so many times a day and people ask me what hair color am I using. I'm like, 'I'm not using a hair color. That's my hair,'" she said.
Jackson's bridal beauty look accentuated her natural hair
Those Jackson credited with creating her sleek, classic bridal look include makeup artist Codrington, who she met for the first time on her wedding day.
Codrington told Insider via email that when she saw Jackson's hair, she said to herself: "This is definitely my type of bride, unapologetically true to themselves."
Ensuring the makeup worked with Jackson's hair was key, Codrington said.
"I wanted her skin to look fresh and vibrant but also accentuate her gorgeous features. I tied in some elements of sultriness but was careful not to incorporate eyeshadow colors that would work against her head of grays," she said. "Since her hair was the main attraction for me, I was very intentional with every step of her makeup process, ensuring the whole look was cohesive."
In terms of the hair, styled by Martine Saintval, Jackson said they went for old Hollywood glam, which incorporated a silver hairpiece accessory.
Jackson's wedding planner, Jarvis Lawhorn, told Insider the final look was one of his all-time favorites.
"We worked extremely hard to create a timeless regal and vintage classic bridal look. Kadeja is naturally a beautiful woman but on her wedding day she transformed into almost a regal queen," he said. "Her natural grey hair color also added a different take on the usual and more common hair color."
Overall, he called Jackson's wedding day look "breathtaking."