How To Find Your Perfect Wedding Day Look
Whether you’re going for a natural look or for something with a little more oomph, your wedding day makeup, skin and hair have to look amazing. Doing research, understanding your style and taking action on your own will have you well on your way to a perfect wedding day look.
Choosing a Beauty Style
What is the wedding day look you want? Are you going Bohemian? Maybe something more glamorous and classic? The truth is that most brides have no idea how to describe the look they want. So don’t. Do research online and in top bridal magazines and find the look you like. Save it and show it to your makeup artist and hair stylist. Way easier than learning new lingo.
How To Get Inspired
Before you start ripping your favorite pages out of beauty magazines, look at favorite pictures of yourself. Maybe your eyes or your full lips make you stunning — or perhaps you loved the rosy glow in your cheeks that day.
Make note of your day-to-day beauty dilemmas, such as mascara on your bottom lashes tends to give you dark circles or lip liner makes your lips dry, and share these concerns with your makeup artist. And don’t be afraid to try something new — as long as you test-drive the look before the wedding. You may find colors or combinations you are afraid of actually look great on you.
Bring actual photos of looks you love when you meet with your makeup artist. After all, your idea of what’s “natural” or “elegant” might be different from hers.
Finding a Makeup Artist
A good makeup artist can mean the difference between a nice wedding face and a drop-dead beautiful one. As with any wedding vendor, you’ll want to do your research. Look online, talk to the ladies at your bridal salon or your reception venue, speak with local brides and friends — cover all the bases.
Once you find one you love, you’ll need to set up a consultation. What many brides don’t realize about a consultation is that this is a trial run — which means, most professionals will only want to give you an idea of the look you’re after, not an exact replica of what to expect on wedding day. Your artist might do the left eye in one color combination and the right in another, so you have a comparison of which works better.
Bridal Hair
Just like makeup, you’ll want to follow the exact same steps with your wedding hair. Do research, find some photos of your hair when you considered it at its best and then track down some hair stylists.
Take Care Of Yourself
Get some sleep. Drink Lots of Water. Your skin reflects how well you take care of yourself. Excessive smoking and drinking can also leave you with a pallid complexion. Since cigarettes and alcohol both restrict the circulation of oxygen through your body, your skin does not get the oxygen and nutrients it needs to look healthy and supple. Drinking lots of water (at least eight glasses a day) and getting enough exercise, however, can help to increase circulation and flush out toxins.
Wedding Nails & Hands
A wedding band, holding each others’ hands while walking down the aisle, showing off your bouquet, giving friends and family hugs & handshakes and not to mention lots and lots of photographs capturing each and every memory; your hands and wedding nails are an integral part of your wedding day, so treat them as such. Just like with your hair, skin and body, you may want to take the months leading up to the celebration to become healthier in every form and fashion. Here are some tips to start the madness and ensure your wedding hands and wedding nails are perfect:
1. Manicures, please:
If you can budget it, start getting monthly or bi-monthly manicures to your wedding nail health. You’re less apt to pick, pull and bite off your nails if they’re painted and pretty. It’ll also help moisturize your cuticles bends and hands, especially when you’re having a winter wedding – the worst time of the year for cracked knuckles and red patches.
2. Go Natural:
Obviously this is completely opinion-oriented and based on your personal-preferences, but so long are the days of long, fake acrylics. Go with gel nail polishes or your natural length. It’ll be easier to upkeep, handle and you won’t have any uncomfortable moments during the wedding or honeymoon.
3. Coconut Oil:
Invest in coconut oil. Just like with your skin and hair, coconut oil will help your nails too. Use this on your hands daily for at least 3 months leading up to the big day. Trust me, you’ll thank us later when you don’t have one dry patch or rough cuticle in sight. This is our secret tip for wedding nails that are healthy and beautiful.
4. Vitamins:
Yes, even your nails can benefit from your vitamins. If you never took vitamins before, then this is the time to start doing so. The right kind of multi-vitamins can help your nails grow longer, your hair look shinier and your skin clearer and glowing.
6. Check the Shade:
You may think you know the color you want to go with on the day of, but don’t go without trying it. First, try it out on your nails and see how well it goes with your skin tone. Then hold your digits up against your wedding dress and make sure all three colors mesh well together and make for the perfect wedding day palette. Wedding day nails require the same dress rehearsal as the rest of the outfits.
7. Don’t forget:
The primer! Whether it’s paint on the walls of your house or paint on your nails, a strong foundation is a necessity for a smooth transition and solid coating. Make sure you manicurist doesn’t nix this integral part! My personal favorite primer? Butter’s Nail Foundation Flawless Basecoat, worth the extra in price because it’s such a top-notch product.
8. SPF:
Just like your face and the rest of your body, rub some SPF on those hands too! Just like the sun and tanning beds can cause wrinkles in your face, your hands can get wrinkles too and no one wants that. Care for your hands everyday for a graceful, soft touch when it comes time to celebrate.
Getting Your Hair Wedding Ready
The dress. The shoes. The jewelry. The makeup. It seems like all these decisions are checked off before a bride starts to consider her hair. How’s it going to be styled? Will you be doing it yourself or hiring a professional? Don’t wait until the last minute to figure out this integral part of the bridal day beauty. And in the months leading up to the walk down the aisle, pay attention to the health of your hair. Here are a few important tips on getting your hair wedding ready from start to finish.
1. Take your vitamins.
You want healthy hair on your wedding day. Instead of brittle, dry dos, a healthy head of tresses will be glowing, shiny and more voluminous, which are all important factors no matter what type of style you’ve chosen to go with. Besides, healthy hair grows faster! So, those vitamins will also help to grow some long locks for the big celebration!
2. Get inch trims.
If you are trying to grow your hair out as much as you can before the wedding date arrives, don’t skip on getting your hair trimmed. Go in every 4-6 weeks as you plan the party and get what I like to call “inch trims,” where your hairdresser takes only an inch off the bottom. It’ll keep split ends at bay and promote faster growth!
3. Stop using heat.
As much as you can in the months leading up to your walk down the aisle, stop using heat on your hair. When you can let your head air dry, let it. When you can put away the curling rods and straighteners, do it. Heat will dry and break you hair, so time without the disturbance will help to conjure up a healthy glow.
4. Test out different products.
Don’t use new products on the day of the wedding. Instead, test out different products long before you plan your hairstyle. Using new stuff without any experimenting can easily turn into a big disaster. Make sure you know how certain products work with your hair before you rely on them.
6. Have several trial runs.
Yes, just like with your makeup, it’s imperative that you have not just one, but several trials concerning your hair. Make sure it’s exactly what you want in terms of style. And then make sure it photographs just the way you like it. Finally, time it out so you can create an accurate timeline for your “getting ready” moments.
7. Don’t wash your hair.
If you’re styling your hair in an intricate up do or with luscious curls, nix washing your hair on the day of. Wash it the day or evening before, yes, but hair with a little oil built up is so much easier to style. It also holds volume, curls and even waves far better than clean, silky hair does.
8. Have a backup plan.
When it comes to hair, there’s always an unpredictable element attached to it. Have a backup plan in place in case anything goes wrong or just, not quite right. Have extra hair accessories, have extra products and have an extra style ready for any of those pop-up problems!
Getting Into Wedding Shape
Most brides want to lose some weight or get ripped for their wedding day. We were exactly the same, so it definitely not a unique feeling.
Whether or not you have the dress yet, it will fit better on a healthy and toned body, and it is advisable to think about how to do this sooner rather than later to avoid any last minute ‘panic diets’ which can take their toll on your physical and emotional health – at a time when you are likely to be quite stressed from the wedding planning in any case!
There is really no trick to it – a healthy, balanced diet combined with exercise will be the best way to a healthy you, and (if you want to that is) shed some pounds. It will also be the key to stay on top mental form and keeping a sharp, clear mind for all that wedding organizing!
Don’t forget to drink up! We’re not talking happy hour — we mean water, and plenty of it. Water helps the body shed toxins and keeps you from over-snacking during the day. Second, eat smaller portions. You definitely don’t have to go hungry, but by eating a few small meals throughout the day, you’ll eat less and still feel satisfied. The third way to start losing weight for the wedding is to fill up on fruits and vegetables. The more healthy snacks you eat, the less you’ll crave more unhealthy options. Keep fruits and veggies washed and cut in your refrigerator for easy snacking. Next step on your path to getting in shape for your wedding: cut back on alcohol.
Staying in shape needn’t be a chore, or take up too much time and energy – in fact, regular exercise is one of the best ways to give you more energy and ‘get up and go’. Exercise can easily fit in and around the nooks and crannies of your life, and if you do it regularly, you’ll feel so much better that you’ll start to look forward to your daily workout!
Find an exercise routine that makes sense for you. You don’t need to run 100 miles per week, that’s setting yourself up for failure. Keep in mind that anything that gets you up and moving counts toward your wedding weight loss plan.
8 Bridal Beauty Don’ts
1. Don’t Get A Tan
Skin cancer risks aside, this is a still bad idea. If you have too dark a tan can look unnatural in wedding photos, especially compared to your wedding party and your new husband. It is also really hard to fix if you make this mistake.
2. Don’t Make Major Medical Changes
Don’t even think about messing with your birth control, skin-care program, washing detergent or anything like that. 2 months out and you shouldn’t mess with any of these elements. They can mess with your skin and that’s a bad situation.
3. Forget The Facial
No facials. Also, don’t get your brows waxed, or cut or color your hair two days or less before your wedding. Get these services done a week or so beforehand then you have plenty of time to remedy any issues.
4. Less Salt Please
Don’t touch salty foods, sauces, dressings, or salty deli meats. Instead, choose low- or no-sodium everything starting at least seven days before the wedding. Sodium holds 50 times its weight in water, so you can shed two to five pounds the week before the wedding just by doing this!
5. Don’t Flat-Iron Your Hair
That cute, flat-ironed hairstyle you had for your rehearsal dinner is going to wreak havoc on the curly look you’re planning for your ceremony. If you’re aiming for soft, romantic curls on your wedding day, you need to have fresh hair.
6. Pack Your Emergency Kit
Include different sized safety pins, double-sided sticky tape, a small sewing kit, a small pair of scissors, a bleach pen, bobby pins, hair spray, blotting papers, gum or mints, a razor, deodorant, Band-Aids, a small packs of tissue, nail polish remover, clear nail polish, an emery board, a nail clipper, makeup remover wipes, tampons, and anything else you think you might need.
7. Plan For a Touch Up
Bring a touch-up bag and actually use the products at the reception. You may have hired the best makeup and hair professionals you could find, but if you’re sweating (which you will with all the dancing) then you’ll need to make a small touchup.
8. Drink Lots of Water
Double up on your water intake for at least one m