Bridal beauty has gotten a little out of control. Experts are now suggesting not only facials (sure!) but peels, professional teeth whitening, full body waxes and weekly visits to the dermatologist (um, no thanks). Why not add plastic surgery to the list! What better time to get bigger breasts and a smaller nose than before your wedding? When we see these dramatic lists and suggestions, a little explosion in our brain occurs. We’re not celebrities, and we don’t have celebrity budgets.
We know that your wedding day is a special day and you do want to look your best, so this week, we’ll be exploring some beauty, health and skin care basics that we can all practice to insure we present our best possible bridal image!
The first thing to do is develop a timeline and a budget. Our bodies don’t improve overnight so it’s important to make sure that we set aside the time, energy, and money to work on it! Here’s the timeline E put together to prepare for her big day…
Six months before:
* Lay off the caffeine and begin drinking lots of water!
* Start a regular exercise routine.
* If possible, begin getting monthly facials.
* Test your wedding day hair color, if you plan to change it.
* Begin a skin care regimen (more on this tomorrow!)
* If you plan a weight loss program, be sure you’ve started it now. You have approximately 16 weeks until your fittings!
Three months before (your fittings are just in a month!)
* Eat as healthy as possible, not only to drop any extra unwanted pounds but also to enhance your skin tone for your fittings and prep for the big day.
* Hold your makeup and hair trials.
* If possible, start getting manicures and pedicures on a regular basis to prep your nails.
* Test your eyebrow procedure (waxing, threading, tweezing, etc) to see how long in advance you should book appointments for the wedding.
* Have your man get a test haircut and measure grow-out. Book his last hair appointment accordingly.
One week before (or based on timing from above):
* Go to your final hair, facial, and waxing appointments
* Make sure you sleep at least 8 hours a night!
* Eat as well and as regularly as you can. Avoid caffeine, salt, and sugar.
Three days before (or based on timing from above):
* Have your groom get his last haircut
* Final tanning (as necessary)
One day before:
* Last manicure!
There are a couple of great resources and checklists for you to check out. First, as we all know, the Knot has a great planning checklist that includes beauty items and tips. We also found a wonderful article on Hudson Valley Weddings, and iVillage has makeup tips for the minimalist bride.
E. is currently at t minus 60 days to go and she’s doing the best she can to adhere to the rules but she desperately misses ice cream!
What are all of you doing to prep for your wedding day?
A.