The Ultimate Wedding Look and Beauty Countdown
Helping you prepare your wedding looks
Your wedding is the one day where you are allowed to go all out with your make-up and accessories, and all eyes will still be on you.
In the days leading up to your wedding, you will most likely be pulling out all the stops to make sure that you both look and feel your best. In this article, we will help you align your beauty plans with your wedding goals, by providing you with a timeline and ways to approach your wedding beauty regime.
To help keep all your plans in order, get a binder that has all the information regarding your wedding plans, including your main wedding checklist, followed by your beauty and clothing timeline.
The Early Bird Approach
Timing: This should be worked on about nine to 12 months before the wedding
• Researching wedding and style trends
The wedding outfit is the most crucial part of your entire wedding ensemble. Your wedding dress is the base piece that you may consider adding elements to help elevate the way it looks on you.
There are many different cuts and silhouettes to choose from, and the best part about wedding dress shopping is that the dress type you normally wouldn’t consider can change your perceptions, and ends up being the best pick for you.
If you’re opting for traditional attire, there is also room to have the outfit made to reflect your personality and style. Remember that you can switch up the colors of the outfits, or include accents that give them a little edge.
• Inspiration folders
When you begin looking for inspiration for your wedding look, you can start by setting up Pinterest boards or by creating inspiration folders. If you are working with a wedding planner, they will be able to help you gather inspiration and looks to help you pick out outfits based on your wedding theme and ideas.
If you plan on getting a second outfit for the day for your reception, then you can decide to match it up with the hair and makeup you got for the ceremony, or you can kick it up a notch by switching it up entirely for the reception part of your wedding. A second look is sure to wow crowds even more, and provides you with the option to showcase your range of styles.
• Preliminary jewelry choices
Once you settle on some concrete ideas for your wedding dress, hair, and make-up; your next task would be to decide on the jewelry you want to pair with your outfit.
While you don’t have to make a definitive choice at this point, you can start looking at jewelry that will be in line with your theme. Make allocations for cultural jewelry, heirlooms, and simple pieces that you may want to wear for your wedding.
• Showcasing your piercings and tattoos
When it comes to showing off tattoos and piercings on your wedding day, there are several ways forward for you.
You can create a cohesive look with your piercings, by opting for jewelry made from the same metals, or by using matching clickers and studs. You can also pick out similar designs for the different pieces, by matching the gems on the jewelry, or you can create a set of jewels that is specifically made for your piercings on your wedding day.
If you don’t want your facial piercings on display, you can use retainers, which are clear piercing jewels. These are subtle pieces and won’t let them stand out on the day.
• Scheduling appointments
This is the point where you will start actively looking for dresses and accessories for your wedding. Find the boutiques or seamstresses that carry styles of dresses in your chosen themes and make appointments to try a few options on.
Look at hairstylists and make-up artists who specialize in the looks that you prefer, and make appointments for consultations.
Why start early?
If you want a dress that is custom made, or if you end up needing alterations on a bought piece, these will take time to create. The earlier you pick them out the less stressed you will be closer to your wedding day. This extra time will make the selection process more enjoyable, as you won't have a close deadline looming over you.
Beauty and Wellness Countdown
Timing: Start working on this about six to eight months before the wedding
• Consultation with a hairstylist and makeup artist
The purpose of making early appointments with make-up artists is so that the artists can have an idea of your skin tones, your undertones, and what make-up colors and shades will suit you best.
With hairstylists, they will be able to see your natural hair and give you advice on how best you can style it. It doesn’t matter how long, short, curly, or straight your hair is, they will provide suitable advice on the way to move forward.
When you’re going to these consultations, take along inspirational ideas so that they see the expectations you have for your wedding look.
• Make-up Ideas
When you’re looking at ideas for your make-up, you need to remember that the make-up you decide on needs to be of a nature where it will be appropriately captured through photographs.
That being said, you need to feel comfortable with what is going on your skin. Some options that you can take into consideration are glamorous looks, smokey eye looks, soft-glam make-up, dewy looks for the beach, or Victorian-inspired romantic look for a more vintage wedding.
If you are a person who experiences sensory discomfort or just doesn’t like wearing too much make-up, then a minimal make-up look will be more suitable. But remember, to achieve a natural look, it takes quite a lot of make-up to attain the effect of seeming natural.
Brides who are feeling daring can be a little dramatic and opt for graphic eyeliner that includes bold colors, or little hints that allude to your wedding theme.
You can also tweak your entire make-up to fit in with your wedding theme, like lots of glitter for fairy themes.
• Ways you can do your hair
As you will be taking into consideration the length of your hair, you also need to decide if you want to make use of additional extensions, or if you will be wearing a head covering, like a veil for the ceremony.
Short to medium-length hair ideas can include curling your hair or straightening, and if you have longer hair you can decide on wearing it up or down.
Keep in mind if you want adornments in your hair like tiaras, hair clips, flowers, etc.
• Trial appointments for hair and make-up
After your initial consultation, make an appointment for make-up and hair trials closer to your wedding date.
This will be how your hair and makeup will look on your wedding day. This is where you can decide to make active changes if you don’t like something, perhaps the way the hair looks, or if you don’t feel like the make-up matches your desired outcome.
• Start a skincare routine
To have your skin in perfect condition for your wedding day, you can begin a daily skincare regime. The earlier you start, the better for your skin.
Your skincare regime should include vital aspects like cleansing, toning, and moisturizing. Make use of other skincare options like serums and weekly facemasks, nightly eye creams, and use sunscreen every day. Include other treatments for your skin if you have conditions like acne, dryness, oiliness, or pigmentation.
For certain skin conditions that cannot be corrected with drugstore medication, check in with a dermatologist to help get your skin in tip-top condition for the wedding.
The reason for doing this early is so that you can make room for trial and error regarding any potential adverse reactions by certain brands. It will also give you ample time for your skin to fully heal after going through intense skin-related treatments.
• Wellness and fitness goals for the big day
Depending on whether you are trying on dresses to buy or having one be made, you will be a certain size when you’re going through the initial measurement stages.
In order to fit into the dress several months in the future, it would be ideal to maintain those measurements to prevent too many alterations closer to the wedding day. Even if it does come to that, you should not be hard on yourself as it is natural for your bodyweight to fluctuate in size.
To maintain your size, you can engage in light exercises and diets. However, you should not overwork yourself, as that can also affect the way your dress will fit you.
Accessorizing your Look
Timing: Begin this process about four to six months before the wedding
• Choosing your accessories
The closer you get to the wedding date, you will need to make purchases for your outfit, This includes shoes, jewelry, and other accessories.
Remember to take along a sample swatch of your wedding dress material to the stores with you. This will help you match your dress to the accessories that you pick out.
Don’t forget to look at accessories other than jewelry and shoes, like possible bouquets that you will carry, tiaras or flower crowns for your hair, purses, and cloaks that you may want to wear.
• Bridal Jewelry
Like make-up, brides have differing opinions on the type of jewelry they find appropriate to wear on their wedding day. You can go with the traditional approach and wear jewelry that has cultural significance. This includes intricate chains, bangles, and nose rings.
You can choose a minimalist approach that includes single chains with a gemstone, tennis bracelets, and chokers. This is an option that a lot of brides will choose, especially if their wedding dresses have intricate stones on them.
You can boost the glam effect, by having a dazzling dress and including dazzling jewelry to compliment it.
Considerations
Match accessories with your theme and outfit. If you’re having a forest wedding, you can wear necklaces that resemble a tree branch with interspersed flowers. Beach weddings can be honored by wearing a necklace that has a seashell pendant and so on.
Even though you would like to be a showstopper, remember to take into consideration your comfort and style. Try to find a balance between the two.
Final Fittings and Touch-Ups
Timing: These tasks will take place one to two months prior to the wedding
• Final outfit fittings
Close to the wedding, you will have your final fitting take place. It is this time, you will try on your dress and make any last-minute adjustments and alterations so that your dress fits you like a glove. If the alterations are minimal, then this will take no time at all.
• Confirming beauty appointments
By confirming your beauty appointments you will be minimizing the risk of miscommunication and reducing any errors from taking place. This way your vendors are also able to make sure that they aren’t double booked and are prepared properly for the wedding.
• A detailed timeline for the wedding day look
Create a timeline in accordance with when your stylists will be arriving at the wedding location to do your hair and makeup, and how much time you will be able to allocate for dressing up and taking pre-wedding photos.
After the wedding ceremony, you may be changing your outfit, your hair, and make-up - you might also want to touch up your current looks, either way, you will need to ensure that your stylists will be present at the right time and that you will be prepared and dressed before the reception begins.
Importance
These last-minute check-ins ensure that everything fits you perfectly and you can accommodate any last-minute adjustments.
The week before the wedding: The Final Preparations
Timing: The last week before the wedding
• Picking up the outfit
If you are having a destination wedding, you need to have your wedding dress safely packed before heading out to the accommodation. When you pick it up, try on your dress one last time before you leave your seamstress to make sure everything is in order. Once you reach your destination, make sure that your dress is steamed and hung up, and keep it away from anything that can cause damage to it. This way all you need to do is put it on for the wedding day.
• Final Beauty preparations
Do a final check-in with your stylists, so that everyone is on the same page. This way if there are any unforeseen circumstances, you can make any backup plans.
Conduct any last-minute beauty treatments, like facials, spas, and hair removal treatments.
Also, remember to pick up any jewelry and accessories that you have ordered and is not in your possession.
• Packing an emergency beauty kit
If something goes wrong, you need quick-fix items so that you and your wedding party don’t go into a panic on the big day.
Some of the key items needed for an emergency kit include bobby pins, a sewing kit, fashion tape, a lint roller, menstrual products, and medication for stomach bugs and allergies. This will make sure that you and your bridal party will be prepared for any hiccup that occurs.
Tips
By being organized in advance, you will be able to stay relaxed throughout the last stretch of the wedding preparations. To make things easier, delegate any last-minute tasks to helpful members of your wedding party.
Last Thing,
As a bride, there is a lot of pressure on you for your big day, and this includes making sure that you look as ethereal as you envisioned. To achieve this we have created a timeline to help you prepare for your wedding’s beauty factor and provide tips to help you make navigating your choices seamlessly.
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