Hair & Make-up on the Big Day – Look your best!

You’ve been manicured, pedicured, plucked, waxed, exfoliated, preened, pampered and primed to perfection for the most important day of your life. With all other wedding preparations in place, the stress of planning and arranging behind you, your big day has finally come and all that remains is the last, but by no means least important detail before you wed – your hair and make-up.

Whether you’re going it alone or putting yourself in the capable hands of a professional, it’s imperative for every bride to not only look her best, but to feel her best also; especially when all eyes are on you. This isn’t just important for the day itself, but for many years to come. Your wedding pictures will be proudly displayed in your home throughout your marriage, as beautiful reminders of a wonderful day in your life with the person you love. No bride ever wants to look at those pictures and have the memories tainted because she feels like she didn’t look her best that day. The blusher applied a little too heavy by an aspiring make-up artist friend perhaps, or that curly voluminous hair set by your future mother-in-law falling lank by the time your photographer takes the most important pictures you’ll ever be in.

Call in the Professionals!

The most obvious way to ensure you’ll look your most beautiful is by hiring a professional. Prices vary depending on their expertise and your requirements, with some make-up artists providing hair styling, and others not. Depending on your budget, you might want to treat your entire bridal party to being made-up by a team of professionals, which is a fun and glamorous experience in itself.

Most, if not all wedding hair and make-up artists, offer a consultation/trial service. This can usually be carried out within your own home to allow you the time in a relaxed setting to work out exactly how you want to look for your wedding and what works for your face, hair and skin type. It’s also the opportunity to bombard them with all the magazine cuttings of up-dos and soft smokey eyes that you’ve been collecting over the last few months. What’s more, you can address how that hair style will work with your tiara, veil or other accessories. This approach is absolutely imperative when hiring a professional; not only will you get to see what you’ll look like prior to the day with a trial run, but it’ll also reduce stress and ensure peace of mind when it comes to the real thing. It goes without saying, when hiring any professional you should always do your research beforehand; look at pictures of their previous work, read testimonials and be sure to use search engines to ensure they have a good reputation outside of the testimonials on their personal websites. The last thing any bride needs is to be bailed on at short notice!

Do It Yourself

If you’re a dab hand with a make-up brush and are confident in your abilities, you can always DIY it. This will not only save you money, but you’ll get exactly what you want. There are many resources online and in magazines full of looks, tutorials, tips and techniques which you can practice and master in time for the day. If you’ve got friends or family that are skilled with make-up or hair and you trust them, by all means consider them – but use your discretion, if their skills aren’t up to scratch it could show. Someone who demonstrates good hair and make-up skills on themselves might fall short when it comes to doing someone else’s. As any good make-up artist or hair stylist will tell you, it’s not just about how good something looks when it’s done that counts, but how good it looks in eight hours time. Having your girlfriends get you ready for your bachelorette party is a great opportunity to put them through their paces.

Stress, bad for the complexion!

On the lead up to your wedding day, skincare is paramount. It’s advisable not to change your skin regime a good few weeks prior to your wedding to avoid potential breakouts and blemishes. Another factor that can negatively affect your complexion is stress, and it’s not to be underestimated.

Whilst inevitable for most Brides planning the most important day of their lives, there are many things you can do to avoid stress, and they’re not necessarily the sort of things you’d find in a spa brochure or on a cosmetics counter. Avoiding stress on the run up to your wedding can be greatly alleviated by making plans as soon as possible, delegating tasks to friends and family to share the load, and taking out wedding insurance to protect the big day. An insurance policy in particular is something of a must-have for a lot of couples. With the time, energy and money that goes into creating the wedding of your dreams, it makes sense to have a safety net if anything – knock on wood – goes wrong and you have to make a claim. The peace of mind that comes with taking such precautions can keep the stress induced breakouts at bay and ensure you walk down the aisle looking your most radiant.

Maintenance

Finally, maintenance. This is an important factor that some brides don’t take into account. Appoint one of your bridesmaids as your standby make-up artist to watch over you and to be there when you require a little touch up. Assign her a few essentials to look after in her clutch: a small mirror, tissues, lipstick/lipgloss, eyeliners, false eyelash glue (if you’re wearing them of course) and especially blot powder/papers should you need to de-shine. A mini-can of hairspray might also come in handy if your have bangs and they decide to misbehave in humid weather. The best time to touch-up is directly after the ceremony, before you have your wedding pictures taken.

With your hair and make-up plans down that final ‘stress hurdle’ is out of the way and all that remains is to focus on enjoying your beautiful day. Every bride deserves to feel like the most beautiful woman in world during her wedding, and for the process to be as smooth and as stress free as possible. Whatever decision you make, be it to hire a professional, to rely on a trusted and skilled friend, or to simply do it yourself ; make sure it’s right for you and that the results leave you looking and feeling fabulous. Like any part of the wedding planning process, preparation well in advance is the absolute key. Best of luck, be confident and be beautiful!