Top 10 Beauty Tips For The Big Day
As a plus-size former-bride, here are my top 10 big day beauty tips that I wish someone would’ve told me before I got married.
- Buy the best, most comfortable shoes you can afford. Start off with a great, comfortable shoe because you will be on feet all day and night. You can always “prettify” a plain shoe if it’s comfy. A pretty-but-bad shoe is going to cause blisters, back ache, and fatigue – the things you don’t need to deal with. (I can’t tell you how many brides I’ve seen blow big bucks on hot shoes only to kick them off and go barefoot the minute the reception starts.)
- Get properly fitted for your bra/foundation garment. This will make a huge difference in the way your gown fits. The better your underthings fit, the better your gown will fit, the better you’ll look. The bra, especially if it’s a strapless, is not the place to skimp in your wedding budget.
- Speaking of underthings, skip the fancy panties until the honeymoon. Girls, it gets hot underneath all that skirt and petticoat. Cotton panties are gonna be your best friend on your wedding day. Go for comfort and save the sexy until only your sweetie is going to see it.
- Your gown will stretch during the day. This is an important tip if you’re wearing a strapless gown. Be prepared to constantly hike it up near the end of the day. If you have a corseted gown, assign a maid to “tighten my laces” duty (it’s very Scarlet O’Hara, don’t you think?).
- Wear sunscreen. If you’re having an outdoor wedding, put on sunscreen. This is another area where I’ve personally seen brides get sunburned (even on mostly-cloudy days) during the ceremony because they forgot. Ouch!
- Do trial runs with hair and makeup; wear the trials all day if you can get away with it AND take pictures to see how they look on film. Photographs are much less forgiving than the human eye. You may be surprised that what looks good in the studio/salon doesn’t look so great outside and on camera.
- Have a beauty emergency kit on hand: brush, comb, hairpins, hair spray, makeup and makeup brushes, blotting sheets or powder, makeup remover pads, chapstick, nail file, nail polish in your color of the day, a pack of fake fingernails, eye drops, q-tips, dental floss, a sewing kit with extra buttons, non-scented moisturizer, lint brush, and drinking straws.
- Do a test run with your jewelry. Just one day, while puttering around the house, put on your bridal jewelry. Those uber-hot chandelier earrings might be killing you after an hour. Or that dainty little bracelet turns your wrist a lovely shade of pond-scum green. Or that tiara might actually weigh a ton and tries to embed itself into your skull. It’s best to know these things before your wedding day.
- Don’t wait until the last minute to: dye your hair, get a facial, get a bikini wax, start a new birth control method, or change your skin care regimen. All of these things should be done as far in advance as possible in case there’s any skin reaction or botched dye job, in the case of hair disasters.
- Take care of yourself throughout the day! It’s soooo easy to get caught up in the whirlwind that is your wedding day. You’ll be pulled a million directions by a million people so it’s of the utmost importance to take a break every now and then to grab a bite to eat, drink plenty of water, touch up makeup, go pee… all the things you’re taking for granted now. Just having a moment to step back, take a deep breath, and enjoy a second or two of silence and stillness will keep you looking and feeling refreshed and vibrant.
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4 Responses to “Top 10 Beauty Tips For The Big Day”
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I have always thought that saving your sexy undies for AFTER the wedding and reception was a good idea :p I can’t imagine you’d feel very sexy afterwards anyway
(Not that I’d know, I’m not married yet )
Great tips! I was thinking that too @Shannon!
#4 is especially true. I wore a custom made gown that was made just for my body and from the time I put on the gown to the time we were arriving at the reception, my gown had grown an amazing 4 inches!! My MoH and I had to do some pretty major wedding gown surgery before the reception could really get going. So, I also recommend bringing a bunch of safety pins for “just in case.”
I also really like #2 a well fitting undergarment is always key to a well fitting garment. And #3. Nobody wants to see a bride pickin’ a wedgie all day because she wore that sexy thong that no one can see. Trust me full butt cotton panties are the way to go!
I would love to see a post on where to get the proper undergarments or custom fitted ones!