Top 5 Beauty Preparation Tips for Your Wedding

Your wedding day is just around the corner, and you’re swiftly checking major chores off of your master list. Congratulations on making it through the planning process with your sanity intact! A wedding may very well be the happiest day of your life, but there are a lot of sleepless nights and shouting matches with nagging relatives before you walk down the aisle. All of that stress and anxiety is a sure recipe for a beauty disaster. Just think about it. What happens right before you have to make a big presentation or go on a job interview? Do you get a huge pimple, even if you haven’t had one in years? You’ll want to do everything you can to avoid this and other rough wedding day fates, especially for the photos that will stay with your family for the rest of your life. Here are the top five beauty preparation tips for your wedding.

First of all, don’t lose sight of proper nutrition in the months leading up to your wedding. Stress like this leads people to either over eat as a coping mechanism or to starve themselves to make sure they fit in the dress. There’s definitely a happy medium to be found, and if you keep that in mind you’ll look fresh and radiant in your wedding photos. Make sure you get enough calories and eat a balanced diet centered on whole, natural foods. Take a quality multivitamin as well. It will help your hair look shiny and healthy, and will give your skin the sort of radiant glow that can’t come out of a bottle.

You also must make sure you get enough sleep in the weeks prior to your wedding. This may seem impossible, but now is the time to delegate. Staying up nights worrying won’t help. Instead, you’ll deepen the lines around your eyes and the sort of bags that aren’t anyone’s idea of a great accessory. Waking up on your wedding day after a full eight hours of sleep, refreshed and relaxed, will lay the foundation for the most beautiful ‘you’ possible.

When it comes to your hair, there’s no preparation like practice. So always go through the paces prior to the big day. Try out the hairstyle a month or two in advance, so there’s time to consider alternatives if you don’t like it. Many brides coordinate their styling to the dress, so you’ll obviously have to wait until you’ve made that decision. But then get yourself to the salon and see how it comes out.

As for your makeup, this is another area where practice makes perfect. And you’ll want to hire a professional. Unless your friend or relative is an aesthetician, thank them for their offer to do your face but definitely decline. Less is more with makeup, and you want to aim for subdued glamour. Work with your pro to lay out a strategy, on paper and then on your face. Try out different color schemes until you are happy. And always use quality products. The last thing you want is an allergic reaction.

Finally, treat yourself to a full spa day the week before the wedding. You’ll desperately need a massage after debating the fall bridesmaid dress versus the choose-your-own-style with your sisters for the past few months, so indulge with a 90-minute swedish rub. Sit in the sauna to sweat out whatever impurities are hanging around, and definitely get a facial. Talk to the pros about timing for this, as some facials can actually cause breakouts as they clear your pores. You’ll want to leave time for this, so you don’t cause the kind of trouble you were trying to avoid.