Brides and Grooms take back your Wedding Day!

In the past week or so I have been thinking a lot about childhood and remembering how great it was to just enjoy life as a child. I was amazed at how many things I could remember and that they were all such wonderful memories. Sometimes, I do not think we realize the importance of our memories.

Planning your wedding is such a great time, especially if you are in to the wedding planning, but it can also be a very stressful time. I'm not particulary speaking about the stress in balancing your life while planning your wedding, but the stress in making everyone happy. Sometimes if mom is writing the check she wants some say in the wedding. Now, let me be clear some say is good, but all the say is very bad.

This post is to empower you brides and grooms out there to stand up and have a say in your wedding day. You have to feel good and be happy about your wedding day. You want to remember you had your favorite song played or your favorite flowers. I think it is wonderful to compromise and sometimes it is very necessary, but remember these are your memories. Make sure you will be able to remember your day fondly.

Your Beauty Treatment Checklist

There are so many wedding checklists out there for brides to use so they do not forget anything. But, you will hardly find a list of beauty treatments that you should do before your wedding. I stumbled upon this wonderful synopsis of what you should be doing in regards to your wedding day beauty before you walk down the aisle. Traci Fein, owner of Fine Makeup Art based out of the Chicago area, gives some excellent points on her website. This post is one worth saving, so print this one out and put it in your binders.

"My advice for brides before their wedding day is to have all beauty treatments, like facials, done at least 2 weeks to 10 days before your wedding day. This will give the skin a chance to calm down, and prevent any "surprises" on the day of your wedding. Do not use any new products in the days right before the wedding. Start planning your beauty regime well in advance.

-Makeup artists should be tried, and tested well in advance of the wedding. As with hairstyles and hairstylists. Many stylists are booked as much as six months in advance.

-Get a massage the week before your wedding. Not only will this relax you, but it will help flush any toxins from your body and rev up circulation. Great for the skin!

-Avoid tanning beds in the days right before the wedding. Make sure that any tan lines you have will not show when you wear your wedding dress. Work on getting rid of tan lines before your wedding. Heavily tanned skin does not show makeup as well, or photograph as well. Not to mention the damage to your skin. If you choose to tan, do it in moderation.

-Remove any jewelry you will not be wearing on your wedding day. You don't want the tell-tale marks (or the tan line) of the ring or watch, you never take off, on your hands. The focus should be on "the" ring.

-Moisturize your skin. Find a good skin care professional and get a moisturizer and eye cream best suited to your skin type. Use them daily.

-Exfoliate your face and body. In the weeks before your wedding, start a regime of exfoliating your skin. Find a good facial scrub (like honey almond) and a good body scrub - there are many good ones to choose from. This will keep your skin smooth and soft. Great prep for makeup application.

-Do not eat salty foods, or drink too much alcohol the night before your wedding, as this may cause puffiness around the eyes and face. Drink plenty of water to keep your skin well hydrated. If puffiness around the eyes is a problem, reach for chamomile tea bags that have been refrigerated overnight, and place them over your eyes.

-Get plenty of rest and try to sleep on your back with head slightly elevated. This will prevent any fluids from collecting around the eye sockets.

-Wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing the day of your wedding. Avoid elastic on sleeves, or any area of your body that will show beyond your wedding dress. If your dress is strapless, do not wear undergarments that will leave a mark. Sometimes these take hours to fade.

-It is a good idea to carry a powder compact, lipstick, lip pencil and blush in a small bridal bag during the reception - for touch-ups, as needed. I also recommend carrying facial blotting paper to control shine. This will cut down the amount of times you need to apply powder on your face, and prevent your makeup from looking too caked or powdered.

-Please arrive in the makeup chair with no makeup. If you must wear some, make it minimal. The less rubbing and makeup removal we do before the application, the better. If you are considering wearing false eyelashes the day of your wedding, please bring them to the trial run through."

Excellent Advice! I'm so glad I found this!

Image by Cheyenne Schultz Photography

Bride asks, Liene answers

This morning I read a very interesting post from Liene editor of Blue Orchid Blog. I thought it was thought provoking enough to post here and link to her blog. Liene gave excellent advice to a bride who is currently having a problem with her wedding planner. This post pointed out a few interesting items:

• No matter how many weddings your wedding planner has during the wedding season, every time she meets with you, your wedding should be the most important! A bride should feel like their planner is just as excited about her wedding is as she is. This means she should know the little details!
  
• Sometimes you get what you pay for! Unfortunately, the price you pay for a service may give you an indication of how good the service may be. Wedding planners are popping up everywhere! We have tons of wedding planners here in Charlotte. Keep that fact in mind when selecting the right person for your wedding.
  
• Before you pay the retainer for the wedding planner, make sure you click with them. It's not enough that they know everyone in the wedding industry in Charlotte, you should be able to get along with them. You should actually like them!

But anyway, I won't retype Liene's entire post, but those are a few things that jumped out at me when reading the question from the bride. Click the link below to read the Q&A for yourself! I'm curious to hear what you think.
Ask the Wedding Planner :: Real Advice from the Pros