You’ve chosen the perfect guy and the perfect dress, and vowed to avoid carbs until the moment you cut the cake. What else can you do in the months and weeks leading up to your wedding to make sure you look and feel your best on the big day?
1. Don’t believe people who say beauty comes from within. Radiant brides are the result of a consistent skin care regimen. Along with your usual cleansing and moisturizing routine, start using a retinoid at least three to six months before your wedding. If your skin is too sensitive for the prescription stuff, try an over-the-counter retinol lotion (Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair and Olay ProX Age Repair Lotion are good drugstore brands, and SkinCeuticals is an effective high-end choice), and use it one to three times a week.
2. Give yourself plenty of time if you want to lose a little weight, at least six months before the big day. Whatever you do, don’t try to crash diet at the last minute. It saps your vitality, makes you crabby, and gives you ugly black circles under your eyes.
3. Sign up for a yoga class at least three months before the big day. Not only will it make you more lithe and limber and improve your posture, but also the focus on rhythmic breathing will help keep you calm during this stressful time. Also, nothing coaxes tension from your muscles and joints like a good massage. No time for yoga class or massage? Practice mindful breathing: inhale for four counts, exhale for eight. Repeat until the urge to scream at your clueless wedding planner, maid of honor or future mother-in-law has passed.
4. It’s all in the details. Brows shaggy? Have them professionally shaped—it’s worth it. Teeth looking dingy? Start using white strips, or visit your dentist for a professional hydrogen peroxide treatment.
5. A flick of mascara and a quick coat of lip gloss probably won’t register in your wedding photos. On the other hand, you don’t want to look like a pole dancer. Start searching for a professional makeup artist a few months before the wedding. Local fashion or wedding photographers usually can recommend a pro, but don’t take anyone’s word for it. Make consultation appointments with several. Take pictures after each session, so you can compare and contrast their efforts. Go with the one who makes you look like your prettiest self.
6. Planning on an elaborate updo for your wedding, or on a style, color or length that differs from what you usually wear? Book a trial run with your stylist several months before the wedding: this is not the time to leave anything to chance. Bring pictures of what you have in mind, and bring your veil and headpiece, if possible.
7. Unless you want to look like a pumpkin-spice latte as you walk down the aisle, the week before your wedding is not the time to anoint yourself with self-tanner or visit a new spraytanning salon. Conduct your research well in advance, and book at least one trial run before the big day.
8. To avoid looking bloated and puffy in your wedding photos, cut way back on carbs and skip salty foods a day or two before the wedding. Drink at least eight, 8-ounce glasses of water a day, and add a little lemon. Water retention from carb and salt overload shows up in photos, even if you don’t notice it in person.
9. Treat yourself to a professional manicure and pedicure. Resist the temptation to go with nail art, garish shades, matte or textured polishes, a French manicure, or anything else that will embarrass you when you flip through your wedding album in years to come. Stick with sheer, rosy pink or beige polish. Trust us on this.
10. Smile, make sure to wear waterproof mascara, and stash a pair of pretty but comfortable shoes at the reception venue, so you can dance the night away pain-free.