Preparation on your wedding day

Tanning

If you are wearing a strapless gown, halter-neck or any gown with a neckline that is low cut in the front or back, ensure you avoid any tan lines that will be visible once your gown is on.

If doing sun beds, although it generally states not to rotate on the sun bed, make sure you do rotate. The first half of your sun bed session should be done on your tummy with arms above head and second half on your back with arms out to the side. This eliminates untanned areas under the arms and on your shoulder blades. In a sun capsule, bend your knees, avoiding the white smile line under the buttock cheeks (something to keep in mind for the beach honeymoon afterwards).

Spray-on tans should always be trialed well before your wedding day. This will give you an indication of how many days it takes for the tan to fade to a more natural look. This will enable you to book your tan so many days before your wedding. You may find the tan is more natural after 3 days, so book the spray tan 3 days before the wedding. This also allows for any residue bronzing solution to wash off the body to eliminate any marks on the gown.

Jewellery

It is important to keep in mind while selecting your jewellery, that each item both complements the embellishments on the dress and each jewellery item.

For example, if you have crystal detailing on your gown it is nice to follow that theme through with crystal jewellery, and if you have a pearl bracelet it is always more uniform to continue that theme with pearl earrings.

Some guidelines…

If you have a necklace, then reduce the size of your earrings.

If you have no necklace at all then work with longer earrings. Longer earrings work well with a bracelet for balance (remember the bracelet is always worn on the right hand so it does not distract from the rings). When choosing a bracelet, choose one with a smooth rub over setting or a style that will not catch or pull the gown.

Hairstyles

When choosing your hairstyle, take all things into consideration—neckline, style of gown, theme of wedding and most importantly, facial shape.

If you are doing a necklace with a halter-neck gown and a ‘down’ hairstyle, this would be considered as too cluttered. In these circumstances, you would eliminate the necklace and work with a hairstyle that is half up and half down and bring more length into your earrings. Also when considering your hairstyle, the venue is a main factor. If your wedding is on the beach, there is generally always a sea breeze. Loose hair never stays in place or tidy in the wind for long. A style that is half up, half down or a very unstructured do-up will allow for more product to be used to keep the hair in place.

Flowers

When choosing the style of your bouquet, remember the flowers are an accessory and should not overpower the gown. The colours of the flowers should complement your gown. If you have looked at wedding photos in a magazine of a bride in white and her bouquet is red, the first aspect of the photo that is visible is the flowers. Work the bouquet size to the proportion of the brides body. A size 10 bride should work with a bouquet no larger than 20 centimetres in diameter.