Weddings

Smiling Bride with veil

I'm not an expert with makeup, and I highly recommend you going to a professional on your wedding day. But here are some makeup tips to help in general.

Expert Makeup Tips on How to Look Beautiful on the Wedding Day

Beauticians say that preparation is the key to looking good on the outside and making you feel fantastic on the inside.

Skin

Exercising regularly and eating healthy are some of the best ways to make you look great. Exercises will help increase blood circulation and will also help get rid of toxins that cause breakouts on the skin.
Eating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, drinking around eight glasses of water a day, reducing your alcohol consumption and cutting out smoking will help prevent your skin from looking dowdy and dull. Also, try to make sure you get a good night's sleep of about eight hours.

However, there's more to skin care than just being healthy.

It's important to cleanse, tone and moisturize every day to get rid of any impurities, but apart from your home routine, it's good to have a facial every three to four weeks to keep your skin in tip-top condition. Facials improve the circulation of the skin and they also remove any dirt and dead cells.

However, having a facial for the first time or trying a new beauty treatment or product just days before you walk down the aisle, as this could leave the blushing bride with a blotchy face.

You should have your last facial about a week before the wedding, instead of just a day or two days before, because your skin could react with the products.

Hair

Getting your hair in shape is also important.

Massaging your scalp with shampoo while washing will stimulate the blood flow and encourage the growth of healthy hair. When dry, combing will again stimulate the scalp and also remove any dead hair.

Most brides opt for long hair for their wedding day, but if you do decide on this look, it's important to get your hair trimmed every four to six weeks.

You should work out well in advance the way you want your hair to look. If you want to have it cut, make sure it's done about a week before the big day. This will make sure your style keeps its shape, but also has time to settle. Or if anything goes wrong, you can hopefully have time to fix it.

My own hair turned orange from chlorine and dye jobs the week before my wedding and I had to fix it fast!

Hands and feet

You should not forget about your hands and feet either. Every few weeks, visit a beauty parlor for manicure and pedicure

At home, you should moisturize your hands daily and soak your feet in warm water for about 10 minutes, twice a week. This basically leaves your feet feeling very refreshed, particularly if you use some essential oils, such as peppermint.

When it comes to nails, it's important to file them two or three times a week and maybe push the cuticles back while you're in the bath.

Christy Whitehead Photography christy@jaxphotographer.com Jacksonville, Fl