Planning a wedding is as stressful as it is exciting. After months of planning and organizing, the stress may unfortunately begin to show. However, most brides would rather look happy and radiant on their special day rather than tired and worn out. It’s completely possible to make this happen, so to make it easier for you, we’ve created a timeline to make sure you look and feel perfect on your wedding day.
Diet & Exercise:
6+ Months Before
There’s a reason people say, “Diet and exercise go hand in hand.” If you want to lose weight before the wedding, you’re going to have to cut back on grain carbs like pasta, bread, and rice. And yes, this DOES include the whole-wheat kind. You’ll also have to slash back on unhealthy fats, sugar, and dairy.
3 Months Before
If your wedding is three months away or sooner and you still have unwanted weight, consider doing a master cleanse, or following a strict diet, such as the Paleo diet.
6+ Months Before
For best results, start exercising as soon as possible. Exercise will not only help you shape up before the wedding, but it will also help you manage stress. Aim for two to three 30-minute sessions of cardio and two to four 45-minute sessions of weightlifting per week.
Depending on the style of dress you choose, there are several areas you can choose to spend more time on:=
Mermaid: hips, glutes, and thighs
Strapless: upper body especially arms and shoulders
A-line: arms and waistline
Ball gown: waistline
Open back: upper and lower back, shoulders
Skin
6+ Months Before
Although dieting will also help you lose weight before the wedding, the focus here is on increasing the health and radiance of your skin. Caffeine, alcohol, sugar, dairy, and processed foods are toxic to your body, leaving your skin looking dull. Natural foods and tons of water will help flush toxins out of your body leaving you feeling, and your skin looking, fresh.
If you have problems with your complexion, begin a course of deep skin cleansing procedures as soon as possible. The more procedures you undergo, the better. Visit a dermatologist or a cosmetician (depending on your needs) and begin their treatment plans. Most cosmeticians recommend a facial every 4 to 6 weeks.
2 Weeks Before
Have your last facial before the wedding. This will give your skin time to heal before the wedding, allowing your skin to be clear and radiant on your special day.
3-4 Days Before
If your skin care routine involves waxing, schedule your wax 3-4 days before your wedding. This allows the redness to go down well before your wedding day, but also ensures that no hair will have grown back yet.
Makeup
6+ Weeks Before
Try various make up styles. Take pictures outdoors so you’ll have the accurate wedding day lighting, and decide which style suits you best. Beach brides tend to look best in neutral tones. Strong and heavy makeup looks unnatural on a beach!
One Week Before
Have your eyebrows shaped one week before the wedding. Additionally, this is a great time to apply eyelash extensions, if you’ve chosen to do so. This will allow time for any irritation to calm down before the wedding day.
Day Of
Before applying your makeup, exfoliate your face and lips. This will make your skin smooth and increase the longevity of your foundation and lipstick. For best results, use oil-free, matte, and waterproof makeup products to avoid having your makeup melt off in the hot sun.
Tan
2-3 Weeks Before
If you have the time and ability, building a natural tan is your best option! Start 2-3 weeks before the wedding, and stop at least 5 days before. Just make sure you wear a bathing suit that won’t give you tan lines that are visible while wearing your wedding dress!
4 Days Before
If a natural tan is not up your alley, or impossible to achieve due to your circumstances, opt for an airbrush or spray tan!
Airbrush tanning involves a spa technician spraying you with a UV-free tanning solution, which is custom-made to ensure your desired color. The process takes about 30 minutes, lasts about 7-10 days. Airbrush tanning is on the more costly side ($25-$50), but it guarantees perfect results.
Spray tanning involves stepping into a booth for about 4 minutes. During this time, you are sprayed from head to toe with your choice of light, medium, or dark tanning solution. Spray tanning is on the less expensive side ($15-$25) but still achieves great results. Just be sure to follow directions carefully so that you don’t end up with orange ankles, wrists, and knuckles!
Do NOT, under any circumstances, apply tanning products at home. Although this method is the most inexpensive, it can lead to horrific results that are hard to reverse quickly. You don’t want to be covered in streaks and splotches on your wedding day, so opt for one of the alternatives.
Hair
After Picking Your Dress
As soon as you’ve picked your wedding dress, start consulting with a hair stylist. Experiment with different hairstyles until you find one you love. If possible, test out how well this hairstyle holds up under windy beach conditions.
Most beach brides tend to pick hairstyles that are more casual and blow in the ocean breeze. Half-up half-down styles or up-dos are recommended because they give a soft, romantic look while ensuring that your ceremony pictures won’t revolve around your hair covering your face. Side note: due to the tendency for wind at the beach, you may want to skip the veil and opt for a headpiece or floral crown.
6 Weeks Before
Start taking extra good care of your hair six weeks before. Avoid hot tools if possible, so that your hair will look shiny and healthy on your wedding day. This is also when you should get a haircut. This will get rid of your split ends but also give your hair enough time to grow a bit if you aren’t completely satisfied with your haircut.
2-3 Weeks Before
If you want to give your hair an extra boost before the wedding, get a straightening, relaxing, or conditioning treatment. If you dye your hair, get this treatment about two weeks before coloring your hair. If you do not want a special treatment, but you do want to color your hair, two to three weeks before the wedding is an ideal time.
Mani/Pedi
2+ Months Before
The sooner you start taking better care of your hands and feet, the more their condition will improve. If you can, start having regular treatments (every 2-3 weeks) in order to make your skin look and feel soft and smooth. Additionally, this will give you time to pick your favorite nail polish color. Note: softer pastel tones and neutrals are best for a beach wedding. Plus, in the event of a nail mishap, you’ll be able to hide a chip better than if you had vibrant, bright colored nails.
If you can’t get regular treatments, start rubbing coconut oil or Shea butter on your feet and cover them with socks before you go to bed. When you wake up, your skin will be super soft! For your hands, push back cuticles every day to elongate the nail, and put on hand lotion often.
The Day Before
Get your actual mani/pedi the day before the wedding. The polish will look shiny and fresh, won’t have time to chip, and you’ll avoid any timing crisis that might have come up if you decided to wait until the day of.
