Put your best face forward on your wedding day! Avoid products containing chemicals that are harsh on your skin and the environment, and make the switch to green skincare products!  There are hundreds of healthy, eco-conscious alternatives that will leave your skin looking younger and feeling fresher than ever before!

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On your wedding day, it is important to have your nails photo-ready. While most guests won’t notice whether your hands are freshly manicured or not, you certainly will when you look at your photographs after the wedding. Don’t neglect this part of your wedding day look and give your nails a little TLC before you walk down the aisle!

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photo credit: Bridalpartytees.com

What is supposed to be the most glorious day of you life can begin with a morning of stress and frenzied activity.  To help you create that atmosphere of excitement, anticipation and relaxation you have been envisioning (yes you really can relax on your Big Day!), I have put together a  Top 10 Most Important Things for Your Wedding Day Morning list. These items focus on the most important part of that time – your beauty of course- and are based upon the many, many wedding day mornings I have been present at (Yikes! That number must be close to 2 thousand by now).

TOP 10 MOST IMPORTANT BEAUTY MUST DO’S FOR YOUR WEDDING MORNING ARE:

1. Hire Beauty Professionals to come to you.  This is the most precious gift you can give yourself on this day – by having your pros come to you you are allowing yourself time to sit back, relax and enjoy the moment.

Photo: PersonKillian.com

2. Have a professional do your makeup.  While you may be the professional at doing your own face, the pros know all the things you don’t.  They know the tricks that make you look fantastic with flash photography while still looking yourself in person to your guests.  They are masters at applying and choosing the correct makeup for your skin to resist sweat and tears (and there will be both!). Think of it this way – you are paying how much ot have your pictures taken?  And you will pay them how much to use Photoshop after the day to correct the images?  ‘Nuf said.

Yikes! Photoshop anyone??

3. Ask your Beauty Team for a schedule of the day’s appointments ahead of time so you can assign each person to a specific time.  This cuts down on the “no, you go first – no, really you go… I’ll wait” conversations that are volleyed back and forth like a tennis ball eating up valuable time.

4. Let everyone who is receiving beauty services know any instructions you are given by the Beauty Professionals as to how to prep their skin and/or hair prior to receiving services.  This will vary based upon the practices of the pros.

5. Tell each person to arrive 15 minutes before their time on the schedule.  There is always someone who is running late…

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Joe Fornabaio for The New York Times

At 8:46 this past Wednesday morning, I was well into my daily yoga routine at the Houstonian in Houston, Texas, and far, far away from the fax, computer and iPhone email, and quite deep into a twist that had taken me perpendicular to the floor. I listened for further direction from Rie Congelio, my blithe and breezy “Yoga Body” instructor.

Actually, in the last four years of yoga practice, Rie had said many instructional and inspirational things in her class, yet in the next few seconds she would utter one word that would possibly influence thousands of WeddingWire brides, not to mention change lives, bodies, minds.

So, I listened and over my measured inhale, I heard: “Your next move will be counterintutive.” Say no more. Get me out of here, I have a message for my brides. I packed up my Manduka professional mat and rolled out.

“Counterintutive,” became my mantra. Listen, yoga, at its heart, is about the balance of opposites. The balance in Life. The juxtaposition of Ying and Yang; breath in, breath out. So for brides, who are on what seems a non-stop, life altering twelve month marathon to the alter, or Cabos, the opposite life approach in life would be most welcomed.

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There is nothing more relaxing and yet exciting as having your hair and makeup done on site for your wedding; just as if you are on the set of a movie. But this day is not about a screenplay, it’s one of the most important days of your life and looking like you (and not someone else) should be the plan. As much as makeup can accent your look it should never be relied upon completely for the Bridal Glow. During the busy time of planning your wedding be sure to take care of yourself, it is amazing how eating properly really helps taking care of your skin.

Just how do you get the famous “Bridal Glow”? Some ideas to think about are to open your eyes with the use of specific eye shadows and eyeliner. A soft look would incorporate brown eyeliner, and pink tones. A more glamorous Hollywood look would include dark eyeliner and more red tones in the blush and lips. For a trendy mysterious look, a smoky eye is perfect in hues of grey and browns with a nude or mauve lip color. Keep in mind a bad reaction to new makeup or a disappointing hair color is the last thing you need before the wedding so as we said ‘plan ahead’. We’ve seen it happen so don’t set yourself up for unnecessary stress. A slightly enhanced version of your natural beauty is all that is necessary for achieving the legendary “bridal glow”.

In order to find the perfect hairstyle to complement your flawless skin, many elements factor in: the shape of your face, your height, and the style of your veil. If you don’t know where to start, look first to your wedding gown. If it is highly formal, it may call for a classic upsweep, or sleek and chic, topped off perfectly by a chignon. With the help of a professional, almost any style, whether it’s a sophisticated bun, a chignon set off by tiny flowers, or a French twist, it can be altered to fit the formality of the occasion and the style of your gown and veil. There is one thing to keep in mind if you have hair extensions. Because of the tracks put in place to secure the hair, you may not be able to have your hair in an up-do. Check with your stylist because if that is what you want, you may have to forgo the extensions or have them put in special for the day.

When you visit the stylist, bring as much of the ensemble as you can: veil, jewelry, a photo of your gown, and any other photos of styles you prefer. Schedule a trial session a few weeks before the wedding; having it done in advance will test your love for the style and its durability throughout the day. A trial session will also give you a sense of the amount of time you’ll spend in the stylist’s chair. Be straightforward with them about the result; if it’s not quite right, you can always come back for another session. Please know in advance the trial sessions are not free.

Having smooth, perfect nails will be the finishing touch to your wedding look; don’t forget your hands will figure prominently in photographs. Manicures and pedicures are also wonderful stress-fighters. If you are wearing a shorter gown for the reception perhaps you can select a fun color for the toes, perfect for those flashy peep shoes!

One of the biggest stresses for a bride-to-be is how she will look in her wedding gown on her wedding day. Will she look fat? Will she look flabby? The issue floats around in her brain for months: all the pictures, the wedding album, the wedding video …she MUST look gorgeous!! All ladies start out exercising but sometimes make the mistake of starving themselves the week before their big day. Not only will that NOT help you lose your last few pounds, it’ll actually make you fatter. How? By slowing your metabolism down to a screeching halt. Here are a few tips to keep the pounds off:

1. Start exercising slowing: If you haven’t worked out for awhile, don’t go full force into an exhausting workout plan. Ease into your program by doing light cardio and 1-2 reps of 10 on light weights. After week 1 you’ll be able to increase both loads.

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Just because it’s no longer Breast Cancer Awareness month, doesn’t mean we should stop talking about this very serious matter. It also doesn’t mean we should stop helping to raise money for breast cancer.

Purple Lab’s creatrix Karen Robinovitz understands this and has given us one of the best products I’ve seen in years: SWAC (Sealed with a Cure) lip-gloss. Before I get into the amazing story behind this lip-gloss, lets’ talk about how great it feels to wear it. The lip-gloss goes on smooth and silky without being sticky. But don’t think its one of those non-sticky lipglosses that goes on like water and lasts about 20 minutes; this gloss stays on for hours. The color is a shimmering pale pink so you can literally wear it anytime, anywhere and it’s scented with a hint vanilla so it smells delicious. Now to the great back-story: a portion of the proceeds from each SWAC lip-gloss sold goes to the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation. “The Triple Negative what?” you ask yourself? Yeah, I had no idea what it was before last week either. Turns out it’s an extremely aggressive form of cancer that affects younger woman. Sounds like something you should be aware of right? The lip-gloss color itself is named ‘Nancy’, in honor of Nancy Block-Zenna who lost her fight with triple negative breast cancer two and a half years after her diagnosis. Even better than all of this? SWAC is available all year round , not just for one month out of the year. So, you can wear it on your wedding day, know it will stay through the ceremony, and you’re benefiting an awesome cause!

Thank you Karen Robinovitz for creating such a great product with such an important cause!

For more information on triple negative breast cancer, please go to www.tnbcfoundation.org.

Your dress is dazzling, your shoes are spectacular, your jewelry is divine….but you still haven’t figured out what to do about your makeup?!

One of the biggest debates is should you DIY your wedding day makeup or pay someone else to apply it for you? On one hand you’ll be saving money but on the other…you may risk looking like a not so hot. (Frankly, either option can be fabulous or disastrous.)

Soooo….Let’s play the YES and NO game together to figure out what you should do. Remember girls: Answer honestly!! (Yes: 1 point – No: 2 points)

1. I never leave the house without perfectly blended makeup!

Musical genius: perhaps. Award-winning cosmetologist: not so much.

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YIKES! Don

I had the opportunity to observe a “makeup artist” doing a mock trail run last month (I was interviewing for a position on our Rhode Island Team) and the experience made me think of you, the unsuspecting bride, and how easily it is to be fooled by a resume.  (Yes, the makeup really was THAT bad!)

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The month of June was as wet, rainy and dreary as ever we’ve had here in the Northeast and I for one (really, I think I was the only one!) was deeply grateful.  It was one of those times in my life where I was ok with being a bit selfish – while I did feel badly for all the brides who had the unfortunate timing of having their wedding day during this time I couldn’t help but smile a little when my eyes opened each morning to dull, shadowless days.

Let it Rain, Let it Rain, Let it Rain

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