Every bride wants to look and feel their best on this special day. The day of the wedding flies by so fast, it’s hard to believe that so much time and energy went into arranging it. That’s why it’s also important to enjoy the process of planning and preparing for the wedding. From selecting the venue, the menu, and photographer, right down to choosing your dress, shoes, hair style, skin routine and make-up. Those memories are often as wonderful as the ones of the wedding day itself. 

One of my fondest memories during the months that preceded our wedding were the beauty treatments that my Mum organized for me. They were non-negotiable. I was working long hours and traveling quite a bit at the time, and I guess I looked a little too bedraggled for my Mother’s liking. “No one wants to see a tired bride”, she said as she sent me off to the first of the late Friday afternoon facials that I had every two weeks during the months leading up to the wedding.

A week before the wedding my Mum took things a step further, booking me into a reflexology session. Well, this was tortuous. I can’t stand people touching my feet, so the session lasted precisely one minute. But I appreciated the sentiment and ended up having a lovely leg massage instead.

I swear the regular facials made the world of a difference. Not only did my skin feel fantastically soothed, nourished and cleansed, but my body and mind did too. I was able to really, really relax during these sessions. I was so grateful to my Mum for taking the initiative of arranging them for me.

In most respects of my beauty regimen I was a very do-it-yourself bride. I groomed my own fingernails and toenails instead of having them professionally done. I also shaped and dyed my own brows and did my own make-up. I had a hair appointment on the day of the wedding, only to come home, take a shower and start all over again because I didn’t like the way the hair stylist set my hair. Although I was close to tears, my Mum thought this was hilarious and a very typical reaction. She knew her daughter all too well. 

As I look back on how I prepared for my own wedding 16 years ago, I wouldn’t have changed a thing. I’m sure my nails, brows and make-up would have looked better if I had them done professionally. But I really don’t enjoy the feeling of others fussing over me in that way, so completing these routines myself suited me just fine. 

The weddings we experienced in March and April got me thinking about my own. The way you prepare yourself for the big day is such a personal choice. Some enjoy manicures, pedicures, spa treatments, and the help of a make-up artist, whereas others prefer to go about things in a different way. But I think there is one important beauty tip that is universal: Do what you can to feel rested and relaxed during your wedding preparations and on the big day itself. That way you can look your best, feel your best, and enjoy every moment to the fullest.

How you achieve this goal depends on you. Perhaps it means getting in an extra session of yoga per week and having “alone time” on Saturday nights. Maybe you need to get nine hours of sleep on weekend nights. Or extra spa treatments and a healthier eating plan. Perhaps it means a daily session of meditation, getting stuck into a book, or watching your favourite TV series. Whatever works for you, I believe it will make a world of difference if you start doing it a few months ahead of the big day.

I’d love to invite all past brides to share their beauty tips for the brides to be in the comments section. I’m sure that our brides to be will find your suggestions both helpful and calming. And if you’re a bride to be with a wedding in the near future, feel free share your current beauty tips and how you intend to look your best on your wedding day. 

You are on Team Specs if you prefer to wear prescription eyewear as opposed to contact lenses. You are on Team Contacts if you prefer to wear contact lenses. If you wear “readers”, you are on Team Specs. You can still participate in this poll if you don’t wear prescription eyewear or contact lenses. Select the side that you think you would join if you had to choose between the two options. You might actually like the idea of wearing specs! Or absolutely loathe them and try to wear contact lenses from day one. 

Note that eyewear like sunglasses without prescriptive lenses do NOT count for this poll.

I tried contact lenses once about 15 years ago. It was an awful experience and I’ve never been motivated to try them again. I wear my specs every day, so much so that they have become an integral part of my style. I treat my assortment of specs like accessories, one of the few that I sport, and really enjoy wearing them. I also wear prescription sunglasses. I am Team Specs all the way. 

Are you on Team Specs or Team Contacts? Tell us why below, and no batting for both teams.

Speaking of specs, we recently met the co-founders of Rivet and Sway, a Seattle based start-up selling prescription eyewear online. They will be launching their new site in June and are currently recruiting people for an “invitation only” beta release. Sign up at rivetandsway.com if you’d like to help test their concept. We wish them the very best with their launch. 

Here’s a spin off of a mom on the go flop proof outfit formula that I posted back in 2008. That interpretation was strictly casual. The formula is as much in style today as it was back then, so I’m taking it a step further by “dressing up the look”. Counter intuitive perhaps, given that there is a casual denim jacket involved, but hear me out. 

These days, you can add a cropped and fitted denim jacket to any skirt. From the most casual cottons, rayons and linens, to dressier wools, silks, tweeds, tulle, lace, sequins, sateens and brocade. Printed or solid, long or short, knitted or woven, straight or flared. Add in the appropriate layering top, shoes, bag, and accessories as desired. You are good to go.

The left hand side of the ensemble is casual. A flirty, flared cotton skirt, layering tee, denim jacket, flat sandals and crossbody satchel. The right hand side of the ensemble is the dressier version. The same layering tee and denim jacket are instead matched up with a more formal skirt, dressier shoes and fancy clutch. The juxtaposition of dressy and casual is extreme, but pretty cool. 

Change up the level of fading on the denim jacket, and the colours and silhouettes of the support act to suit your style preferences. I’ve chosen a severely faded denim jacket because I bat for Team Faded Denim, but feel free to substitute with darker denim. 

This is one of my favourite ways to style my dressy skirts. I’ll substitute the tee for an item of knitwear, tank top, or button down shirt and add low heeled pumps or dressy flats. I’ll wear the outfit on a more casual work day with clients, on a night out, or out and about town. Versatile, comfortable and easy.

In I Love Your Style: How to Define and Refine Your Personal Style, Amanda Brooks recommends writing down your personal style history as a way to get in touch with your style persona. A tool to hone in on your style preferences, and to start creating a look that is all your own:

“Even if you feel like you’ve had a pretty plain vanilla life or just a downright unstylish one; you still have a story: where you grew up; what your parents were like; how you became interested in clothes; what kind of budget you had and have now; what your aspirations are… and most important, how your style has evolved over the years.”

Taking the time to sit down and really think about my style goals, where I was coming from and where I want to go next has proven to be a very worthwhile exercise for me. So I thought it would be fun to share a few of our style memories today – it can be anything, from a defining moment you now think was a fashion turning point for you, to a work outfit you wore to pieces in your twenties.

I’ll go first. I was eleven when my friend Christine walked into our classroom sporting a pair of tomato red flats and emerald green trousers. The shoes were quite minimalist, they had a sleek pointy toe and no embellishments. How I coveted those shoes! The trousers were ankle bone length and tapered. Compared to what most of us had been wearing that year, it was a more grown-up silhouette. The epitome of sophistication for eleven year old me. Looking back, I believe this was the moment I really started paying attention to fashion and trends. It also confirms that I’ve always had a thing for flat footwear and simple, strong and clean lines, something I don’t see changing anytime soon.

Are there any past style moments that helped shape the current you or that might even affect how you want to start dressing in the future?

New in YLF Books

There are no must-haves lists or dos and don’ts in Amanda Brooks’ I Love Your Style: How to Define and Refine Your Personal Style. Instead this style guide and lookbook offers practical tips to spark creativity and find your own unique sense of style. From exploring your style history and exposing yourself to all kinds of fashion, to dressing with an open mind and embracing the fact that style is not stagnant and making mistakes is okay. In six chapters full of photo inspiration the author analyzes six different styles — Classic, Bohemian, Minimal, High Fashion, Street and Eclectic, explaining along the way how to make each look your own. Then, in the Shopping section, you’ll learn what to snap up and what to leave at the store no matter if you’re shopping Basics, Cheap Chic, Designer or Vintage.