Jul 16 2008
It’s Almost Like Getting Married Twice!
There is nothing anybody wants more than for their wedding day to be perfect. After all, some would say that it’s the most important day of your life. And though others question the reasoning behind it, claiming it to be just society’s way of making us think that we must get married in order to prove our love and would even go as far as to say that it’s the last legal form of slavery, they still want it to be nice. At the very least.
The way to get perfect results is what we have been taught since we could walk, or rather when we were learning to walk; our parents said “Practice, practice, practice.” I’m not saying physically go to a church (Or wherever you are having your wedding) and walk down the aisle (Although you should never rule that out!) but do the things that most people don’t think of when they are preparing. These are the things that you don’t practice at the rehearsal, holding a bouquet of flowers and your to-be-husband’s hand is easy enough, it’s the other stuff that will help you on the big day. Consider practicing:
1) Your makeup - This philosophy can be applied to both routes you might be taking: doing your own or (the more likely) getting it done by a professional. You desperately don’t want to dislike your makeup on the day of as it is quite hard to hide your face and divert attention when you are the one getting married. Whoever is doing your makeup should have a test run about a week beforehand. Leave your makeup on for a couple of hours and see what it looks like once it has settled in. (Make sure that the weather is about the same as it will be when you wed. This would mean not doing your test run in December when you are having a July wedding). By the end, you will not only have perfected the look you want (Maybe even take a picture so you know exactly what you want to look like when the day comes!) but you will also know if the amount put on was enough to last.
2) Your hair - Yes, it will be a little bit of a pain to sit to get your hair done when it’s not even your wedding, but it will be worth it. You will have the time to work our with your hair stylist what you like and don’t’ like about your hair and they will have time to fix it until it’s just right. (And when it is, go ahead and take a picture! Not all of us have photographic memories you know!) On your wedding day, it’s usually appointment after appointment and you don’t have time to stop, let alone go to the bathroom. Work out the kinks (No pun intended) on that practice day. As well, similar to the makeup, you will see how your hair lasts throughout the day. Again, do this on a day where the weather will be like it is on your wedding day. Test everything out so it’s all set.
3) Your wonderful shoes - Remember clunking around in your mom’s heels? Or maybe you hated those stilettos as a teenager and opted for Converse sneakers? Either way, a woman needs to be comfortable in her footwear. Even if they are similar to what you wear everyday, they’re still new (Or fairly new I hope) and have never been worn (Same thing goes for vintage shoes; although they’ve been worn, you yourself have never worn them). Strap on your shoes and go for a walk on your driveway and in your house. Get used to the feeling of the shoes on different types of ground. Scratching the bottom of them on the driveway will actually prove to be great for the traction on more slippery surfaces. Your foot needs to be accustomed or at least vaguely familiar with the shape and fabric of the shoe. This is also where you can figure out where you want to put extra padding or grip instead of scrambling on the day of in between the photos and the reception dinner.
Practicing and getting used to these three key items will surely help your day run a lot smoother. (Literally too if you take my shoe advice!) And if you’re a real keener, do it a couple of times! You’ll notice that you will always find one little thing that you want to change every time you do it. But relax, even practicing one time can help you so much and practicing just once for that one-time-only event is worth it!
