1. Have your makeup artist use fake lashes instead of mascara – no mascara running!  (Mom probably needs it too!)

2. Give your groom and dad a hankie or kleenex for his pocket to hand you if you start crying.

3. Practice dabbing.  Dabbing will keep the makeup intact!

4. If you cry the night before your wedding (i.e. during a rehearsal toast, etc.) go wash your face with ice cold water ASAP!  Washing away the tears and applying ice water will prevent the swelling that can occur during the night when you sleep.

5. If you wake up with puffy eyes, dunk your face in a sink full of ice cubes and water for as long as you can stand and then give yourself about 3 hours.  I cried the night before my wedding, woke up with wonky puffy eyes and was able to have my eyes back to normal by my makeup session a few hours later.

6. Have your BM hold moisturizer, concealer, powder and Visine in their purse for you.  The Visine will pull out the red in your eyes and leave you with shiny bright eyes for your photos.  You’ll need a dab of lotion if you wipe your face too much – otherwise your face will get dry and peely!

7. Practice just relaxing your face when you cry and just let the tears slip down your face.  Like try just letting the tears flow instead of scrunching your face – it actually helps me cry much less if I don’t scrunch my face and it looks actually sorta pretty.  Once they roll down your face you can dab your cheeks or chin, instead of constantly wiping at your eyes (less swelling and puffiness that way!)

8. Remind yourself you’re spending a fortune on photos! 

9. Plenty of slow, deep breaths to help you get through your vows.

10. Finally, reference the picture below the night before your wedding and tell yourself “I do not want to look like this!”

Good Luck!!

Looking for another way to add a personal touch of cuteness for your wedding day? Well then you should definitely check out these custom bridal hangers made by Two Broads Design! They’re only $18 ea or come in sets for as low as $36.

Say goodbye to those ugly plastic white hangers, they can ruin a good shot of your wedding dress during the bridal prep photography session!

Some brides have asked me why they need a personal attendant?

Have you ever tried to go to the restroom in a bridal gown? Not an easy task!
Seriously, your personal attendant is a person that “personally attends to” you! She (it is a female-hence the bathroom detail!) is there to help you get ready on the day of your wedding. She can strap it in, tuck it in, critique it, and fix it when something needs to be corrected with your wedding attire. However, your personal attendant is not your personal slave. She is not there to make sure that the caterer got there on time. She is not there to make sure that the musicians have the correct music. She is not there as waite staff, clean dishes, take down tables and chairs, or clean up at the end of the evening. She is not there to ensure that your event is running smoothly or to worry about any of the logistics, that’s something a wedding planner/coordinator would do.

Your personal attendant is someone that fluffs your dress right before you go down the aisle. She makes sure your makeup is applied just right, adjusts your veil, is handy with a needle and thread, has a mirror and lip gloss always ready, makes sure that you have a little purse of essentials in your get-away car, and makes sure that you didn’t leave anything in the ceremony dressing room.

A personal attendant is a great honor. Ask only that close friend that you want beside you all day. Treat her with great respect as you do your bridesmaids and maid of honor. Include her in your rehearsal dinner, your bachelorette activities and showers. Make sure she knows that she is appreciated, after all, she is helping you look and feel beautiful on your wedding day. It takes a very special person to do that.

Source:

I wanted to share this great article with you, written by: Meredith Bodgas entitiled ” Confesssions of a Wedding Planner” It’s a must read for any brides-to-be who are looking to hire a coordinator/planner or have already done so. I hope you enjoy!

A good wedding coordinator can be the difference between an OK wedding and a great one. So why do so many wedding planners get treated like dirt? Here’s what they wish they could tell you — but can’t.

Your wedding coordinator is there to design your day, keep your bridal party and vendors on schedule, avert disasters and do it all with a smile. And while her job may look like a lot of fun, it’s not all wine and roses. In fact, there are some things she’d like you to know, but she doesn’t have the heart to tell you (or she’s afraid you’ll fire her if she did!). Here, big names in the biz dish their dirty little secrets. (Sorry, we’re not going to tell you who said what … we’re not gossips!)
 

*We’d like to tell you we’re not your personal slaves.
Of course your planner should make sure things go smoothly on your wedding day, but if you’re expecting her to cater to your every whim for months leading up to the main event, you’ve got another thing coming. “I once had a bride tell me (in a bossy tone, no less) that she planned to use me as her assistant. She wound up driving all of my assistants crazy!” says one wedding coordinator. The guys are guilty of mistreating the planners too. “A groom made us carry out all of the rehearsal dinner gifts to the cars — in the pouring rain,” says another. And yet another was tasked with keeping an eye on all the kids in a separate room from the reception. “Hello, just hire a babysitter!” she suggests. Your planner can’t make sure things go as they should if she’s changing diapers and soothing crying kids! Appalled by these stories? So are we. So don’t be those brides, k?

We don’t want you to make us do your dirty work.
Weddings are hotbeds for every kind of sticky social situation, but it’s not your planner’s job to handle interpersonal challenges — and they hate it when you try to make it their business. “One bride’s brother had me apologize to his girlfriend during the reception because ‘and guest’ was written on their escort card,” says one planner. “It wasn’t even my fault! She and the brother had broken up when we sent the calligrapher the names.” Says another planner, “A bride asked me to drive to a bridesmaid’s house and bring her to the wedding if she didn’t show up to the ceremony on time. I was so relieved when she arrived.” A planner can’t whip a renegade bridesmaid into shape, so don’t bother putting her in the middle. (source)

We won’t always tell you the whole truth.
Occasionally, especially on your wedding day, your planner may hide something from you. But it’s only to keep you happy: “One of my brides wanted a top baker’s signature sugar flowers on her cake. When the cake arrived, I figured out that it was covered in fresh blooms instead of faux ones,” says one planner. “I was worried I’d upset the bride if I told her the truth, so I just nodded and smiled as she fawned over the ‘sugar flowers.’” Or she may tell you the truth…eventually. “At one wedding, the couple ran out of alcohol. I picked some up without them knowing. When they got back from the honeymoon, I told them what happened and how much they owed me.” If these stories scare you, they shouldn’t. On your wedding day, the less you know about what’s not quite ideal, the better. The brides who say their weddings went off without a hitch aren’t lying, but most likely, they just had planners who protected them from any problems that arose.

We actually want you to make your own decisions.
While flexible brides can be a planner’s dream, indecisive ones can be her worst nightmare. Your planner can offer suggestions until she’s blue in the face, but ultimately, most choices have to be yours; otherwise, you won’t be happy with the outcome — or your planner (and she knows that). “Some clients can’t make a single decision without us! I had a mother of the bride email me asking what kind of shoes she should wear with her silver wedding shower outfit. We’re not fashion consultants outside of the wedding day!” says one planner. Just like you wouldn’t call your local deli for advice when you’re at home making yourself a sandwich, don’t pester your planner for off-topic help. And have your own opinion for on-topic things.

You’re not the center of our universe.
Yes, you’re important to your planner, but you’re far from her only bride, even if it seems that way from the personal attention she gives you on the phone and during your appointments. Besides other clients, she likely has a family! Dragging your coordinator to more than four meetings per type of vendor you’re trying to hire is taking advantage of her. “Many brides will ask me to meet bakers and caterers that they have no plans to book,” says one planner. “I’ll usually visit a few vendors with the couple, and if the first ones we met with didn’t work out, I’m happy to recommend others. But going to a vendor just to get a free tasting is a waste of my and the vendor’s time and money.”

Sometimes, you do irk us.
No matter how talented your planner is, at some point, she’s probably going to share an idea that you don’t like — or, more accurately, that you think is flat-out awful. But telling her you “just hate it” won’t get you any closer to what you want, and it can (to put it delicately) piss her off. Coordinators have feelings too, and getting married isn’t your free pass to be rude to whomever you want. Yes, planners have to develop a thick skin (after all, they deal with picky brides all day), but being disrespectful because you think they’re used to it isn’t okay. “If an email comes across as annoying, or if it’s asking a question that I’ve already answered 10 times before, I’ll take my time getting back to that client.” And that doesn’t make her a bad coordinator. Aren’t you much more likely to give your favorite vendors exactly what they need when they need it, rather than the pain-in-the-butt ones who won’t leave you alone?

If you’re a November/December Bride you need to check this site out, www.bellaumbrella.com. They have some of the cutest umbrella’s that you could rent out to keep dry, all while looking fab on your big day. Bella Umbrella offer a variety of styles and colors to choose from, you will surely find an umbrella or parasol that will go along with your wedding theme. Check out the vintage selection, I have one word for it – - ADORABLE!

I’ve recently recommended this to one of my brides who is set to wed this 11/11/11! Stay tuned for pictures, they’re going to be beautiful.

Let them know Gloria, The Wedding Planner sent ya!

xoxo,
Gloria