On her wedding day, one DIY bride received a huge compliment from a dear friend: "You look beautiful, and you still look like you." This idea of looking like you at your best should underscore your wedding day style choices. Whether selecting makeup products and hairdos to pass on to your stylist or seeing it through to the end by serving as your own style guru, if you stay true to who you are, you're sure to make an unforgettable statement that is still you at heart.
What to Do Yourself
Should you do it all or leave the final touches to the experts? Answering this question depends on many factors. Do you have experience doing hair and makeup? Do you have time to practice creating your hair and makeup styles before your wedding day? What does your budget allow?
Some DIY brides are content to gain inspiration from pictures, choose a look, then present their ideas to an expert who will craft the finishing details. Other brides may decide to oversee the look from start to finish. Whether you're making the style choices then handing them over to a professional or monitoring every element from concept to final flourishes, some helpful hints can make your DIY journey an enjoyable one.
DIY Wedding Hair and Makeup
To generate DIY hair and makeup ideas, consider the following:
- Wedding Gown Style. Your dress will be a deciding factor in your style selections. Perhaps a simple 1940s-style form-fitting gown will inspire red lipstick and a softly curled down-do a la Veronica Lake. If your gown has a ball skirt, an up-do with hints of Cinderella may be in order, and a shimmering blush can play up the fairy tale sparkle of the evening. Let your dress and wedding theme be your guide. If your wedding style evokes the past, look through pictures from prior decades for your ideas. If you're a modern bride who will carry simple yet elegant blooms, thumb through fashion magazines featuring clean-lined styles for your hair and makeup options.
- Expertise Level. The skill level of your stylist will contribute to your hair and makeup decisions. If a fashion-forward friend or family member has offered to take on the styling duties and you're grateful to accept, make sure the difficulty level of your look is a manageable one and that both of you are comfortable with the end result.
- Time. If you're doing your own hair, select styles that you know your locks will hold, especially since time may be a factor on your big day and the demands of other wedding tasks may limit your focus in front of the mirror. Regardless, a simple yet elegant hairdo choice doesn't have to be second best, especially if a styling product with long-time hold capabilities is involved.
Practice Makes Perfect
We've all had those moments where the best of intentions left us looking like anything but ourselves. Perhaps a free makeover forced you to shade your face while quickly leaving the department store on the way to your car, or getting your hair done before a formal event led to a frantic switch from a puffy up-do to a regretfully shellacked down-do once you reached home in tears. To avoid big surprises on your big day, practice, practice, practice:
- Dress Rehearsal. If either you or a trusted friend/family member is in charge of hair and makeup, make sure to practice applying cosmetics and styling hair on one or more occasions before the big event. Rehearsing the process more than once gives you a more realistic picture of the potential obstacles you might encounter on a day filled with excitement. Make sure you go out for a night wearing the makeup and/or sporting the hairstyle to ensure it holds up for several hours.
- Practice Sessions. Even if you leave the styling to an expert or two, schedule a practice session so you can get a sense of the stylist's workmanship. This will allow you to weed out an individual who produces less than thrilling results or or to work with him or her to create a look that more accurately reflects your preferences.
- Affordable Practice. If your birthday or another gift-giving holiday falls between your engagement and your wedding date, consider asking for a gift certificate for a makeover from the stylist of your choice. This makeover may give you ideas to mimic on your big day, or if you plan on hiring a stylist, it will serve as your practice session with that individual. Since the makeover is a gift, you can save your money for the bridal styling session on your actual wedding day.
DIY Wedding Style Hints
Now that you're ready to take the reins, consider these points as you search for your ideal wedding day look:
- Set Your Hair in Hot Rollers. Hot rollers add volume and illuminate the myriad of possibilities available as you try out a variety of hairstyles. Consider this touch of festivity for inspiration as you make key decisions.
- Consider Your Best Colors. Whether you plan to wear white or happily stray from tradition, keep your cosmetic favorites close by. Now is not the time to dismiss the shade of lipstick that prompts others to compliment how it brightens your face or that pale lime eyeshadow that brings your eyes to life as it glistens on your brow bone. Color can be subtly incorporated into your wedding day face, and starting with your favorites is a great way to get the ball rolling.
- Take Chances. As you search for possibilities, don't be afraid to be bold. This is the rough draft, not the final one. Straying from your norm may reveal a surprising style discovery that brings out the best in you. If you fear you've gone too far, ask those nearest and dearest to you whether your new look enhances you or hides you.
Most importantly, enjoy the process and stay focused on bringing your natural beauty to light.
 |
