The Bride Guide for How to Look Your Best on Your Wedding Day

If you’re like most brides, getting married is something you’ve dreamed of for a long time. You want everything to be perfect—and that means knowing how to look your best on your wedding day.

But looking your best is impossible without actually feeling your best, and that’s what why we’ve created this guide. What follows are surefire tips you can follow to become your best physical, mental, and emotional self as you celebrate this exciting time in your life.

Without further ado: How to Look Your Best on Your Wedding Day—Perennial edition!

Quick Takeaways

• Looking your best on your wedding day is about more than losing weight. Prioritizing overall well-being makes it easier to achieve the healthiest weight for you.
• Drinking enough water and getting enough sleep are two simple but powerful ways to feel more energized and less stressed.
• Don’t be afraid to explore wedding dress style options! You never know what new styles you might love and feel amazing wearing.
• Treating yourself to some pampering pre-wedding day is a great way to relax and reduce pre-wedding stress.
• It’s important to plan early and lean on your loved ones for support when you need it.

Be Your Best Physical Self

Without a doubt, the most important advice I can give you leading up to your big day is to ditch the #SheddingForTheWedding pressure and do whatever you need to do to be your unique best physical self. 

If that means losing a few pounds, that’s totally fine! But looking beautiful on your wedding day does not equal being as skinny as possible.

In other words: Don’t lose a single pound for your wedding day if you already feel great! If you do want to lose weight, make it because you want to be your healthiest—not because you want to reach an arbitrary low number on the scale.

When all else fails, remember this: You’re getting married because someone decided they want to love you forever exactly the way you are right now.

Phew. And with that important PSA out of the way, let’s move on to other pressing matters—like water, sleep, and fashion choices!

Stay Hydrated

Drinking lots of water leading up to your wedding day is one of the best things you can do for your body and overall health. Staying hydrated enables you to look and feel your best in a number of ways, like having healthier skin, reduced aches and pains, better digestion, higher energy levels, and—yes—an easier time losing weight if you’re trying.

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Most experts recommend drinking about half your body weight in water per day. Ideally, you’ll want to start drinking water at this rate a few weeks or even months before the big day to give it time to really take effect.

Even better, mix in some mineral mocktails into your daily routine for added health benefits! There is such a thing as overly hydrating your body with too much plain water.

My personal favorite to make me feel like a healthy queen: coconut water, vitamin C (emergen-C packet or some orange juice), pinch of sea salt. Buy the ingredients yourself and make them at home or opt-in for a premade drink mix!

Take Care of Your Skin

Most brides invest in professional makeup for their wedding events, but many don’t realize how much great skincare matters leading up to it. Taking care of your skin by keeping it clean and moisturized and by avoiding sun damage makes it smoother, softer, and healthier so your natural glow shines through.

Below are a few simple but effective skin care tips to follow before your wedding. As with drinking water, the longer in advance you do these leading up to the big day, the better your results will be!

• Simplify your routine. Focus on the basics—like cleanser and moisturizer—that make your skincare routine easy to stick to and don’t overwhelm your skin.
• Use products that are formulated your skin type (i.e. dry, oily, sensitive, etc.)
• Always wear sunscreen (you can buy skincare products that contain SPF) and minimize direct sun exposure.
• Get an occasional facial for a deep cleaning and refresh.
• See a dermatologist to proactively treat skin issues and irritation.

Get Plenty of Sleep

It’s recommended that adults get 7-9 hours of sleep per night, and the benefits of doing so are manifold for both your mental and physical health. During a busy and stressful time like planning a wedding, getting enough sleep can be even more critical to your overall well being.

Important benefits of sleep include better attention and memory, a stronger immune system, less stress, easier weight control, a healthy heart, and reduced inflammation. 

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In other words: Getting enough sleep on the regular keeps your body and mind better able to handle—and enjoy—the busy wedding planning and prep process, and it helps ensure you will feel your best physically and mentally on the big day.

Embrace Your Unique Style

Lots of brides feel limited when it comes to their wedding dress style. Either they’ve pictured something very specific growing up and feel attached to that style, or they feel pressure to fit a certain style preferred by someone else (like a parent or a traditional family).

Here’s my advice: Let go of any preconceived notions you have about your dress (and your hair, your makeup—your whole look) and be willing to explore different options. So many brides say the dress they chose is totally different from what they thought they’d go with.

You’ll never know what you’ll really look your best in unless you try different options, so have some fun with the process!

Pamper Yourself

A little pampering never hurt anybody! As you get closer to your wedding day, treating yourself to a spa day can be just the thing to release any built-up stress you’re holding. In addition to the hair, makeup, and mani/pedi appointments most brides make, consider scheduling a massage or facial (or both!) to help you feel more relaxed.

Rely on Your Loved Ones for Support

No matter how organized you are while planning your wedding, you’ll inevitably feel stress at times as you prepare. It’s important not to take everything on yourself—instead, lean on your loved ones to support you.

Call your MOH to vent about the impossible seating chart. Ask your mom to help you address and stamp the invites. Talk to your significant other about how to better share the planning responsibilities. Host your bridesmaids for a fun night making centerpieces or guest favors or doing whatever other jobs you have left to complete in the final days of planning.

These, of course, are just a few examples. The point is, the people who love you want you to enjoy every moment leading up to your wedding. They want to help where needed. Don’t be afraid to ask!

Start Early

You might have noticed a common thread through most of the tips we covered for how to look and feel your best on your wedding day—they take time. Whether it’s giving your new water and sleep habits enough time to take effect or planning appointments in advance or asking your bestie for help before tasks become overwhelming, you need to start early.

Don’t wait until the last minute to prioritize your mental health, physical well being, and total confidence in how you’ll look on your wedding day. You are the priority!

Capture Your Wedding Authentically with Perennial

Now that you know how to look your best on your wedding day, it’s time to find the right photographer to capture every unforgettable moment.

At Perennial, it’s our goal to help you feel your best throughout your entire day and tell your wedding day story through photos you’ll cherish forever. All you have to do is be you, and we’ll do the rest.

Book a discovery call to learn more about Perennial.