When the date is set, and the venue, entertainment, and photographer booked, the little details for the big day start to add up. Brides should have 2-3 friends they can depend on to follow through on those little details, when given the instructions. So you (the Bride), can be stress free and have less to think about in the preparations. One thing you do NOT want on your wedding day is to have tension and stress on your face for those timeless portraits captured. Delegate as much responsibility as possible. If it is in your budget, hire a wedding planner to fulfill your wedding day dreams! When the day arrives, relax, breath, and take in every moment, because the day will fly by, and before you know it, your looking at your wedding portraits, and trying to remember the day you dreamed of all your life!

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Let us at Name Your Frame & Photography, capture the day you’ve been dreaming about. We have two photographers at every wedding. Your own your images on DVD. All our wedding couples, are glad they chose us to capture their wedding memories. Check us out at www.nameyourframe.com and let us hear your dreams.

Skin and Makeup Musts

• Book your make up trial so you know exactly how you will look on you wedding day. Trial as many colours as you need to be confident you love the final effect. Photograph the result so you can look back and reassure yourself that you are extremely happy. 
• Book an appointment with your beautician for 1 week before the wedding day for any waxing and facials you may need.
• Book a manicure and pedicure for a few days before your wedding day.
• Be very careful to cleanse, tone and moisturise for the week prior to the wedding.
• Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day for the week prior to flush toxins out of your body and to hydrate your skin. 
• Moisturise you face lightly on the morning of the wedding before the Make Up Artist arrives.
• Do not put any make up on- including cover stick… The Make Up Artist will do that all for you.
• Try and have as much sleep in the week prior to the wedding to look and feel bright and refreshed and eliminate bags under your eyes and dark circles.
• If you usually use Visine/eye drops pop some in before the Make Up Artist arrives to give your eyes a clear fresh feel.

Hair Musts

• Book a hair trial and try to make this for a day that you are going somewhere special like someone else’s wedding, your hen’s night, a ball or Christmas party. Make sure the final style is perfect and photograph the ‘do’. 
• Book in and have your colour and a trim done a week before the wedding. Try not to make any drastic changes to either the colour or the style that you might regret on the day and that may change the way your wedding hairstyle looks.
• Wash and blowdry your hair the night before the wedding day. Make sure it is completely dry before the Hair Stylist arrives on the wedding morning.

Setting the Stage

• On the day prior to the wedding lay out your beauty items for the wedding day so that you can find them easily… these include your tiara/hair crystals, your veil (hanging if possible), your deodorant, your perfume, your jewelry, face moisturiser, eye drops.
• Make sure you have food prepared for the wedding day. You will need to eat a decent breakfast and then have platters of light, nutritious finger food to graze on throughout the day. This is extremely important. You will be faint and nauseous if you do not eat. See my wedding day menu for ideas of light and fun platters that are easy to prepare and that will give you the energy to get you through till your reception. 
• Set up an area with either a large dining table or 2 small tables for the Hair and Make Up Artists. The Make Up Artist will need a large window to face her bride for natural light if possible. The Hairdresser will need a power point nearby and good overhead lighting.
• Have a lovely candle lit bubble bath and then go to bed as early as you can for some beauty sleep.
• Wake and enjoy every single moment of your special day. Make sure you get lots of preparation photos of yourself and your bridesmaids to look back and giggle over after the day.

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I have been doing wedding hair now for 16 years and have accumulated this information over time and prepared it for you all because often it is the little things that end up being done at the last minute and make your wedding preparations so much more stressful- I hand it out to my brides and I also have it under Bride’s corner on my website so you can print it off. I hope this helps to make the Hair and Make Up section of your special day run smoothly and stress free!

On your wedding day often the last thing you think about doing is preparing food- one of the most important things you need to survive until the reception! To stop you from the embarrassment of fainting away at the alter, here are a few ideas of platters that are light, nutritious and energising.

The Breakfast Platter

• Crunchy hash browns
• Warm French rolls with butter & jam
• An assortment of freshly baked pastries
• Fresh fruit & berries with a sweet yoghurt dipper
• Mini croissants filled with leg ham, tasty cheese & tomato
• Banana bread
• Muffins: Banana, Honey & Oat, Sticky Date, Muesli & Wild berry

The Morning Tea Platter

• Tiny tartlets: lemon meringue, caramel & pecan, Kiwi fruit and citrus
• Baby biscuits: Chocolate short bread, Chocolate dipped scotch fingers
• Muffins: Banana, Honey & Oat, Sticky Date, Muesli & Wild berry
• Fresh fruit & custard Danish pastries
• Plain and fruit mini scones with butter, sweet fruity jams and freshly whipped cream

Fruit platters

• A selection of gourmet cheese with freshly sliced seasonal fruit an assortment of crackers, dried fruit and nuts.
• Seasonal fruit cut into bit sized cubes brought together to inspire healthy eating at all times of the day accompanied by a fruit yoghurt dip.
• Fresh Fruit Skewers: Fresh seasonal fruit pieces skewered for easy handling. Accompanied by fruit yoghurt dip and drizzled with chocolate.

Lunch time Platters

• Petite Gourmet Rolls: assorted dinner rolls, baby baguettes and mini bagels
• Triangle Point Sandwiches: Traditional style sandwiches filled with simple yet stylish fillings….Some simple filling ideas:
• Roast chicken, lettuce, avocado and Camembert
• Chicken, Swiss mango chutney, lettuce
• Smoked salmon, cream cheese, spring onion, black pepper
• Hungarian salami, eggplant, sliced black olives, cheese
• Shaved leg ham, tasty cheese and tomato
• Sushi Platter: Vegetarian, Chicken and Seafood sushi prepared in authentic Japanese style
• Hot platters: Chicken Strips with a tangy ranch dipper, petite gourmet pies and sausage rolls, seafood sticks, crumbed prawn cutlets, fish bites, potato wedges with sweet chili and sour cream

Indulgence Platter

• Chocolate coated mints
• Heart shaped foil covered chocolates
• Musk sticks & mixed soft lollies
• Chocolate dipped strawberries
• Profiteroles
• Sweet seedless grapes

About the Author: After doing my bridal hair for 16 years and especially the 5 years of mobile work I have come to realise another thing brides tend to forget is FOOD I have designed a menu for bridal parties that consists of a number of platters ranging from health nuts to chocoholics… there is bound to be something in that range to appease those wedding nerves!

I give it out to all of my brides prior to their wedding day so feel free to print it off… If you go to my website www.all4u.com.au and click on brides corner it is there for you to print along with my wedding hair and make up check list!

Congratulations and best wishes!

Robyn