Category Archives: Beauty

Short UK Honeymoon breaks

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Wedding breaks are fast becoming a must for newlyweds. They’re not a minimoon for a few days or a honeymoon or a week abroad. Wedding breaks are a post-wedding, pre-honeymoon getaway for a night or two, somewhere nice, near home.

When you’ve kicked off your Wedding shoes, here are some of our favourite places to take wedding breaks;

The Scarlet

Perched on a clifftop overlooking the stunning beach at Mawgan Porth, The Scarlet is a luxurious hotel perfectly positioned on the Cornish coast. Cornwall is filled with pretty villages to visit and views to swoon over, but if you fancy something more active, it’s the perfect place to learn to surf. The hotel can arrange private lessons or why not join the surf school?

Not to be missed during your stay is The Scarlet Spa, where total indulgence awaits. The Spa focuses on wellbeing as well as beauty, offering a fab range of eco-friendly treatments. With chic interior design and furniture, plus the comfiest beds around, you’re guaranteed a good night’s sleep here. They have 37 stunning bedrooms in the hotel spread out over five floors. Each room boasts its own outside space, from private terraces to balconies – perfect for watching the sun go down together. Prices start from £180 B&B in low season – worth every penny!

Radisson Edwardian Heathrow

Just two miles from Heathrow airport, the Radisson Edwardian Heathrow is the perfect stop-over for early-morning honeymoon flights and wedding breaks. This slick West End-style venue has a lively atmosphere that’s buzzing until the early hours. The Pegasus Health Spa and Gymnasium is the perfect place to begin unwinding after your big day. Expect to be pampered with a huge variety of treatments on offer, ranging from herbal saunas to massages and facials.

For the rooms, try The Presidential Suite – it’s perfect for wedding breaks for newlyweds. The other 458 rooms and suites boast all mod cons plus rich fabrics and marble bathrooms. This looks more like a chic central London hotel than an airport stopover. Prices start from £125 for a double room.

Peak Edge Hotel

The Peak Edge Hotel is the gateway to the Peak District in Derbyshire. Aside from the panoramas of rolling dales from every window, there is great local food cooked to perfection in the adjoining 17th-century inn, beautifully designed décor and an extensive activities package to keep you busy here. There are 27 brand new boutique bedrooms with picturesque views and sumptuous finishes. Bathrooms boast double-ended baths, rain showers and underfloor heating. You’ll also find LED flat screen TVs, decadent bedding and Wi-Fi internet to enjoy inside.

Blakes Hotel

Blakes in London is the sort of hotel that makes you want to stay in your room, sipping Champagne, indulging in room service! Locally you’ll find shops galore on Kensington Church Street, and Harrods is a short taxi ride away, as are the V&A and Natural History Museums. Each of the 47 rooms is designed by internationally acclaimed designer Anouska Hempel, and each is daringly different. We recommend the Corfu Suite, which boasts a huge four-poster bed, a separate dressing room, huge bathroom, wooden floors and distressed white mother of pearl embossed furniture.

The Royal Scots Club

The Royal Scots Club is a members’ club situated in one of Edinburgh’s finest Georgian streets. It’s about a two-minute walk from the main shopping areas of Edinburgh, and it takes about 25 minutes to get to the hotel from the airport by car.

It’s quite a formal place to stay, oozing sophistication and class. It’s perfect for couples looking for privacy. There is no place for jeans and t-shirts here, especially at dinner time. The restaurant serves indulgent dishes, which are an absolute must try. The decadent decor, beautiful furnishings and the luxurious rooms create a cosy country manor house feel, despite their size. Accommodation prices start from £140 per room for bed and breakfast based on two sharing.

 

Planning a wedding when pregnant

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Life has an excellent little habit of throwing lots of stuff at you at once and getting hitched when you’re pregnant to some women may be totally daunting. Often you don’t plan a wedding around a pregnancy and vice versa, however, it is possible to plan and have the best wedding ever when you’re a pregnant bride. Here’s how!

The dress

Some advice to all brides, pregnant or not, is to choose a wedding dress that makes you feel fabulous and is comfortable. Comfort is often treated as the second cousin, when it comes to wedding attire, which is a shame because a big factor in looking good is feeling good. If you can’t breathe, sit down or dance without wincing, if you have to wear three spanx to suck it all in, then maybe that’s not the dress for you. If you’re looking for maternity dress inspiration, then there is a plethora of celebrity pregnant brides to check out, very few of which, hid the bump. Whatever dress you choose make sure you have a good chat to your seamstress about how alterable the outfit is as it can be hard to predict how your body is going to be changing.

Shoes

This is one that’s often forgotten but pregnancy can cause swelling in lots of different places, one in particular…your fingers! Be mindful of your wedding and engagement ring size. If you have a wedding ring fitted while you are pregnant, it may need resizing later on. Another option is to use a substitute ring on the day, get something cheaper and save the real ring for later when you finger return to ‘normal’.

The party

It’s a big day… emotions are heightened, endorphins are flowing, make sure you look after yourself and listen to your body. If you need a rest. Have a rest. If you want to dance your behind off, then by all means, have a great time!

Planning

Be strategic in your planning. Work in ways to sit when you can, schedule in little down time moments and use other people to help you. YES, you are superwoman…we all are but you will be surrounded by many helper bees that want to assist you on the day and in the lead up to your wedding. Accept help, drink lots of water, have snacks at the ready and make sure you have easy bathroom access!

 

The perfect smile

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When planning a wedding 20% of adults feel judged because they have crooked, bucked or goofy teeth, and it looks like weddings make those people even more self-conscious!

Many of those surveyed described landmark events like weddings, christenings, special birthdays and so on, as a primary motivation to enhance their looks, with 6% undergoing orthodontic treatment to get themselves the perfect smile ahead of a milestone event.

The survey also revealed that weddings are the landmark event where concern about our appearance is most prevalent – 63% looked for ways to improve their looks before a wedding. Perhaps because so many pictures are taken on the big day?

Smiles are on full display, not only for the bride and groom, but the other members of the bridal party too – the mother of the bride, the bridesmaids, in fact, everyone will get snapped up by the wedding photographer at some point!

The rise in the use of digital camera and smartphones has led to a massive increase in the number of pictures being taken, particularly at the major events in our lives, like weddings! It is estimated that last year, there were 809 billion photographs taken in 2014, up from 664 billion in 2013.

Weddings are the landmark event where concern about our appearance is most prevalent – 63% looked for ways to improve their looks before a wedding. Perhaps because so many pictures are taken on the big day?

Little wonder the number of adults straightening their teeth is growing exponentially every year. This has been attributed to the fact that straightening one’s teeth has never been simpler or more discreet.

Invisible braces have become so popular and so frequently requested by adults because it is virtually undetectable. It has been equated with contact lenses compared with glasses – where no one needs to know that you are having correctional treatment. The system works by repositioning teeth discretely, little by little, using a series of custom made clear plastic ‘aligners’ which are changed in two weekly increments.

The aligners are custom made according to a treatment plan, specially trained orthodontists and dentists who combine their clinical diagnostic skills with the use of the latest digital scanning technology and 3D software to plot the way the teeth should move over a period of weeks – and this is demonstrated to the potential patient before they embark on their treatment so that they can see the predicted desired outcome at the outset.

 

Should you wear a Garter?

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So how do you wear a garter and what should they look like? Garters are often ivory and blue silk, satin or lace – ivory to match your dress and the pale blue to be your ‘something blue.’ They come in old fashioned lacy Edwardian or racy contemporary styles in all colours and widths, with ribbons or crystals or, if you’re superstitious, a lucky 6 pence in a matching bag stitched to the garter.

You can even get edible candy garters for the naughty child in you! Garters should be worn mid-thigh and were originally designed to hold up silk stockings by tying a length of silk or cotton around the top, before the invention of elastic, or nylon, or tights for that matter!

Embroidered keepsake garters

Sweet Nothings Lingerie and Silk Garters both offer a bespoke service where you can have a garter made in your chosen style, colour and fabrics. A biker bride could have a leather garter made, another bride may prefer to have a personalized garter embroidered with her new married name and the date of her wedding to have as a keepsake long after the wedding.

Tossing the garter

These days many brides have two garters, one to treasure as a keepsake of the wedding, the other for her new husband to (ahem) ‘toss’ to the male guests at the reception. Traditional folklore has it that the groom removes the bride’s garter and throws it to his single friends after the wedding in much the same way that his new wife throws the bouquet, but this strikes a startling image of a hapless male struggling to get the darn thing off. No, once slipped onto a sexy thigh, we think it’s better left there for your new husband to peel off later, much, much later.

Garters for every size of thigh

For slim or sexy thighs they provide an ideal photo opportunity for the wedding album. And for sexy plus-size brides there are plus-size garters out there to fit every thigh. About a Bride offers plus-size bridal garters in dress sizes from 18-54. Yes 54! So there’s no excuse if you want to wear one!

 

Wonderful wedding accessories

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From the bride’s bouquet to the groom’s boutonnière, the couple can enjoy wonderful embellishments on their wedding day. A lot of couples strive to have matching designs or colours across their accessories too, which makes for a wonderful harmonized look. So here are some of our favourite traditional wedding jewellery and accessories for him and her.

Headwear

Traditionally, the bride tends to have far more choice concerning headwear. Wedding veils seem to be the norm, for they come in a range of lengths and styles depending on fashion and culture. Similar to the veil is a decorative net or art deco style bonnet, which also come in an array of designs. But many brides also opt for headpieces such as tiaras, headbands, hair clips and combs. For the groom, there does not tend to be any jewellery headwear pieces available, so the groom and his groomsmen typically wear hats.

Arms, Wrists, and Hands

On his wrists, the groom traditionally wears cufflinks, and such a small and simple accessory works wonders to add style and decoration. Available in a range of styles and materials, from plain silver or gold to intricate engraved, bejewelled or rhinestone studded options. The groom might also wear a wristwatch as a finishing touch, but the more traditional wedding watch option for a groom is a classic pocket watch.

The bride often wears a bracelet, and these too come in numerous styles. You may want a simple band, or a chain with pretty dangling charms. A growing trend is to wear a corsage as well.

The most important wedding accessory of them all: wedding rings!

But the most important wedding accessories for the bride and the groom are the wedding rings! The giving of rings is a traditional part of the wedding ceremony! No doubt a lot of thought and consideration has gone into choosing your engagement rings and your wedding rings from deciding on the optimum metals, gems, engravings, etc. Steeped in tradition, the practice of giving rings can be traced back centuries.

Face and Neck

For the face and neck, the groom is well-known in western culture to wear a classic necktie or bowtie, and no other jewellery. Ties, coming in all manner of colours and materials, will fit any wedding. In other cultures there is also the option of wearing a cravat.

Often the bride completes her look with a pretty set of earrings and a necklace the chosen wedding theme (and personal taste) goes a long way in helping the bride decide on the style—some pieces of jewellery are rather discreet, and others are far more overt. Some brides even wear a garland around their neck.

Torso

On the torso, grooms can wear pocket squares and handkerchiefs. Depending on personal choice, these can be purely decorative or intended for use. Pocket squares and handkerchiefs are available in a variety of colours, designs and patterns and are an ideal way to inject personality and personalisation into groom’s wear.

For more of a traditional look, the bride may opt for a brooch. Brooches come in all shapes and sizes, and can fit any theme or colour scheme. They can be used for anything, be it accessorising a jacket, the wedding dress, or the wedding bouquet. Also, some couples dress in bright, rich fabrics covered in gems and sequins, which makes for a truly striking wedding look.

 

Wedding Shoes

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Whilst the wedding dress is usually the most exciting part of your bridal look, your wedding shoes are just as important. Here are some wedding shoe tips to ensure your shoes are comfortable and perfectly complement your wedding dress and personal style!

  1. Wear your Wedding shoes in.

We recommend breaking them in before your big day. Wear them around the house, to help soften them up and practice that all important walk!

If your wedding shoes are particularly slippy it may also be worth gently sanding the soles with sand

  1. Shoe Accessories

Make sure you have these must have shoe accessories for your wedding day!

  • Heel grips – if your feet keep slipping out the back
  • Gel insoles – to reduce the pain you get on the balls of your feet from standing up or dancing, for a long period of time.
  • Shoe protector spray – to protect your shoes from watermarks and stains.
  • Clean heels – to stop you sinking in the grass!
  1. Do they compliment your wedding dress?

There are a couple of reasons to try on your wedding shoes with your dress. Firstly you want to ensure that the colour and style suit the style of your bridal gown. If you have already been wedding dress shopping you will have come to realise that wedding dresses don’t just come in ivory or white.

Obviously carrying your dress around with you whilst you shoe shop isn’t exactly convenient, so try and get hold of a swatch of the fabric that matches your dress. Either ask the bridal shop where you purchased your dress, to send you one or see if there is something small from the dress you can take such as a sash or removable strap.

Secondly it is important that you try your shoes on with your dress to check if the hem needs altering. Ideally you want the hem to sit just off the ground to ensure you don’t trip. Bare in mind that when you are walking down the aisle, you are going to have a bouquet in one hand and the person that is giving you away in the other. You won’t have hands free to hold up the front of your dress too.

  1. You get what you pay for.

Brides to be usually feel it’s a waste to spend money on something that won’t really be seen under a long dress and that you will only wear once. However, you are going to be on your feet all day so we recommend investing in a good quality, comfortable pair of shoes, which won’t ruin your day with sore feet. Good quality wedding shoes don’t have to break the bank.

  1. Wearing the right shoe size

Do you go up or down a size? We’d always recommend going up. Your feet will swell as the day goes on, which means they will begin to pinch if you opted for the smaller shoe. Shoes that are slightly too big can easily be amended with insoles and heel grips and can be removed later in the day when your feet swell to fit.

  1. A comfier pair for the evening.

If you just can’t resist those sky scraping heels, get yourself a second pair of lower, more comfortable shoes for the evening. From pretty pumps, to flip flops and customised Converse, there are styles to suit everyone. Bare in mind however, that if you choose to lower your heel for the evening and you are wearing a full length dress, it will drag on the floor, so be careful not to trip!

Avoiding family feuding

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It’s so easy to forget that there’s an entire family unit (equally important as your own) that may be completely oblivious to the upcoming wedding plans; and although many in-laws are perfectly happy with this scenario for others, it can lead to feelings of rejection and sometimes even resentment if they don’t feel the same level of involvement.

The date has been confirmed, and almost instantaneously, your neatly arrange personal wedding planner is bunged with wedding dress appointments, wedding fair flyers and Wedding cakes sampling sessions. Yet in the midst of all this creative carnage, there may be a few VIPs left feeling a tad isolated… the in-laws.

Out of nowhere tensions rise and emotions flare as you’re left wondering why you’ve been lumbered with such a treacherous display of family feuding. Is this a tiny glimpse of what to expect during married life? A moody mother-in-law offloading her dismay to anyone who’ll listen? Or worse still, comparing you to her other daughter-in-law who is seen as the definition of perfection.

As we all know, when planning a wedding it isn’t just about the Wedding Dress and elaborate selfies. It’s a time when two families become one, so make them feel that way before the big day.

Organising fun family get-togethers can be a great way of helping everyone bond, relax and feel included. It’s always a good idea to start off with a neutral environment such as trying out a new restaurant together. If all goes well, keep up the momentum with joint barbeques, birthdays and regular catch-ups.

Inviting both mums along to help you pick a wedding dress is a great way of making everyone feel extra special, particularly if your mother-in-law has no little girls of her own to coo over. However, if this seems a little too invasive then why not ask for her help with choosing the bridesmaids dress or accessories? It will really help in making her feel a big part of the leading ladies.

Seeing as many grooms enjoy mulling over the manly aspects of wedding planning such as choosing wedding cars, then why not encourage your future hubby to invite his dad along for the day? The two men can spend an entire afternoon bonding over some vintage vehicles, maybe grab some grub and have a good old father-son catch up.

If your groom’s dad is a whizz in the kitchen or his mum’s an expert in arts and crafts, you have the perfect opportunity to include their input for the important finishing touches such as making little edible favours or creating artistic centrepieces for the guest tables. You’ll be amazing at how thrilled they’ll be to show off their creative skills!

Why not start out with a chirpy text message or email? At least they’ll know you’re thinking about them and aren’t as likely to feel completely left out of the loop.

Being able to build and maintain healthy relationships is something we all struggle with at the best of times, however regular communication can help avoid many unwanted feelings of exclusion. As they say, prevention is better than a cure.

 

Wedding makeup

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  1. Peach your cheeks

Choose a peachy blusher and apply to the apples of your cheeks for a fresh and natural look. When applying this type of wedding makeup, blend upwards and along cheekbones to finish.

  1. Wear eyeliner and make it gel

Gel eyeliner is magic! It creates real definition like liquid liner but is so much easier to apply. It looks great on and lasts all day, something you’ll need with all the attention. Opt for brown for fair skins and black for darker complexions.

  1. Line your lips for great definition

Use a lip liner (in a natural shade) all over your lips before applying your lipstick or gloss. It creates natural definition and the colour lasts for hours!

  1. Get your skin in shape

Seek professional advice to ensure your skincare routine is right before your big day. This way, your skin will be in tip-top condition and your foundation will look ultra-flawless. Try using a facial oil at night for powerful and quick results.

  1. Prime your canvas

For perfect bridal beauty on your big day, be sure to start with a primer all over your face to even out skin tone and texture, and help your foundation to last all day.

  1. Choose long lasting foundation

Choose a long lasting foundation to avoid shine and dullness throughout the day.

  1. Get rid of those dreaded bags

Do not use light reflective concealer under your eyes as you risk having white eye circles in your photographs. Instead use a matte concealer or your wedding makeup foundation to hide those bags.

  1. Focus on your eyes

When it comes to the best wedding makeup for eyes, use waterproof mascara to avoid panda eyes in pictures, but comb through your lashes after each coat to eliminate clumps.

  1. Eliminate creasing or fading around the eyes

If you suffer from creasing or fading, make sure you start off with a good base. Use an eyeshadow before your shadow to keep it smooth.

  1. A quick pit stop – touching up on the day

On the day itself, carry with you 3 essential products for touching up; your lip liner, lip gloss/stick and a translucent powder for stopping shine. This will ensure you look your best throughout the entire day. Why not buy yourself a little wedding makeup bag as a treat for the day

 

Bridal shower planning

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The big day is almost here and things can get a little stressful and hectic. Planning a wedding can take up months of a bride’s life and can leave her feeling more relief to get the day over with than excitement for the day to come. Because of this, it is important for the bride to take a day off. A day to relax, eat cake, spend time with friends and family, play games and receive some gifts. Throwing a great bridal shower will be just what the bride needs to regain some of her sanity after months of wedding planning.

Plan Ahead

Usually the maid of honour, bridesmaid, mother or sister will be responsible for throwing the bride her bridal shower. It does not all have to fall on one person though. It is actually a good idea to have two or three people assist in the planning and covering costs. You should allow yourself about 6-8 weeks to plan the shower. Some of the first things you need to work out: What kind of party will this be? Formal or casual? Where will it be hosted? Your home, someone else’s home, a restaurant, a park, etc.? Will there be a theme? Sometimes it can be fun to have a wedding gift theme; such as, lingerie, travel items or kitchen ware. Once you have these basics nailed down, send out the invitations as quickly as possible. Purchase generic ones and fill them out or have specialty invitations printed that match the theme or colours you have chosen. This is a special day to be shared with people that are special to the bride, so have her help with the guest list.

Primarily, bridal showers are about both relaxing and getting gifts that are both fun and useful for the bride and groom. However, it is also important that everyone, both the bride and the guests, have a lot of fun. The most popular form of wedding entertainment for a bridal shower are games.

There are lots of resources online with lists and lists of different games to play. It’s important to choose games that match your bride’s personality. If she’s a shy person by nature, don’t pick the games that will embarrass her and make her uncomfortable. If the bride does not want games at all and wants the shower to be more of a party, then book entertainment. For a larger party, you might want to hire a jazz band classical ensemble or strolling violinist to provide background music as your guests mingle. It would also be interesting to hire an impersonator of one of the bride’s favourite celebrities for a meet and greet and to take photos with the guests. If the location for the shower is appropriate for it, perhaps you could hire a comedian or hypnotist to put on a short show for the guests.

 

Let Mum get involved

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Traditionally the mother of the bride is the host of your wedding party – the reception. It is her job to make sure that everything goes according to plan. When planning your wedding check out what other jobs are ideal to assign to your lovely mum.

First things first…

Remember…

  • DO Look after her – she is going to be working hard for you behind the scenes

  • DO Give her a bouquet at the reception, during the speeches

  • DO Encourage her to wear a complementary outfit to the colour scheme

  • DO Invite her to be involved with choosing your wedding dress. It’s the most special bit for her

  • DO Encourage her to meet up with your fiancé’s mum regularly so that they know each other before the day (and don’t wear clashing outfits)

  • DON’T forget to thank her

  • DON’T exclude her from anything

  • DON’T forget her on the day – she’ll be longing to be useful

  • DON’T leave her to do everything. By tradition, she would be the last to leave the reception, but don’t ask her to stay until the last drink is drunk

  • DON’T forget to book her in with the wedding hairdresser and nail technician in the run-up to your big day

  • DON’T let her interfere. It’s your day really…

 

Then the fun bits she can do…

 

  1. Announcing the engagement to the press, locally and nationally

  2. Working with the bride and groom to draw up the guest list

  3. Ordering the stationery and chasing it up

  4. Sending out the invites and keeping an eye on acceptances and regrets

  5. Supplying the wedding gift details to anyone who asks for them

  6. Helping to organise the seating plan

  7. Help you to choose your dress and the bridesmaids’ dresses

  8. Planning the flowers for the ceremony and reception

  9. Ordering the wedding cake

  10. Arranging table decorations

  11. Making sure all of the guests have got somewhere to stay that night

  12. Help you to get dressed and ready on the morning of the wedding

  13. Give the order of service sheets to the ushers

  14. Organising the buttonholes for key members of the wedding party, including the ushers, best man, bridegroom, and the two dads

  15. Look after the gifts during and after the wedding. This includes finding a safe place to store them during the day

  16. Collect the photo proofs from the photographer while you are on honeymoon

  17. Organise the wedding photo list – send out the right ones to the right people. You may want her to chase up your photos while you are away on your honeymoon, too. It’s great if the contact sheets are already waiting for you to look through when you get back home.