Module 9 : Clothing, Beauty and Attire for Weddings

9.1 Introduction

For most brides, the dress, the make-up and the accessories are the most fun part of wedding planning.

For many brides, this is a rare opportunity to try something new, dress to impress or live out their fashion dreams.

As a wedding planner, you will encounter many types of wedding fashion. From simple and chic to over-the-top and garish, you will see it all. Your job is not to tell the bride how she looks, but ask her how she feels.

Everyone has different tastes; your job is to make sure they find what they want.

9.2 The Different Clothes

You will be dressing more people than the bride. You will need to find clothes for the following groups of people:

Bride and groom
Bridesmaids
Groomsmen
Ushers
Wider wedding party

Choosing the Clothes

The clothes will often fall into the category of traditional wedding attire or into the specific wedding theme.

Most of the time, the bride and groom will choose the clothes with your help. It is rare for the wedding party to choose their own clothes. However, this can be challenging because it requires similar clothes to be bought for different body types and looks. This is especially true if the wedding party is very large.

A great place to choose clothes is online. You can look at specialist wedding sites or the wedding section of department stores like Debenhams or John Lewis. It all depends on how formal the wedding is supposed to be. For a very formal wedding, you may end up buying all the wedding clothes from a specialty wedding shop.

9.3 Finding Wedding Clothes within the Budget

For many brides, their dress will take centre stage when it comes to the wedding fashion stakes.

As such, you might find that you have a sizeable portion of the budget to contend with. Whether this is the case or not, you need to make yourself aware of the different types of stores available and how likely they are to cater to the couple’s budget.

At the lower priced end of the scale are outlets, department stores like Debenhams, shops like Monsoon, or even eBay.

A word of caution: don’t broach the subject of eBay with a bride, but if they’re looking at budget options and need a little help, then make it clear that you’re perfectly happy to work with them on that.

9.4 Looking Out for Luxury Goods

While some brides will want you to help them save money, others will look for the most luxurious option available.

When this happens, the chances are they’ll want you to be up-to-date with the latest bridal fashions. Research is key here, through wedding magazines, wedding shows, high-end bridal stores and online sites. You can also check out vendors on their social media feeds such as Instagram and Facebook. Stick to upmarket brands.

9.5 Saving Money on Wedding Clothes

There are several ways brides and grooms can save money on wedding attire.

One of the biggest financial killers is accessories.

Accessories are meant to complement the remainder of the outfit, not dominate it. Unless the bride is wearing a particularly short wedding gown, she needs to consider carefully whether a £500 pair of shoes is necessary.

Another great way to save money is to use a suit hire service, and this is almost essential when it comes to the groom, best man, and usher. While this may seem a little unfair, male members of the wedding party tend to place less emotional significance on their outfits compared to female members.

9.6 Buying or Renting the Clothes

In most cases, the ladies clothing will be purchased outright.

However, many of the men may choose to rent their clothes. Tuxes, suits and kilts are all readily available for rent from many places on the high street.

As a wedding planner, you may have the task of returning the rented clothes after the wedding. You may be required to swing by the dry cleaner, return suits and settle accounts after the couple have left for their honeymoon.

If the clothes are bought, they are traditionally bought a few months before the wedding. Try not to buy any earlier than this in case one of the bridal party undergoes a drastic change in size. However, if you buy too late, the dress might not be available anymore.

FACT

79.4% of Brides wore a brand new gown bought from a bridal shop for their big day

Source: hitched.co.uk

9.7 Making Sure the Wedding Clothes Fit

The majority of brides will decide on a dress long before their wedding.

In some cases, those same brides will decide on dresses for the bridesmaids, plus outfits for the male members of the party, months before the wedding. When this happens, you need to make sure they review everyone’s body size just before the wedding.

Some members of the wedding party will take this opportunity as motivation to lose weight or change their body shape. Other people might put it on or lose it without realising, or puberty may hit with some of the bridesmaids, causing their dresses to be poorly fitted. In an ideal world, perfect fitting clothes wouldn’t irk most people. In the wedding world, however, they can lead to frayed tempers and spilled tears on the big day. This is because the bridesmaids often want to look their best as well.

As already discussed in the wedding planning timeline portion of this course, you need to make final dress fittings between a month and a week of the wedding. This allows for last minute adjustments, the opportunity to identify poor fits, and a chance to change accessories.

9.8 Beauty and Grooming

Beauty and grooming appointments should be made at least a month before the wedding, especially if the bride has big plans for her hair and make-up.

In most cases, you will want to book a trial run if the bride wants to do something different with her hair and make-up. The beauty appointments should include a trial and a day-of appointment unless the bride is already comfortable with what she is doing with her hair.

Men can book grooming appointments only a few weeks in advance. Encourage men not to do anything drastic to their hair less than a month before the wedding. This will ensure that they are happy with their appearance for the photos.

Here are some of the most common beauty and grooming issues that you will deal with as a wedding planner:

Wedding Hair

In order for hair to look its best on the grand day, consideration needs to be put into taking care of it well in advance.

Without some care, it is likely that the bride’s hair is full of split ends and damaged hair.

Remind her that a little repairing can go a long way. This means that she should take multi-vitamins well before the wedding. Foods such as fish, nuts, and eggs will also help keep her hair looking healthy.

She might also consider getting scalp massages and deep conditioning treatments at least 4 weeks before the wedding to help repair her hair. If there are any split and damaged ends ruining the look, suggest a trim to fix everything up.

Many brides feel as if they have to make their hair look impressive on the day of the wedding. However, you should advise them to stay with something that they are comfortable with. On the day of the wedding, they should stick with a common hairstyle they use, rather than something that may be antiquated and outdated. This does not mean that their hair needs to stay ordinary.

After choosing a common hairstyle that they frequently use, make enhancing changes. Ask a stylist for a creative twist to a look that the bride usually has. Refine the look a little, and add an accessory to top it off.

If the bride does want to choose an uncommon look, make sure that a practice session is scheduled in advance so that she can be sure that she is happy with the look. This will prevent tears and stress on the wedding day.

Creating Perfect Skin

Consult a Dermatologist

If the bride is having some skin issues, consulting a dermatologist would be a good idea, especially if she is constantly battling acne. Consider consulting one at least 6 months before the actual wedding.

Facials

To make sure that the bride has perfect skin on the day of the wedding, you need to start preparing months in advance. Consider having monthly facials from a professional to improve skin quality. Your last facial should be no later than 2 weeks before the wedding date.

Protect the Skin

No matter if the bride decides to enlist the services of a professional or to do it on her own, remind her to reduce the risk of skin irritation and harm at least 1 month before the day of the wedding. This means that all chemical skin treatments should be completely avoided. Non-chemical procedures can be used as long as they are at least 1 week before the wedding. It is also important to moisturise the skin and only use gentle face scrubs when cleaning. To make sure that the skin remains protected when outside, do not underestimate the power of sunscreen.

Other Grooming Procedures

Other procedures that the bride might want to consider will include plucking eyebrows, bikini waxing, teeth whitening, and tanning.

However, although these are all worthy actions to consider, they should not be done right before the wedding. These actions might lead to some swelling and bleeding as well as discomfort, which is not ideal for the wedding day. Brows should be shaped 1 week before the wedding, while waxing should be 1 week to 10 days before the wedding.

Whitening Teeth

Teeth bleaching can be done to whiten teeth. Natural methods also include eating raw vegetables and eating strawberries and lemons. Remind the bride to avoid drinking dark sodas, coffee, and red wine in the days leading up to the wedding.

Tanning

Tans can also be great for the bride. Make sure that the bride understands that under-doing is always better than over-doing. No one wants to end up looking like a pumpkin on the day of the wedding. Also, if the bride has a white wedding dress, remind her that the dress will reflect light. This will make skin colour seem even darker in photographs.

If the bride does not want to risk over-doing a tan, consider using only cream or powder bronzer. This way, she will be able to make the proper adjustments on the day of the wedding.

9.9 Building a Beauty Schedule

To better help the bride on the right path, here is a summary of what her wedding beauty schedule can look like.

Remember, this will work wonders for bridesmaids as well!

8 Months – Begin hair and makeup trials. Start exercise plan. Start taking multi-vitamins.
6 Months – Consult a dermatologist for any skin issues or concerns.
4 Months – Decide on hair and makeup styles.
2 Months – Test out tanning options. Acquire all beauty accessories (e.g. hair piece, special lipsticks, etc.). Whiten teeth.
1 Month – Avoid chemical skin treatments.
2 Weeks – Last facial. Colour and trim hair.

Module Summary

You will have a hand in coordinating the clothing and beauty appointments before and after the wedding. Make sure that the couple knows that everything should be well rehearsed before the wedding, even their hair and skin routines.

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