Wedding Do's & Don'ts!

When I think of weddings I think of a gift from God; bringing two souls together to form one family. 

But then shortly after my brain wonders to all things burlap, lace, bling, hair and make up!

Here is a list of my wedding do's and dont's that I feel every bride should follow!

Wedding do's

1. Be True To You. 

In all aspects, but especially your hair and makeup.

Follow your gut when choosing your hair and makeup for the big day. You just want to be a slightly more glamorous version of yourself. You still want people to recognize you. If you love eyelashes, wear them, if pin up style hair is your favorite, go for it! don't try something new just because its your wedding. make sure you feel your best!

2.Make A Statement.

Rather its with your hair, a smokey eye, a bold red lip, an amazing statement piece necklace or its your dress itself! You are the center of attention, take advantage of it! I believe in ONE statement piece not having every single thing you are wearing being loud & clashing. Statement Necklaces are trending right now, with big bold jewels. Your nails are another place to make a statement. Forgo the traditional french tip for your wedding colors! Bling out your ring finger! Get Creative!

3.Be Sentimental. 

Yes the day will be full of mushy cards, tears of joy, father daughter dances and love. But there is no reason you can not take the Sentimental value to the next level. Recently I have seen brides finding more creative ways to say I love you or show the groom how they feel. One example being with their nails. Instead of doing a blinged out nail on your ring finger, try having the Grooms initials airbrushed on as an extra surprise for him to see! Or even your wedding date! Maybe he tells you time and time again how his favorite way you wear your hair is, take that style and GLAM it up!

4.Keep It Classy.

LESS IS MORE! 

That goes for many things, but in this case I'm talking skin!!!

Yes shear is "IN" but will it be in 30 years from now when you are getting ready to walk your 

daughter down the isle and are showing her your pictures?? Probably not! There is a time and a place for major cleavage, slits, and see through corsets.. and that is in the hotel on your wedding NIGHT!

Pictures are for a lifetime, you do not want to look back and regret your attire. 

5.Prepare For Anything!

Majority of the time you get your hair an make up done first thing in the morning, to start your day

and then continue on with pictures, and prepping the wedding space before the ceremony beings.

This usually makes for a long day!

Prepare for those flyaway hairs, curls coming UN-curled and be sure to have extra

bobby pins on standby! Make a little 911 kit if you need to, they even sell them now days!

But i suggest having hairspray, bobby pins, some time of smoothing balm or shine spray to control fly aways, a comb (in case you need to tease that beehive!), as well as any makeup you may need to touch up throughout the day! Especially your lips! 

6.Make Up Is Key!

I am a firm believer in having your makeup professionally done for your big day. 

However I know many brides who are a little more DIY! For example a good friend of mine is getting married TOMORROW!!!!! She is doing her makeup herself, however she took the initiative to go into 

Sephora and had them do her makeup so she was able to have a "trial" and see what she did and didn't like! She also ended up purchasing some of the makeup they used! In my opinion the best place to splurge is your FOUNDATION! She purchased the same kind I used on my wedding day, Makeup Forever H.D.! It is a matte finish which allows it to have a porcelain finish in your photos, and not shiny against that flash!

Wedding Don'ts!

1.Forget About The Weather!

The biggest don't if you ask me!

Don't forget to take into consideration the time of year you are getting married. 

Look ahead at the forecast! Don't wear your hair down in the middle of summer, it will be too hot 

and you will be bothered all day long! Don't go against your natural curl if you have any, if you can

see that its going to be raining or humid! 

2. Try To Please Everyone.

Your wedding is about YOU. Not them! Make yourself happy with your decisions, they are the ones

you will remember forever. Everyone else will get over their "wants" as soon as they see you walk down the isle and they remember they are there to celebrate you, the love between you and the groom, and your future together! So when picking out the dress, 

the hair style, the makeup, the shoes, THINK YOU!

Even when it comes to that seating chart, You can please everyone!

3.Save Your Shoes.

Don't wait until the BIG day to wear your shoes! Test drive them. 

Oldest trick in the book, vacuum in them! Practice makes perfect. 

We wouldn't want any mishaps when strutting your stuff! You are not going to Scuff them up, 

ruin them, or make them become any less special! 

4.Do Your hair Yourself.

Not only do I believe you should NOT do your hair yourself because It may not look

as good as a professional can make it look, I don't think anyone should have to "DO"

anything on their big day! it is time for you to relax, take it all enjoy, and let everyone else

do the work for once. You have been planning for months! Let someone pamper you!!

It will always look ten times better in photos if you have a stylist do it!

5.Forget About Him. 

The day is about BOTH of you!

He is probably nervous, and for most men, not liking the idea of being the center of attention.

So give him extra attention! Ask him how he wants to wear his hair? Yes he may wear the same style

every single day, but its his wedding day too, maybe he wants to switch it up! Maybe encourage/treat him to an old school Barbour shop to get the royal treatment before! They are trending and popping 

up all over the place now days!

6.Let Anything Ruin Your Day!

Don't let anything rain on your parade.

I promise years from now you will only remember the good. If something does go wrong, 

It will not be the end of the world, it will still be the best day of your life. Just make light

of the situation, and focus on the positive. If your hair falls after all the photos, 

Just look on the bright side, You will just have two hairstyles in pictures, Like some do

two dresses! 

Leave it to the PROS

I am a girl that is all for a good DIY!

However, when it comes to certain things I think it is better to leave it to the pros. 

I gathered my top 5 beauty services 

that should be done by a professional, not in the comfort of your own home. 

As a professional myself, I can promise you there is a reason I Spent almost 20K & 1800 hours to receive an education in cosmetology. I know what I am talking about, I know what looks best, works best and is right for my clients. As a stylist it is my job to educate you on how to style your hair at home and what products to use to recreate the looks I give you in the salon. It is also my duty to inform you of when you are wrong and pull the I'm the professional card. 

You wouldn't go to your doctor's, expecting him/her to tell you what is wrong with you just for you to turn around and say " No actually, my old doctor told me this." or "Well that's not what I read online."

So below are the things I feel you should release the reigns and let your stylist take control of!

1.All over color

2.Highlights

3.Waxing

4.Haircutting,

 Yes this includes Bang Trims!

5.Extended wear Mani's

1 & 2 

I am going to combine into one as I inform you on the effects of box color. 

Box Color 101: 

When using any brand of box color you are using harsh levels of ammonia on your hair. 

Box color doesn't come with different level options for the developer that activates the color. 

Box color is a one size fits all, and lets be honest 9 out of 10 times that is never the case!

Once ammonia is applied to the hair it actually blast the hair follicle wide open and changes the hairs pH level. 

I know most of you don't take into consideration or even care about your hairs pH level. But you should! When your hairs pH is too high, it leaves the cuticle wide opening allowing and even increasing the possibility of damage. When the cuticle is left open, it has the same affect of leaving a door wide open in your house. anything can come in, and go out whenever it pleases.

So all of that color you just applied has nothing locking in it. It will fade faster, and dry out quicker. You want your hair cuticle to be closed in order to keep all moisture and luster inside. That is what creates a healthy shiny look!

There are professional shampoos you can buy to bring your hair back to its natural pH level that should always remain at the 6-8 level on the pH scale keeping your hair in the middle of the acidic/alkaline diagram. 

Buying a $10 box color seems like the easy way out, but $300 later for a color correction in a salon once you have messed up your hair could have all been avoided for just an $80 color to start with!

All Over Color:

Another possible ingredient in box color is metallic salts. metallic salts actually acquire a build up on the hair strand each time you use the dye, and it allows the hair to grab darker on the ends each time. This is something you may have noticed before when using box dye.

 There is no guarantee you will have even results. Roots are virgin hair, your mid shaft to ends are chemically treated from the previous times you have dyed your hair. There is no logical way to think they would both turn out the same, even if the box says jet black, it will not be the same shade of black. 

When all over color is applied in the salon, often times two different formulations are created for the roots and ends and applied separately!

Box color is also only ONE color. In the salon I, 9 times out of 10 mix 2 to 3 colors per formulation to customize the color to match my clients skin tone, desired look, and bring out their eyes perfectly. 

Highlights:

I am a blonde. Therefore Highlights (when foils are applied to the head) are used when coloring my hair. I can not do this myself. Neither should you. There is no way you can see the top of your head to get as close to the root as your stylist is going to be able to. Even if you have a friend doing, maybe they are even a professional.. 

If you are still using box color and not the professional stuff it is not going to turn out as good. Whatever the products is, is going to be too strong for the job you are trying to do. 

When using blonde box color to lift, they put the highest developers in the box to ensure no matter what color the consumer starts with that the color will lift! 

As stylist, we take into consideration what your existing hair looks like, feels like and what texture it is so that we choose the correct developer level to pair with the lightener so that it gets the job done right, while mainting the integrity of your hair. 

Quick Tip:

Heavy duty dye jobs are not a one stop shop! When it comes to highlights, and going lighter I always tell my clients "blonding is a journey not a destination." I have been every color under the sun but I always resort back to my natural and most favorite, BLONDE! 

Here is a little walk down memory lane of my different looks!

3. Waxing:

I have touched on this in my brow 101 post, but waxing should be left to the pros!

Yes they sell waxing kits at Sally's, but that does not mean you need to buy one and go all DIy on me!

I myself don't even try to wax my own brows. I let the pros do their job. They are skilled at shaping, filling and making them frame my face perfectly. Its an art! Then in between my visits, I just follow their lines and fill them in myself! 

To see a "how to" on filling in your brows click here. 

Not only brows, but all other waxing imaginable should be left to the pros! You are not trained, you do not know what to look for before waxing and what signs to look for that show you when to avoid waxing period.

You do not want to create skin care issues by trying to save money!

4. Haircutting/Bang Trims

I don't think anyone should ever cut their own hair. Yes people do it. Some professionals even claim to cut their own hair. I personally do not see how, I do not have eyes in the back of my head. I can not see what is going on back there, let alone get the correct hand positioning to ensure an accurate cut. 

Even if you have long hair and can see what you are cutting, don't do it!

It will not be even.

If you are not a professional you probably don't understand all the laws of cutting and what goes into it.  That is why you should leave it to the pros!

I have plenty of clients that come in, sit in my chair and always start with

"Don't kill me but I trimmed my own bangs, I couldn't take it anymore"

I have been there, and cut that! 

My own mother is one of these clients. 

As a pro I can tell when she got a little scissor happy, but she feels the need to explain every time. 

She started out using rusty kitchen scissors like she was in a Miranda Lambert video or something!

I finally broke down and got her a pair of actual shears from Sally's, and taught her the proper way to trim her bangs since I knew she would keep doing it anyways!

For all you girls out there that got "banged" just call your salon, and make a bang trim appointment!

Yes they exist and usually only cost a couple bucks. Most likely you don't even need an actual appointment! They take a few seconds and will save you the embarrassment of a jagged, zig zag wanna be swoop bang!

5. Extended wear Mani's

I LOVEEEEEE GEL manicures! 

Gel, shellac, whatever you use is amazing!

I am so happy this was ever invented. 

As a stylist my hands are in and out of water a 100 times a day. They dry out and regular polish will chip, stain and come off in no time!

Extended wear Mani's are the only kind I get now. 

I am not an acrylic girl. I am all about natural nails. 

So this is the best solution and mixture of both!

An extended wear Mani will last anywhere from 1-2 weeks.

Lately the stores have been selling "at home kits" That come with a base, top and few polish colors as well as the light that is used to cure the polish to the nail. 

I myself don't even own one of these. 

Unless you have been trained on how to apply it, it will not last. 

It has to be done correctly to ensure that it will not lift. The pros know how & could probably do it in their sleep for as popular as this service has become! 

You can get an "at home kit" from anywhere to $40-$80 bucks. 

When you receive an extended wear Mani in the salon it can cost you anywhere from $20-35. 

Yes it seems like the better deal to buy the kit and just DIY. 

But Like I mentioned unless you are trained it will not last. 

If you get the tinest bit of the base, color or top coat on your finger it will lift and end up peeling off the entire nail that was polished. 

There for when you DIY, it's not so extended wear. 

I have done it myself, and have had this issue. 

I polsihed them using the light, not even 20 mins 2, 3, 4, 5, nails later had all popped off!

so when it doubt, ask your stylist about it!

xoxo,
molly