Pre Wedding Nerves and How I Dealt With Them

From Bridal Makeup Artist to Bride to Be – my Advice for the Anxious Bride!

“Enjoy this morning; you won’t get this time back again” the sage words spoken by my mum on the dawn of my wedding day. Of course I knew this already, heck I had even offered similar advice to my clients on their wedding days, but preparing yourself for emotions you have never felt before, is as useless as the "g" in champagne!

So whilst I sat in the makeup chair and felt the nerves kick in, I drew from my years of experience as a bridal makeup artist, and reminded myself of everything I had learned being a part of someone else’s big day.

Getting "In The Zone"

Above all, every bride is different. Some choose to surround themselves with friends, family and a swanky hotel suite to get glammed up in. Others prefer getting ready in the comfort of their own home with minimal fuss. Whichever your choice, the space you choose to get ready in can make a big difference to how you feel on the morning. How you prepare that space for the hive of activity it will become, can also help reduce your stress levels on the big day.

Wedding Preparations

John and I had chosen to get married in the town of Minori on the Amalfi Coast. This is the place we chose for our first holiday together & the place where John popped the question 4 years later. I knew there was only one spot we should get married in and with that, knew where I wanted to spend my last night as a single lady. We had stayed in various apartments here over the year’s but chose to return to the first of those from 2012, a 1 bedroom apartment with lemon-grove covered terrace.

It ticked all the boxes;

large enough for 7 bridesmaids – check ✔︎
outdoor space – check ✔︎
air-conditioning– check ✔︎

The apartment gave me the space I needed to feel comfortable. On top of that, it reminded me to give some thought to my large bridal party – will there be enough mirrors? Do we have enough plug adapters? Sorry - as if you don’t have enough to think about planning a wedding – you will now find yourself counting plug sockets! But better to get hot and bothered in the days before eh….?

Countdown to the Wedding begins...

With the room prepared & feeling like I’d minimised any last minute worries or jobs I waved goodbye to my husband-to-be (yes – I got the big room) & welcomed my bridesmaids to party central. I popped on the playlist I had been building over the last few weeks (a great delegation job if you’re too busy) and we cracked into the prosecco. Our wedding was not until 5pm, so we had lots of time to get ready, but this also meant a lot of time to build up nerves.

Being the centre of attention makes me uneasy at the best of times, so it was important to me that all the bridal party feel as pampered as I did. Gemma Sutton was incredible, styling hair and makeup for the bridesmaids and I was happy to step in to help. The best part is, you don’t have to be a trained makeup artist for this. If you’re looking for happy distractions, help your friends paint their nails or curl their hair.

With the time we had until the ceremony, it made the world of difference to me by keeping my mind focused on fun tasks!

Be Prepared: It Won't All be Plain Sailing!

With all this said, there are some things you cannot prepare for and, as anyone who has planned a wedding will tell you; Things. Will. Go. Wrong.

Over the years I have seen bride’s feet suddenly not fit in their shoes, children screaming in their flower girl outfits & the wrong bouquets arrive with only an hour to go.

In the lead up to my wedding, I remember in particular going to try my dress on when it finally arrived in the store. I was so excited! I expected to be grinning from ear to ear when I put it on…. Instead, I had a total meltdown and convinced myself for a week that I hated it!

Wedding planning is emotional and you cannot predict where the problems will come from or how you’re going to react to them. Friends, family and your partner are so crucial here – they’ll remind you what’s really important & can step in to liaise with suppliers or planners if you need them to. NB: If you’ve got a friend who’s a schoolteacher – I found this professional type to be extremely helpful with these sorts of tasks!

Any regrets?

Looking back on my wedding morning, I know there is nothing I would do differently. Spending so much time with other brides had taught me how special the “getting ready” part of the wedding is and how it can so easily pass you by. The time I put into planning and preparing this part of the day was worth every minute because it allowed me to relax and soak up the magic.

When it came time to walk down the aisle, I still felt nervous and I don’t think there is anything that could quash those nerves – but remember, being nervous at your wedding isn’t a bad thing. It just means something special is about to happen. I had a long aisle to John and no words can explain the feeling of walking towards him with all our friends and family there with us.

Take in every second, because if you do, you won’t wish for those moments back – they will be with you forever.