How to Look your Best

The Best Dress
Now that you've selected your dress style, what about accessories? They are useful to enhance and complement your whole appearance. Basically, the rule is to keep it simple – the attraction is you and your wedding dress, not your 6" dangling earrings. If you choose to wear a veil, go for a fairly small one if you're petite.  If your dress is ornate, keep headpieces simple , but if you're wearing a dress with clean – cut lines, you could put on a fabulous tiara or glittering hair clips.

Shoes need a lot of thought – you'll be on your feet the whole day and you don't want to be thinking about pain, especially if you'll be dancing.  Keep the stiletto heels and dainty little straps for another time . A 2.5" wide – based heel is comfortable. As for style, ornate shoes go with a simple dress and vice versa. However, if the dress has pearls worked into it, your shoes could also have a pearl design.

Jewelry should be kept simple – a diamond tiara, ornate gold necklaces and more than two rings on your hands should not be worn at the same time.  Pearl necklaces or single diamond pendants are probably all you will need around your neck. Earrings should not dangle too much and should preferably match your necklace. By the way, if you wear those gold anklets with the little bells, you might want to take them off for the day.

Gloves can be very elegant. If you're wearing a strapless, sleeveless dress, you could match it with long up – to – the – elbow gloves. Wrist – length gloves can also be worn with any dress style.

Lingerie
Shop for lingerie that not only makes you feel sexy, but  also provides support where you need it. It also should create a clean, smooth line under your dress – the last thing you want is for your guests to study your panty line or have your bra straps peeking out.  Check out strapless bras, long slips or girdles, if you need them. Go to a specialty lingerie shop or the lingerie section of a good department store.

Colour your Face
Try to get a professional make – up artist but let him or her know what you're comfortable with. There is a tendency for many make – up artists , even those who are supposed to be professional, to over – apply on the basis that it's necessary for photograph or video taking.  The code words should be to enhance, not overwhelm. If you're doing your own make up, make sure to use a non – oily foundation before applying powder, use a lip pencil before the lipstick (non – gloss lipstick lasts longer) and  apply a waterproof mascara. If you're unsure what colours to use, generally, "earth" shades such as brown and dark green go well with brides wearing light coloured dresses. For evening functions, choose bolder colours to brighten up your skin.

Nice nails
Get a manicure and pedicure a day before your photo shoot as well as wedding day. You want your fingers to look nice when people admire your wedding ring. For a nail varnish, choose a sheer or light colour.  Now' s not the time to experiment with "vampire black".

Dieting
Crash diets, where you force yourself to eat only fruits or live on water alone should not be attempted in the month before the wedding. You may lose some weight but your skin will look sallow and you're likely to have dark circles under your eyes.  If you really feel you need to lose some pounds, start on a sensible diet and begin exercising  well before the wedding. There are plenty of books on this topic in bookstores but beware of the diets which promise you a svelte figure in three weeks.