Brides and Bridesmaids, listen up!

Every bride gets Wedding Day jitters. But typically, she does what she can to keep them to a minimum. Hopefully, she has:

1. Picked the right guy (OK, that’s a really big one)

2. Enlisted the help of a key friend or family member to help pick up the slack where necessary throughout the day

3. Planned, planned and then planned some more.

For the smart bride, that planning included getting trial makeup and hair done WELL before the wedding date so there are no surprises when she looks in the mirror on her special day.

Here’s the only problem with that. Her wedding party has not. Bridesmaids and mothers of the bride and groom feel tapped out! They’re spending enough already and don’t want to be bothered to pay for trials. Even though they plan to come with the bride to have their hair done on the day of the wedding, they have no idea what they’ll look like on that day, and they are usually the ones who end up crying about the way they look.

There’s a good reason for that. Wedding hairstyles are in the “extreme” category – something would never wear every day, and possible have NEVER worn. So bringing in a photo of Jennifer Lopez in her 11 inch updo won’t really help if you don’t know how YOU look in the updo (and most girls wouldn’t!). Alas, so few of us have her elegant facial features and long neck.

It’s the same with Wedding Day makeup. Remember that you’ll need to exaggerate somewhat to keep it lasting throughout the evening, and to be clear enough for photography.

Talk to Donna Oechslin, Manager of Divine Images Salon & Day Spa in Ocean City, NJ. “We’re in The Flanders Hotel on the beach, which is an extremely popular place to get married, so we see this ALL the time! Our brides always, always leave happy, feeling beautiful and having exactly what they wanted. But many a bridesmaid will start crying in her Mimosa because she doesn’t look like JLo in her hairstyle. It’s really hardest on the brides. “

So forewarned is forearmed! Brides, please encourage your entourage to bite the bullet and get a trial done before your special day – if only to make sure YOU don’t have to deal with a sobbing Maid of Honor. Talk to the manager to see if you can get a volume discount if you all go in together.

And bridesmaids, this is the bride’s day! If you haven’t planned and you hate your hair or makeup, suck it up, smile for the pictures and don’t ruin her special day in the salon.