All a bride should have to do on her wedding day is show up looking gorgeous. The right makeup, hair and spa treatment will help any stressed bride relax and truly enjoy her wedding day. When choosing Bermuda for your wedding destination, there are several great options for brides to get the personalized attention they need. About three to five days before the event, every bride should treat themselves to a relaxing massage and facial. This is also a good time to decide what hairstyle and makeup suits the occasion, and to give plenty of time for trial and error.

With over 40 years of experience, Bersalon Spas and Salons can work with each bride on getting the look they desire while making the wedding day as stress free as possible. They offer the Pre-Bliss wedding package which includes Swedish massage, Beaute Neuve Renewing facial, Upscale Nails manicure and Zen Spa pedicure, a hair conditioning treatment and consultation. It’s all the bride needs to feel pampered, but Bersalon can work with you to customize any of the options. The lucky groom shouldn’t be left out and the Groom’s Escape which features Swedish Massage, manicure and a facial will revitalize the men. Out of their six locations, wedding parties are recommended to visit Inner Sanctum Urban Spa in Hamilton, Cool Waters Spa & Salon in St. Georges and The Ocean Spa at Cambridge Beaches in Somerset.

Serenity Spa at the Pompano Beach Club in Southampton will surely take your breath away with it’s beautiful ocean views. Under this already relaxing atmosphere, their brand new spa room features the Couples Room where anyone can soak away their cares in the huge tub. They offer a whipped milk bath, which softens the skin while relaxing muscles followed by a whipped lotion application to keep that youthful glow. Their Zen package is one of the most popular with a Lemongrass Stress Relief massage and a Bliss Facial that is customized to your skin type-great for combination skin.

Sand and sea air are natural exfoliaters but for the backless dress, a full body scrub is a must. This should also be done at least 3 days before the event to ensure the skin rejuvenates itself. At Bersalon try the Marine Algae Body Masque-known for it’s firming and healing properties. Serenity offers a line of full body wraps with the appropriately named tutti-frutti Salt Glow scrub featuring hints of island mango, guava, coconut, and pineapple to buff away those dead skin cells. Inverurie offers an organic fruit scrub/body wrap but they also have a popular Hungarian ‘back-cial’-a must for any tropical wedding dress.

So, the big day is here and it’s time for the bride to truly shine. A hair/make-up consultation should already be checked off your list with the artist having a clear idea of what you want. The Serenity Spa has a full line of make-up, and their artists received training from the Bobbi Brown School. Bersalon is there to satisfy your needs and with their tried-andtested products as well as friendly service, it’s clear they’ve met every type of skin in the business. Hair is a concern also, and headpieces should be brought to the salon for your consultation. It’s important to find a hairstyle that will not only look good but weather through an outdoor beach wedding-the most popular in Bermuda of course! Bersalon stylists have the know-how to smooth every hair type and give you the gorgeous beach baby look. At Inverurie, make-up and hair are synonymous with their It’s all about me! philosophy and every look is customized to bring out your best features.

Along with the bride come bridesmaids, and often it’s difficult to get many people over to the salon. Parfait Cosmetics will travel to your location and provide hair and make-up for the whole group. Fragrances are also available at this cute boutique, and Lily Bermuda –made right on the island-is one of the most popular. Parfait offers a consultation to pick out colors and style before the big day complimentary to it’s clients and their experienced artists have worked so many weddings they are tuned in to every bride’s needs. Their location on Front Street is very convenient to many hotels, and the friendly service is sure to brighten a hectic time.

There’s a wide array of massages available at the Inverurie Spa in the Fairmont Hamilton Princess where the bride is always the center of attention. Choose between Swedish, Thai, Sacred Stone, Aromatherapy and for the really tense-Deep Tissue massages. Get a facial right after to invigorate your skin and bring out the glow! Remember to schedule a facial at least 3 days before the event so skin is ready for the make-up application. Leave all the wedding worries behind and share a romantic moment with the Bermudaful Couples massage which seats the pair in light sunshine or a breezy tent and provides a delicious Chef’s selection accompanied with champagne.

All too often a wedding becomes stressful for the happy couple, and taking time to unwind is crucial to feeling as good as you look. Any of the personal treats above will put you in a good mood while preparing for such an important day. Couples are welcome to relax and enjoy each others’ company, or the bridal party can take time to relax and just get excited for the memorable event. Really, it’s one of the best ways to take some time for the most important person in the wedding- you! Relax and let your cares drift away putting yourself in the hands of these trusted professionals…after all, you’re on vacation.

~NINA SEN

Bermuda’s wealth of sensational spas await your wishes, whims and what ifs. Not only will they confi rm your inner faith that every detail will be handled splendidly, they will splendidly handle every single pampering you have ever dared to dream!

The Bermuda spas are committed to your relaxation, recreation, hair and beauty preparations for every last detail of your mind, body and spirit for your wedding day.

With thirty plus years of exquisite attention to bridal beauty, Bersalon Spas & Salons of Bermuda, with its three locations, offers every detail in wedding preparation, from luxury hair care to aromatherapy, hand, nail and foot treatments.

“We have recently introduced the Kerastase range of hair care treatments from L’Oreal, Paris, enabling us to offer customized, highperformance treatment rituals comprising of hair masques and treatment concentrates. Kerastase also offers a unique anti-aging treatment for reconstructing weakened hair,” tells Kerry Macrowan, Bersalon Director of Operations.

They have expanded their manicure and pedicure lounge for fl at out fabulous relaxation, including three manicure tables and four luxury pedicure chairs, which recline, heat up and massage, simultaneously. This exclusive room, with its Jessica Nails aromatherapy hand and foot treatments has become a veritable pampering parlor for wedding showers and pamper evenings. Brides and grooms will particularly enjoy Bersalon Inner Sanctum Urban Spa, Salon and Barber Shop in Hamilton, and Coolwaters Spa & Salon in St. Georges for their stress relieving wedding packages.

Imagine the Pre-Wedding Bliss package, including Swedish massage, Beauté Neuve Renewing facial, Upscale Nails manicure and Zen Spa pedicure, plus a hair conditioning treatment and consultation. Also, The Elbow Beach Hotel beauty salon specializes in wedding hair styling, make-up and other beauty services, often catering to over 90 weddings every year. What more can the bride request!

For both bride and groom, the newly introduced Bersalon Scandalous Candlelit Massage, with “Scandle” candles melted into a smooth warm essential oil, applied in a relaxing full body massage. Gift hint: the “Scandle” Body Massage Candles are available retail in little porcelain jugs for easy pouring! And for the groom: the Groom’s Escape! Swedish massage, manicure and a facial will totally exhilarate. Gone will be that nervous edge!

At Willow Stream, the gracious spa at the Fairmont Southampton, Christina Judd tells that brides “truly appreciate their makeup trials, because they then know exactly how it will go on their special wedding day. We can give the bride and bridesmaids the exact perfection they wish.”

They also provide a bridal shower menu so that the bridal group can arrange to celebrate together while they have facials, pedicures, massage, and other choices from the marvelous hair, make-up and body offerings at Willow Stream. Sometimes more than a dozen guests partake of these events, including the wedding party and relatives. “It certainly relaxes them a bit!” adds Christina.

Often times the wedding party brings gifts, to open while they partake of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries!

Special Bermuda aromatherapy choices of signature scents are available, including the revitalizing scent for renewal, an energizing aroma for inspiration and soothing scents for relaxation.

Fabulous facial treatments include the “Ultimate,” an instant lifting facial from the Caviar signature line. Energizing marine ampules, intensive antioxidants, are applied to deeply nourish and fi rm the skin, while warm lavender is massaged into the scalp. Besides all of these heavenly options, they offer the complete line of any beauty salon possibilities, which the bride may desire, including, of course, specialties for the groom.

Owner Adlia Davy at Prestige Beauty Salon in Hamilton, offers complete bridal services from tip to toe. They offer everything from traditional to unique hairstyling, including barbering services for the groom and his cadre of groomsmen. And they make house calls.

Keesha Trott explains that they also offer a complete variety of manicures and pedicures, which can be so refreshing and relaxing for anxious bridal party members. Acrylic nails are also available.

What heaven to book an appointment with their massage therapist! Imagine fading off, into a deep relaxation, with all-of-the wedding lists of things to do, far, far away. Another great stress reliever is their foot massage, especially if you’re planning stylishly high, open-toed wedding heels. Or perhaps you’ll consider submitting to lower, more comfortable shoes, and have the foot massage anyway. It’s got to perk you up, and perhaps even everyone in the wedding party!

After the foot massage and parafi n wax treatment, consider the possibility of acrylic nails for your two larger toes, quite a completion to your exciting bridal look, as well as completing your total body care at Prestige Beauty Salon. Add to that a special discount for bridal groups, or perhaps consider a special treatment as a gift for a bride-to-be spinning with must-do’s!

Working in film and TV production have fi ne-tuned the artistry of make-up artist, Natasha Rosdol, who has been doing wedding make-up for many years. She gives consultations on make-up possibilities, as well as a trial run-through on wedding makeup for the bride. She also provides make-up and hair services for the bride and her maids, as well as family, or whoever is interested.

Achieving a look that remains consistent in person, in monochrome and color photographs and on fi lm are paramount — visual memories of your wedding should never be a disappointment.

Natasha will work out an effi cient schedule with her clients, will arrive for hair and make up as early as necessary, and can remain for touch ups.

Her involvement in professional fi lm and TV led to her knowledge of airbrushing as a make-up technique, which she often employs. Not exclusively, of course, but will do a trial if the bride is interested. “It’s nice and light, and gives a natural dewy complexion, since it is water-based, not oil. Brides should take a couple of hours for hair and make-up, get it done, and r-e-l-a-x.”

Hanifah Smith of Glow Make-Up Artistry offers a completely mobile service, around the clock if necessary. “You want personal attention on your wedding day,” no matter what time.

She trusts the Bobbi Brown Bridal Line of makeup, “designed to highlight your own beautiful features, not to make you look different. You’ll get compliments, often on ‘How pretty YOU look!’ It’s a dewy natural fi nish, not that matte dry, powder puff look! I used to only wear lip balm and mascara, until Bobbi Brown cosmetics were applied to my face, I couldn’t believe it was make-up, so pretty and natural. I use it and know how it feels.”

A bride was so astonished with her makeup artistry that she cried, thanking Hanifah over and over. “When completed, I handed her one of my candles, and told her to breathe and relax. I sent her lots of love and light.” And she gives the wedding party lip balms and glosses.

Hanifah tells that her name means “true, and it is the true you whom I create” with her brushes. She suggests adding temporary lashes, or waterproof false eyelashes, which last three days to two weeks, even in the shower.”

Hanifah works full time as the lead beauty therapist at Serenity Spa at the Pompano Beach Club, providing massages, facial aesthetics, body treatments and manicure pedicures. Brides can schedule appointments around her “book, based on availability.” Hanifah is presently creating a signature scent “called Glow, because you will simply glow. The name just came to me while I was doing my luminous make up artistry — just Glow! Once you’ve had your make-up service with me, you will just be glowing!”

So plan way ahead of that magical day of “I Do,” and meet the challenge of your wedding day beauty, head on. Get appointments for beauty luxuries set up as soon as you have a ring on your fi nger, and a date on your calendar. Your heart, psyche, family and friends all deserve this early bird blessing! —Jani Gardner