Wedding Planning: What to do now? You’re engaged

Being asked to be someone’s companion for life is one of the most beautiful feelings. Many grooms plan to pop the question in the most majestic way possible. After this beautiful phase passes, you realize you have a wedding to plan. Fret not! We’re here to walk you through all the possible steps needed to plan a perfect wedding.

Photo by Rachael Crowe on Unsplash

Hire a Wedding Planner

You can save yourself from the trouble and hire a wedding planner at this point. A wedding planner is a mystical being that will take away all your troubles. You will be able to enjoy your own wedding with a lot of ease and comfort. Consider reaching out to a San Francisco Bay wedding planner to handle the nitty-gritty details and ensure everything runs seamlessly. However, if you’re the kind of person who likes to finish their own tasks then read the following the steps that will guide you in planning your wedding in a perfect way:

1. Venue Hunt:

The first logical step to wedding planning is finalizing the venue. The venue should be such that meets your guest occupancy needs. So for that, create an estimated guest list and then start with the venue hunting. Once the venue is finalized you can send out the “save the date” e-cards. 

2. Theme:

Resonating with your vision and the venue’s ambience you can finalise a theme. Some famous themes are countryside theme, beach theme, fairy-tale theme, etc.

3. Shopping of Wedding Dresses:

With theme and venue finalized it is time to hit the stores. Begin your shopping for wedding dresses by creating a list of targeted stores. Take your army of bridesmaids and try on as many gowns till you find the one. You can even find gowns online on sites like JJ’s House.

4. Bridesmaid & Mom:

After the wedding dresses are finalized, look for bridesmaid dresses. Along with finishing up with the bridesmaid dresses, you can even look for a dress for your mom. For these dresses also, you can visit JJ’s house,where you will not only find an amazing range of wedding dresses but also get amazing deals and discounts. They have a huge collection of gowns to meet the needs of everyone.

5. Accessories:

Dress selection should be accompanied by finalizing the accessories. So in this step procure complimenting shoes and jewellery. Make sure to coordinate with the wedding dresses.

6. Makeup and Hair Stylist:

When the wedding date is nearing, you may want to look for a good makeup and hair stylist. Before finalizing one seasoned stylist you may want to get trials from your list of potentials stylists. This helps you create a vision before your wedding. By this, the chances of makeup mishaps happening on your wedding day will reduce significantly. 

7. Engagement Photography:

Many couples opt for getting an engagement photography shot before the D-day. This helps them collect beautiful memories while also giving them good pictures to make for a great invite.

8. Rehearsal Dinner:

This step is a must for every wedding as every family conducts it. It is the rehearsal dinner which happens a day prior to the wedding. This is where the family shares funny anecdotes and relish in happy memories. Rehearsal dinner sets a nice tone for the upcoming wedding.

Wrapping-Up:

There are certain steps which a lot of couples add or skip like a bachelor’s party. However, these are some basic and essentials steps that you should take care of. The most important though is to have loads of fun at your wedding.

Did you have an engagement party?

*this post contains a paid for link, PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.

REN Clean Skincare Radiance Glow Daily Vitamin C Gel Cream

I can never rave enough about REN, such an incredible brand who have so many amazing products, one of my favourites being the Magnesium Booster Bath Salts (review here). New to the Radiance collection comes the REN Clean Skincare Radiance Glow Daily Vitamin C Gel Cream which arrived a while before Christmas and launches in just a few weeks time.

Described as being a clean, weightless gel moisturiser, this gel cream is quite unlike anything I have used before, especially from REN. Using both Vitamin C and Magnesium to gently deliver a brighter and more hydrated complexion, with REN you know there is always a little more magic somewhere. The magic within this product is it is not at all irritating to sensitive skin and is friendly to all skin types.  I have personally never had a problem using any of REN products on my skin or my body, in fact my skin reacts really well to pretty much everything I have used. 

Using a gentle, stable form of Vitamin C which works to illuminate skin and reduce hyperpigmentation, REN calls this your risk-free, no redness approach to getting smoother, brighter skin. The Vitamin C, combined with super-hydrating and illuminating Magnesium works to nourish and replenish and this gives you a daily facial moisturiser to brighten your lacklustre complexion and release that inner glow. The final ingredient worth raving about is called Tara Pod Extract and this is a first for me as far as I can remember, what it does is works directly with your skin’s own ecosystem to smooth, refine texture and even tone, naturally, of course, there is a whole lot of science behind how it does this but what I like is that it has anti-inflammatory properties which help to decrease redness on the skin and Antioxidant properties which protect the skin.  Putting all of this together, the aim is to give you skin which is has an even tone, feels smooth to the touch and is re-energised and radiant.

Designed to be used after cleansing, you need just one pump of the gel cream which you massage on to your face and neck until it is fully absorbed.  What I like about it is that I am not having to spend ages massaging the cream into my skin, it does most of the work for you on contact and as it does so, that citrus scent, which, if you are familiar with rest of the Radiance collection you will recognise, really comes to life and is quite uplifting. Once it has been massaged into the skin, there is no residue left behind, not a hint that you have applied any cream other than soft, smooth to the touch skin and dare I say it, a slight peeking of a natural glow too, so much so, I have already been asked what skincare I have been using over the festive period because I look so well! In fairness before Christmas I had the most horrendous cold and chest infection and probably looked incredibly haggard! 

This REN Clean Skincare Radiance Glow Daily Vitamin C Gel Cream launches nationwide in February but you can get your hands on it right now via REN or SpaceNK and it is priced at £38 for 50ml.

*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.

L'Occitane Delightful Tea shower Foam

Adorned with a starry, pop-art design from the fashion house, Castelbajac Paris it is hard to miss the bright yellow coloured can from L'Occitane which features one of their brand new products.- The Delightful Tea Shower foam.

First things first, it was love at first use with this Shower Foam. I have used similar products from other brands but not one of them compares to how wonderfully luxurious this one is from L'Occitane.

Delightfully creamy and unctuous, this shower foam with its unique airy texture wraps the body in softness to gently cleanse the skin. Enriched in shea, it leaves skin feeling supple and lightly perfumed.

The foam, which is like a really thick mousse smells incredible, as soon as it is released from the can, from which, one pump is more than enough to cover your entire body, comes to life and is just divine and it is also fun, think squirty cream and you have the same nozzle. Enriched with 5% Shea Butter, this Shower Foam is incredibly moisturising on the skin, after showering, my skin feels so soft and smooth to the touch and the scent of Delightful Tea, which is a loving blend of Green Tea combined with floral and feminine notes of jasmine, honeysuckle and sweet orange blossom and as a fragrance, not only is it really uplifting and one which makes me want to grab every single product within the range to try.

The L'Occitane Delightful Tea Shower Foam costs just £15 (here) when bought on its own, but it is also available as part of a few gift sets too, ones I am definitely keeping my eye on!

*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.

NO2O Dry Sheet Treatment Masks

I absolutely love facemasks and I love that they come in all shapes, sizes, fragrances, textures and you can choose whether you want something that is clay, bubble, peel off, rubberised, sheet, mud, creme and perhaps most importantly you can choose a mask for a particular problem, issue or just for some pampering.  One type of mask I had never used until recently was a dry sheet mask.

NO2O by Aqua Skincare is a range of 4 dry sheet masks, infused with a combination of power active ingredients and peptides which leaves your skin feeling ‘wow’. Based in Truro in the beautiful County of Cornwall, Aqua Advanced Skincare was created to offer something more than just your average beauty salon, all of their treatments and products are based on correcting and preventing damage to your skin and maintaining the health of your skin.

The NO2O Dry Sheet Treatment Masks combine breakthrough skincare technology and scientific formulations in an easy-to-use and mess-free way. Using an innovative delivery system to ensure that your skin is enriched with nutrients and peptides which continue to work long after the mask has been removed.  This was an absolute first for me when it came to a facemask that was dry and even more so that you can use each mask twice making them even better value for money.

To use these masks, you first need to ensure that you have cleansed and dried your face to remove any surface dirt and grime that is just sitting there.  Once you have done that, you apply the dry sheet mask and then once it is on the face in the right position and thankfully there is even a slit to ensure the mask stays in place using your ears, massage it for 30 seconds and in doing this you activate the ingredients.  Leave it on the skin for 15-20 minutes to work its magic.  I was admittedly not sure what to expect at all, part of me assumed I would need to wet the mask somehow to make it work and another part of me, the sceptical part, expected there to be absolutely nothing happening once the mask was in use.

The first of the four masks is the Detoxing Dry Sheet Mask and it uses a whole host of ingredients which slowly penetrate the skin to balance oil production as well as being purifying and clarifying. 

These ingredients include:

• Salicylic Acid - designed to unclog pores which can actively cause acne, reduces inflammation and regulates oil production
• Red Clover - Anti-oxident which eliminates toxins whilst calming and soothing the skin
• Boldo Leaf Extract - Calms the skin and assists in healing
• Kokum Butter - Essential fatty acid-nourishing and moisturising without clogging the skin

I have combination oily skin and I loved how this mask felt on my skin when I used it for the first time. Anything that I can use to balance my oily skin, is always worthy of trying and the one thing I did notice a few hours after using is how calm my skin looked having had a flare-up of flushing to my cheeks.

The second mask is the Protecting Dry Sheet Mask and this mask uses a combination of powerful active ingredients and peptides which slowly penetrate the skin for visibly firmer, hydrated, plumped and tighter skin whilst protecting against further environmental damage. 

Those ingredients include:

• Pichia Heedi Natural Extract - Reduces inflammation and enhances collagen production
• Moringa Oil - Antioxidant which supports the skin's overall health
• Shea Butter - A Natural fatty acid which nourishes and moisturises 
• Carcinine Peptite - Protects the skin from further damage and environmental stress

Living in London, I feel as though I need to do everything I can to protect my skin from environmental stress, a day of travelling around the city can leave my skin feeling just awful.

The third mask is the Hydrating Dry Sheet Mask and this mask is my favourite of the four. Again, as with the masks so far, this one uses a combination of powerful active ingredients and peptides which slowly penetrate the skin for visibly hydrated and plumped skin, whilst adding protection against increased moisture loss. 

Those ingredients are:

• Hyaluronic Acid - Replenishes moisture and assists in collagen production.
• Saliporine Extract - Reinforces the natural moisturising factor of the skin-improving hydration over a longer period of time.
• Phytosterol and Squalene - Nourishes, repairs and protects the skin's natural lipid barrier function.

What I loved about this mask when I used it the first time is that my skin was feeling particularly vile having just had one of the heaviest colds I have had for some time and my skin felt dry to the touch, even though I kept up with my skincare routine as best I could manage.  One use of this mask and my skin felt incredible and there was a definite change in moisture.

The final mask within this collection is the Firming Dry Sheet Mask and it also infused with 

a combination of powerful active ingredients and peptides which slowly penetrate the skin for visibly firmer, hydrated, plumped and smooth skin. Overall texture and tone are improved with a luminous and rejuvenated result. 

Those ingredients include:

• Hyaluronic Acid - Replenishes moisture and assists in collagen production.
• Silubum Marianum Fruit Extract - Anti-oxident and anti-inflammatory- promotes the repair of skin cells
• Grape Seed Oil - Tightens the skin- moisturising and smoothing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
• Lupinus Extract - Supports and stimulates the production of collagen and elastin for firmer skin.

This was the mask which intrigued me the most because it does so much for the skin. What I liked about this mask was just how smoothing and moisturising it was. I am lucky to not have many wrinkles to be too worried about.

Having been initially sceptical about these masks, I am happy to say how wrong I was and how fabulous they are.  They are priced at £20 each (here) but you can purchase all four masks as part of a pack for £60 and when you consider that you can use each mask twice, it works out to cost around £7.50 per mask, which I think is amazing value for money and I would definitely want to repurchase these again.

Have you ever tried a Dry Sheet Mask?

*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.