We must admit, we have been following Nessa’s wedding plans for some time now on Life’s Lust Haves. So you can imagine how thrilled we are to have her on our blog this week! Here’s her first post with some amazing tips on weddings abroad…
We had our wedding in June in the beautiful Algarve. It really was such an incredible week with family and friends – the perfect group holiday!
I must admit that I flew out to Portugal imagining that I would spend my days prior to the wedding lying at the pool working on my tan but it turned out to be a lot busier than I expected with supplier meetings, catching up with guests and being pulled in every direction – everybody wants a piece of the bride and groom! If you can, I would definitely recommend flying out a few days before your guests even arrive so that you can get the final planning part out of the way. Everybody will want to hang out with you and your groom and you do need to try and stay calm when people are constantly asking you “what’s the plan?” as you run around like a headless chicken. You seriously do need some time to relax together with your guests and enjoy some afternoon cocktails at the pool! Things are done differently in Portugal and suppliers like to chat to you for hours over coffee or a drink and time just runs out on you before you know it!
Nobody warns you either that you could possibly lose your voice (oops!) or that you could be suffering from sleep deprivation on the day of the wedding from all the fun nights out. After all, everyone is on holidays and it is very hard to leave the fun and have an early night so just make sure to be prepared! Eye brightening drops and some throat lozenges should be packed! My whispered vows were just a sure sign of a great week!
Tips for Weddings Abroad:
- Try to arrive ahead of guests to finalise details with suppliers, venue and wedding planners
- Make sure to be prepared for late nights and busy days – try to take daily naps and/or sleep-in as the busy week will catch up on you by the wedding day.
- Wear a high factor and be very careful to avoid awkward strap marks – be mindful of your dress style when buying your swimwear and outfits for the wedding week. I wore lots of strapless bikinis and dresses as my own dress was strapless.
- Be careful of nasty bites so make sure to wear mosquito spray and it might be worth your while to take a daily Vitamin B1 for a few weeks before you go! It has been reported to be a natural way to help prevent mosquito bites.
- Don’t feel like you have to be super tanned just because your wedding is abroad. I am naturally pale and didn’t wear any fake tan as I was afraid it would melt on to my dress so I just embraced my own natural colouring with a hint of a real tan. I took some daily Beta Carotene capsules in the run up to prepare my skin for the sunshine.
- You have to drink lots of water all week to keep your skin looking fresh and healthy – be careful with sun creams that will clog up your pores and cause a breakout of spots! If you have sensitive skin, invest in a sun cream for your specific skin type for your wedding – I have very sensitive skin so I used Image Skincare Prevention Spray on my face and neck.
- Make sure to explain to the sales assistant that your wedding is abroad so you focus on trying on dresses that are only going to be suitable for a wedding abroad. Believe me, there was moments of location uncertainty when I tried on and fell in love with a heavy black wedding gown at Vera Wang! It is going to be warmer than we are used to at home and you don’t want to be The Sweaty Bride.
- Your feet will swell in the heat so don’t you dare buy that pair of shoes that are a size too small just because “they are on sale” or “the last pair available.” You don’t need to suffer that much!
Enjoy every single moment…I am rather jealous of each and every one of you that has it all ahead of you!
Nessa
xoxo
