I think I’ll just turn it over to Dr. Austin and let her give you her tips and tricks for an a list smile on your wedding day.

Hello Blisstree! I’m Dr. Catrise Austin, Dentist to the Stars and author of “5 Steps to the Hollywood A-List Smile: How the stars get that perfect smile and how you can too.” So you have that special day coming up and you want to look your best. You plan to be totally glammed-out in the wedding dress of your dreams, specially planned hair-do, Cinderella shoes, and the works. But on that special day, make sure you and your bridal party don’t forget to bring the ultimate accessory – pearly whites!

If you’re like my clients here in New York City, you’re well into planning for your Spring and Summer weddings or maybe you’re feeling spontaneous and planning to elope for the New Year. Whatever the case may be, as a cosmetic dentist, wedding season is always an exciting time for me because I get to create smiles for lasting memories. I mean, you’ve got to admit, having a picture perfect smile for your wedding day is priceless! If you’ve been thinking about enhancing your smile for your wedding day, it’s never too late to add a dazzle to your smile. Here are some of my Blisstree inside tips and guidelines to consider as you plan your beauty needs for your wedding day.

Tip 1: Take The Mirror Test. Take a look in the mirror today and assess your current smile. Be honest and write down your first impression. How do you feel about your smile? Do you like the color of your teeth? The position of your teeth? The shape of your teeth? Are there any visible cavities? Do you have visible tarter and stains on your teeth? Do your gums appear healthy and pink? Do you have any teeth missing? Do you have unsightly silver fillings? These questions and your answers can help guide your dentist in recommending the best treatment for your smile and design a plan with timelines for having your smile completed and ready for your wedding day. Depending on your smile needs, a smile makeover can take a few months or a few hours so I recommend doing this mirror test as soon as possible. Not sure where your smile stands? Check out my 4 Star rating systems in my book to see if your smile is on the “A-List” or “D-List”.

Tip 2: Once you’ve determined your smile needs, find the right dentist who can deliver the smile of your dreams. If you don’t have a cosmetic dentist that you’re happy with, find one! Many dentists offer consultations, which allow you to discuss your needs one-on-one. Ask to see before and after photographs of actual patients, the pros and cons of recommended treatment, costs, and timelines of completion. Warning, there are tons of cosmetic dentists out there who have not been properly trained. I highly suggest that you do your homework by asking for a referral or simply follow my resources on how to find a good cosmetic dentist in your area.

Tip 3: Teeth whitening is the #1 requested cosmetic dentistry procedure on the market today. Contrary to popular belief, whitening is safe for your teeth (provided that you use a brand recommended by your dentist) and when combined with a professional cleaning, it is one of the quickest ways to enhance your smile for the big day. If you need an instant smile makeover, your dentist can clean and whiten your teeth same week of your wedding with a laser or if you plan in advanced, you can have your teeth cleaned 2-4 weeks before your wedding and whiten in the comforts of your own home with dentist dispensed whitening trays or store bought strips and trays (they actually work).

Tip 4: If you have more advanced smile needs to close spaces, make teeth appear straighter, hide missing teeth, mask discolorations and are short on time and/or cash, I recommend the “Snap on Smile”. This is a custom made, natural looking, tooth colored appliance that slips over your natural teeth to instantly give you the perfect smile like today’s hottest A-List celebrities-but at a fraction of the cost of the popular porcelain veneers that cost them thousands of dollars. Other procedures to consider would be clear removable braces, bonding, bridges or implants, or veneers.

Tip 5: Ask if your dentist does couples or wedding package deals for savings.

There are so many options that can give you an A-List Smile for your wedding day. The key is to prepare early and factor in your smile when you’re planning your wedding timeline and budget. The benefits to enhancing your smile are endless. Just remember, a beautiful smile speaks for you and on your wedding day your smile should be the star of the show!

A big thhank you Dr. Austin for taking the time to share those great tips to help Our One Heart readers have a beautiful smile on their wedding day and every day. You can find Dr. Ausin’s book “5 Steps to the Hollywood A-List Smile: How the stars get that perfect smile and how you can too” at Amazon.com and at other major book retailers.

Bride image: sxc.hu
Book jacket: Morgan James Publishing

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Image: Flickr - create_joy

The idea of ditching the veil and keeping a different ornament on your hair during your wedding came about when I found a variety of options you can use to adorn your wedding hairstyle:

• Diamond hair band
• Beaded coronets
• Feathered hair slides
• Feathered tiaras
• Diamond hair forks
• Crystal combs
• Fabric flower hair pins

These hair ornaments will go perfectly for brides who like to keep things a little more simple by doing away with veils. The bride can even choose to have her bridesmaids to wear something close or something that matches what she’s wearing.

These examples are not difficult to find these days. With the influx of vintage retro hair pieces from peacock feathers to huge fabric rosettes, a bride can find something that will suit her style for her wedding hairstyle.

Wearing a diamond hair band or a feathered tiara will certainly make you feel like a princess for a day.

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This led us to consider the pro’s and con’s because no matter how gorgeous the setting is, the need to be practical weighs more. But I’d like to go into one item which presented a novel wedding fashion inspiration. I’m talking about going barefoot.

Image: Flickr - cegglinger

Young, carefree and fun. It’s something that the young people getting married would do (but not limited to). Ditching shoes rids the occasion of formalities. It will create a more laid-back and casual ambiance. If the weddings guests are cool with the idea, it will allow simplicity and comfort in the celebration. It is quite silly to opt for heels if you’ll be traipsing on sand. You just might ruin your them.

Going barefoot may present an opportunity for a wedding favor idea: Anklets for the women! Instead of corsages for your bridesmaids, you can provide them with these trinkets.

I admit that one major concern will be your guests’ comfort, so I think this idea is suitable for the more intimate, friends-and-family sort of wedding. Personally, I don’t mind attending a beach wedding with no shoes on!

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Grace Kelly has best wedding dress of all time
Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier Wedding Video

I think you can say I still haven’t had enough of how beautifully elegant Grace Kelly looked on her big day because, here I am, talking about it yet again.

Image: Flickr - iirraa

This certainly gives us a better look at the elegant wedding dress that makes me want to get married all over again but this time, in it.

The Grace Kelly wedding dress was on display in an art museum in Philadelphia when this photo was taken. And if you visit the thread, a comment shared a few bits about the wedding dress which I also want to share with you.

According to Flickr user angelina_thera, the wedding dress was made by costume designer Helen Rose who also worked for movie studios in the US. According to wikipedia, the wedding dress was worked on for six weeks by three dozen seamstresses. Also, the veil was made by nuns from some European convent. Though, I can’t seem to find anything to support the last bit. I did, however, found more details about Grace Kelly’s wedding dress:

The wedding gown was made from antique Valenciennes rose point lace, twenty-five yards of silk taffeta and ninety eight yards of tulle. Her veil was covered with appliquéd lace lovebirds and thousands of seed pearls. (Source)

Again, if you ladies feel like taking on a vintage wedding theme and would want something elegant enough that it’s fit for royalty, sit up and take notes!

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How can one choose?

Image: Flickr - cabiria

For this bride, she opted to go for a short wedding dress simply because it flattered her most. Makes sense, really. Wouldn’t a bride want to wear something that will truly make her look her best on one of the most special days in her life? That’s what truly matters, in my opinion.

Key things to remember:

• Bride’s preference
• Over-all wedding theme
• Availability of wedding dress designs

What height is considered too short to wear a long wedding dress anyway? It will depend on the bride’s ability to carry it off. If the desired wedding theme, think warm, casual and laid-back, can accommodate a short wedding dress, then opting to go that route is feasible. And if you’ve got a variety of designs in short wedding dresses to allow you to say that you’ve found that perfect wedding dress then go for it!

A friend is considering to go short on her wedding especially after seeing the Lanvin bride mannequin that it can be glamorous, too. But, personally, I still love how long wedding dresses look. It’s not everyday that you can splurge on something so elaborate and elegant.

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Tents are usually first on the list under the contingency plan. That is if the desired date for the wedding would fall during rainy season or for some strange bad luck, a hurricane would hit. Not that we’re all hoping that the latter would happen, I guess, I’m simply citing possible scenarios wherein something wouldn’t go as originally planned. Best be prepared, right?

But with all that talk, I’m actually fascinated with this thing I came across earlier, a fantastic accessory that a bride can include especially for her bridesmaids — a parasol.

Image: Flickr - robh

I had featured a traditional wedding garb a couple of posts ago. But since not everyone can actually go about to incorporating that particular wedding fashion but still interested to adapt something Japanese into the wedding, this parasol can be a nice touch.

Looking at the practical side of things, this piece of accessory can be quite useful for extra sunny days or even when it does begin to rain. Just make sure to get something that’s not made of paper, thick or otherwise. Definitely not a good idea getting the latter wet. But, like I said, it can simply be used as an accessory. It’s a fabulous detail that will make your wedding photos extra interesting. Your bridesmaids can keep it for personal use or souvenir after the wedding. It can also be a great wedding favor for your close friends and family.

Can you think of other out-of-the-ordinary wedding fashion accessories used in past weddings or perhaps you plan to use in your own?

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No, these people aren’t dressed up for Halloween — too early for that anyway — or some play. It’s the real deal. They’re getting hitched!

Image: Flickr - jpellgen

“As I was taking some photos of Sangatsu-do, I noticed some photographers in the vacinity of Tamukeyama Shrine. I was fortunate to get these lovely photos. I think Shinto wedding ceremonies are quite unique, but the garb is the most amazing part. Traditional wedding apparel (tomesode) is usually a kimono for the man and a white kimono called a shiromuku for the woman. The shiromuku is completed with a special headdress. The man’s formal kimono (montsuki) consists of hakama, haori (jacket), geta, and white cords with a fluffy tassel known as himo.” — jpellgen

I appreciate the short description noted after the photograph since it explained the traditional outfit for both groom and bride in this particular Eastern wedding ceremony. The photo showed the richness in culture and gives us foreigners an amazing look at the traditional wedding fashion that may have been passed on for centuries.

I learned something new today about the wedding traditions in other parts of the world, particularly on wedding fashion. How about you?

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Dabbing the color here and there, it creates a very strong feminine feel to a wedding celebration. If you love the color and have been hesitant to use it perhaps these wedding dresses will provide great influence in prodding you to going ahead with the idea.

Image: Flickr - dra_love

Isn’t it a fun photo of friends, in stances taken from the girly action flick Charlie’s Angels, garbed in fabulous splashes of red — in 50’s inspired looks no less? I have to admit that I’m not sure if the one in white and black combo is the bride and the two other women in red are the bridesmaids but, regardless, if you’re not sure about using these for your own wedding entourage, perhaps it’s a great idea for a dress you’ll be wearing to attend a wedding.

Wear red and celebrate love in weddings!

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Image: Flickr - wonderfullycomplex

One of the main things that a bride would carefully and thoroughly plan is the wedding dress. It has to be perfect; exactly how she had pictured it ever since she was a little girl dreaming about her wedding when she grows up. One can only wish that the wedding budget can allocate enough to accommodate her preferred design. Money will always be an issue for us non-royalty folks.

The wedding dress on the photo may not be how I’d picture a wedding dress of royalty, however, I do admit that it does exude richness and elegance with simplicity in cuts and intricate details, which will make you think of careful thought in the creation process. Its design is timeless and worthy of being showcased in a glass case. A great piece added to the history of bridal fashion.

A friend had mentioned that it’s a great inspiration for her own wedding dress. How about the rest of you, brides? Will you consider getting something like this off the rack or perhaps have your own wedding dress made into its likeness by your designer? What do you look for in a wedding dress?

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But in these things, though appropriate and fabulous choices, do you truly find yourself or simply see a victim of all the sales pitches and peer pressure? I encourage you to find beauty in letting yourself shine on your big day.

One of the most admirable wedding traditions that I have to highlight is the Hindu wedding ceremonies.

Image: Flickr - bigpinkcookie

Hindu wedding ceremonies are traditionally conducted at least partially in Sanskrit, the language in which most holy Hindu ceremonies are conducted. The local language of the people involved is also used since most Hindus cannot understand Sanskrit. They have many rituals that have evolved since traditional times and differ in many ways from the modern western wedding ceremony and also among the different regions, families, and castes such as Rajput weddings and Iyer weddings. The Hindus attach a lot of importance to marriages and the ceremonies are very colorful and extend for several days. (source: wikipedia)

For purists, I’m certain that I need not reiterate how lovely and meaningful it is. But for those living outside India and the rest of us outsiders, witnessing a wedding ceremony like this one can leave an impression that’s both whimsical and elegant. One can’t help but admire the intricate details — from hand-painted henna tattoos to the bead work on the brides’s gown and veil. Incredibly fascinating and the outcome is like a work of art.

This applies to all the other wedding traditions of people from varied ethnicity, magnified by the fact that he or she may have uprooted themselves from their native land and were left no option but to merge their beliefs and practices with whatever place they ended up living in. Embracing your true self can be symbolic as you celebrate the merging of two lives esp if you’re marrying into a different race. It will remind you, your family and friends that this is also a part of you which the other person is accepting into his or her life.

It doesn’t hurt that in letting your true self shine by upholding your traditions on your wedding day will give you interesting photos as well.

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