Most brides want to look beautiful for their wedding day. It’s about looking your best for both your beloved and all of your guests—not to mention everyone who will see the photos. Let’s face it: for the majority of weddings, there are quite a lot of eyes on the bride and groom, so obviously it’s important to look as beautiful as possible.

For this reason, many brides start planning beauty treatments of all kinds leading up to their wedding day. You may start to consider things that have never crossed your mind before, like those wild-sounding med spa treatments.

So how do you know which wedding week beauty treatments are necessary, and which ones should be skipped?

Let’s take a look.

Do: Get Customized Facials

A facial (especially a new specialized type such as Hydrafacial) is a wonderful way to cleanse your skin, relax, and feel amazing. Some brides even get a facial the morning of their wedding to look extra radiant and glowing, but we recommend having this done the day before, just in case of any redness. Facials will ensure that your skin looks its best.

Don’t: Color Your Hair

At least, don’t color your hair the week of your wedding. Why? Because you can’t always tell exactly how the color may oxidize, or how it will look with your current skin. If you want to freshen your color, request your colorist to simply add a clear gloss onto your hair. Doing so will make your hair look shiny, healthy, and vitalized.

Do: Get A Mani/Pedi

If there was ever a time to indulge in a manicure and pedicure, your wedding week is it! Not only will it relax you, your hands and feet will look beautiful. The ideal time to go is the day before your wedding, unless your ceremony is set for the evening. If this is the case, you can have your mani/pedi done in the daytime.

Don’t: Try A New Workout

Stick to your familiar routine, at least until after your honeymoon. Trying a new exercise routine could result in pinched nerves, pulled muscles, aching tendons, or general soreness that you absolutely do not want to deal with the week of your wedding. Any new routines should be started at least a month before your wedding—not the week before.

Do: Get A Hair And Makeup Trial

Don’t wait until your wedding day to experiment with your hair and makeup. It will give you peace of mind to know exactly what your makeup, hair, veil, and/or hair accessory will look like, and how they will work together. Your wedding day is not the time for surprises and troubleshooting. Make sure you have this done in advance.

Don’t: Get A Spray Tan

We get it. Plenty of brides want to look tan for their big day. After all, you don’t want to blend into the wedding dress, right? Spray tanning is tempting because it’s affordable and fast—however, many brides have made this mistake. There’s a huge chance that the color won’t match your skin tone or that it will be uneven, and you’ll look “off” for your wedding day. If you must get a fake tan, do it a few weeks before your wedding, and go to a specialist who can apply tanning solution expertly for you.

Do: Consider Body Hair

Some brides don’t mind going au natural with their body hair, but if being smooth and groomed is important to you, think about having a waxing treatment and eyebrow shaping the week of your wedding. If you decide to do this, schedule it a full week before the big day, just in case of any skin irritation. A few days will give your skin a chance to settle down if this happens.

Don’t: Get A Drastic Haircut

Especially if you’ve already had your hair trial, do not get a look-altering haircut. Your hair should remain the same length and style that it was when you visited your stylist for the hair test run. It’s also important to consider that a major hair change will alter how you looked in your wedding dress when you tried it on. With new hair, something might look “off” with the neckline of the dress, your wedding jewelry, or your veil. Wait until the honeymoon.

Do: Visit Your Dental Specialist

Are your teeth looking a little dull? If they need a little whitening, it’s a good idea to schedule an appointment the week of your wedding to ensure your smile is at its brightest. When it comes to wedding beauty, this is a small-but-powerful tip.

Don’t: Do A Cleanse

Yes, you want to look skinny for your big day. But a week before the wedding is not the time to juice or cleanse. You’ll need your energy, and you don’t want to be “hangry” and snapping at everyone around you. Not eating properly could add to your stress levels and could result in unneeded arguments and undernourishment. The week before your wedding, drink lots of water, eat well-balanced meals, focus on fruits and veggies, and don’t skip meals.

Do: Wear SPF Every Day

This is possibly the most important wedding beauty tip, since brides tend to make this mistake often. For those with fair skin: even if it’s overcast outside, protect yourself. Apply enough SPF, and try to stay out of the sun in general. You don’t want to look burned (or be in pain) on your wedding day.

Don’t: Get A Chemical Peel

And don’t get microdermabrasion, either. These types of treatments are designed to work over time, not within a week, and they require plenty of recovery time to allow the skin to repair itself and heal.

Do: Get Your Beauty Sleep

The wedding week will be hectic. Be sure you’re getting at least eight hours of sleep each night to keep yourself not only feeling healthy, but also to make sure you look well-rested and fresh. Too little sleep can result in dull skin, tired eyes, poor posture, and an overall defeated appearance.

Don’t: Change Your Skin Care Products

The week of your wedding is not the time to try out new skin care products. They could irritate your skin or cause acne eruptions, making you feel less than lovely for your ceremony. Instead, either stick with what you know your skin can handle, or try out new products well in advance of your wedding for trial and error. This includes everything from moisturizers to masks to scrubs.

As mentioned before, weddings tend to make brides want to run out and try a bunch of new beauty treatments. There’s nothing wrong with this at all, as long as you don’t wait to try them the week of your wedding. During your wedding planning and scheduling, make sure to make the right decisions when it comes to what wedding beauty treatments you decide to get.

When it comes to bridal fashion for 2019, a number of the biggest designers are showcasing many of the same trends. At each of the various Fashion Weeks from the end of 2018 up until right now, there have been plenty of collections that featured these elements: giant statement veils; short, party-style reception dresses; jewel tones; quite a bit of jumpsuits, and finally, Meghan Markle-inspired everything—including silhouettes, crisp fabrics, minimalism, and that infamous neckline.

It seems that everyone is on the same page, because each of these trends have kept popping up again and again in shows for 2019 designs.

However, amongst all of these similar trends spread across various bridal designers, the most elegant standout has been high necklines. They’ve been making appearances everywhere, and they are absolutely stunning.

High necklines are a welcome shift from plunging V-necks, which tend to only work well with certain body types. Less jewelry is required for high necklines, and there’s also something about them that evokes purity and sophistication—two things that nearly every bride wants to radiate. Designer Madeline Gardner has said that a high neckline is a bride’s “most sophisticated option.”

Different styles of high necklines include graceful boat necks, sexy halters, jewel or “crew” necks, turtlenecks and mock turtlenecks, standing collars, Peter Pan collars, and keyhole necklines. Each of these styles tend to go beautifully with plenty of different gowns, as evidenced in this article. Let’s take a look at some of the most beautiful high-necked bridal gowns from the 2019 bridal runways.

The two creations below, both by Viktor & Rolf, echo the boxy “mod” style of the 1960s—a golden age for high necks. As you can see, this style continues to be gorgeous, and makes a particularly sweet choice for a bride in both short and long styles.

From the mod 1960s we jump to the 1990s, when minimalism in fashion reigned supreme. The 2019 bridal runways have been thick with this paired-down style—and of course high necklines played a big role, just as they did during that era. Take a look below to see:

Many of the high necklines parading across the runways have been sheer. This gives a bride the best of both worlds: from afar, the shape of the gown stands out more, and the neckline appears almost invisible. However, up close, the neckline is apparent and elegant, and adds an entirely new element to the dress, like the ones below.

A high neckline can turn a wedding gown into a work of art. Many of those designed for 2019 are ornate, intricate, and make a huge statement, working together with the rest of the gown to create a remarkable piece. If a bride wants to be dressed head-to-toe in in beauty for her wedding, high necklines like the ones below are recommended.

Another benefit to high necklines for bridal gowns is that they can be both very youthful and very sophisticated, offering plenty of choices for brides of all ages. Compare these girlish styles…

…with the more mature, timeless elegance of the gowns below. Clearly high necklines know no age, and work flawlessly for brides of all points of life.

Of course, we can’t talk about 2019 bridal trends without mentioning the Meghan Markle craze. Bridal designers have taken hold of the concept of Duchess of Sussex’s sleek Givenchy wedding gown and utilized it for their own collections.

One of the main features of Meghan’s simple gown was, indeed, its high neckline—thereby it earns a place here. These are just two examples of gowns inspired by Meghan’s (by Savannah Miller and Kaviar Gauche, respectively), but similar dresses have been everywhere at fashion shows. It should be noted that Meghan’s reception dress was also high-necked.

Besides Meghan Markle Mania, another big trend for wedding gowns seen on the runway for 2019 is big, romantic sleeves. Designers have truly embraced this, and dreamy sleeves have been spotted across fashion shows of all kinds. They flow, they billow, they flutter—and high necklines play very nice with these sleeves, accentuating their beauty and making them feel even more elegant.

And what else do high necklines go perfectly hand-in-hand with? Lace, but of course. If a bride wants an ultra-romantic look, a high neckline and lace are definitely an ideal option. And as you can see from the dresses below, high necklines and lace can be both extremely formal, or a little more casual. Both styles are stunning.

High necklines also make a fantastic opportunity to show off other unique details of a wedding dress. Good examples are below, in these designs from Viktor & Rolf and Reem Acra. Added touches such as floral or jewel embellishments or capes most definitely stand out more when complimented by a high neckline.

If you’re not sure if high collars flatter you, it’s best to ask someone who you trust to be honest. Try on the high-necked dress in question, and ask your friend to tell you truthfully how you look.

Generally, high collars look the best on those with wide shoulders, longer necks, small to medium busts, and straight or hourglass mid-sections. However, if you don’t have these features and you still have your heart set on an elegant high collar, try a few anyway. You may be surprised.

So, chin up! If you’re a fashion-forward bride-to-be, consider a high neckline for your wedding day look. Not only is it one of the better trends for 2019, it’s also flattering, timeless, and sensationally chic.