The glow of happiness is usually guaranteed on your wedding day but radiance can be perfected through a beauty routine that will have you red-carpet gorgeous for your special day.

After being a bride myself recently, I understand how much you want and need to look your best. The dress is important — and the shoes of course — but a luminous complexion was a priority for me. The stress and emotion of organising the big day seem to appear first and foremost in the skin.

Advance planning

If you can, plan the two months leading up to your wedding with you and your body in mind. Start by getting all the stressful wedding details and big decisions out of the way as early as possible. Make and confirm all your bookings, sort out your pre-nup and arrange your honeymoon, whilst you have the time.

Get moving

The next step is to focus on your health and exercise. Make sure you have an exercise routine chosen for the two months prior to the wedding.

Depending on your body and personality you could start distressing yoga classes or take up Adventure Boot Camp for Women, which I highly recommend. I lost inches where I didn't want them and gained them where I did. The increased circulation of blood through the dermis gives your skin extra nutrition that aided my skin program.

Eat right

Also it's a great idea to choose a 'skin, hair and nails' multivitamin. Solar Technologies have an excellent one called Skin Essentials.

This is the time to really analyse your diet. If you want fantastic all round results for your day — then cutting out foods high in fat and sugar is essential.

Start adding in brightly coloured vegetables and more fish high in Omega 3 Fish oil, which stimulates blood circulation, increases the breakdown of fibrin (a compound involved in scar formation).

Alcohol consumption will also affect the appearance of your skin as it slows down the metabolism, which will affect weight-loss and circulation. It can also lessen the strength of the capillary walls resulting in spider veins on the face.

Get some professional help

This leads me to the beauty side. I advise all my brides to book in for a full wedding programme. At Exquisite, ours takes place over several weeks and will guarantee you a gorgeous, healthy skin on your wedding day. It includes all the treatments needed to look spectacular on the day: Marine Mineral Manicure/Pedicure, Lash tinting, Lash Extension or Perming and Eyebrow shaping etc. but most importantly the Exquisite Skin Program (Nimue TCA 7.5% treatments) ends with a skin-transforming Nimue Chemibrasion.

This magic beauty program will decrease dehydration but also significantly increase cell turnover, it also will eliminate wrinkles and increase collagen and elastin production. In short your skin will not only look fresh and luminous, but you will look utterly fantastic on your wedding day!

We suggest you have your facial treatments in the following order for the best results, however, you can change your accessory treatments to suit your schedule.

Checklist:

Eight weeks to go:

I suggest you have your first facial this week and start your exercise routine. Also start taking your course of skin multivitamins

Remember: Don't go in the sun before your wedding. Sunburns, peeling skin and tan lines can sabotage your special day, the skin program will make your skin sensitive to the sun and a carefully applied make-up will look better than a tan anyway.

Seven weeks to go:

Time for your next facial. Start eating right. Learn to love fresh fruit and crisp steamed vegetables. Don't starve yourself. It's going to show on your skin, which will rapidly become dehydrated and lacklustre.

Six weeks to go:

This is a good time to have your make-up trial. Ensure that your make-up artist uses the same product that she or he will use on the day so you can be sure that you don't have any allergic reactions to it. Take a photograph of the finished look to help you put together the total look.

Have your third facial.

Five weeks to go:

Drink lots of water. There is nothing better for your skin. If you don't like water, go for herbal teas such as chamomile (for calm), fennel (to assist detoxing) or green tea (aids metabolism — but is high in caffeine).

Avoid drinking caffeine if you can. It taxes the system and dehydrates your skin.

Have your weekly facial.

Four weeks to go:

Be sure that you don't get caught up in too much drama. Its time to set your boundaries. Your mother-in-law to be does not have the right to rearrange the seating plan. You must also start to accept that your wedding will not be perfect from start to finish — the little mishaps are part of the experience. You will be with friends and family who love you and want things to go well for you.

Three weeks to go:

If you decide to go with Exquisite, it would be time for your next facial — the Nimue Facial No6.

Don't try anything new with your skin at this point. Your most significant skin treatment lies ahead and it's not a good time to experiment with a new look — you will only end up feeling uncomfortable.

Two weeks to go:

Have the Exquisite Nimue Chemibrasion treatment before you have a couple of days that you don't have anything. There are a few days of down time with this treatment as it plumps up your collagen and elastin to give you an exceptional complexion for the big day ahead.

Don't let last minute details ruin your eating plan. Switch to healthy snacks on the go; nuts are full of healthy oils that are essential to hair, nails and skin and will help even out your mood.

The week of the wedding:

This week is the perfect time for an eyebrow shape, eyelash tint, and eyebrow tint.

Its time for some serious preening! This is also a good week to get a haircut and colour if you need one. Ask the hairstylist not to reinvent your look. You need to give the hair and make-up artist something similar to what you had at the date of your trial. Be sure not to colour shampoo the day before as your skin, hands and nails might stain.

A day or two before the wedding:

An Exquisite Marine Mineral Glow Manicure and Marine Mineral Glow Pedicure, as well as eyelash perm or eyelash extensions are on the cards.

Make the time for this pamper session. It's a good excuse to switch off your phone and think only about you. Surrender to this wonderful process. You deserve to look exquisite on your wedding day so that you can be entirely present to the very special day with the one you love.

Isabella Loneragan is a skin specialist and owner of Exquisite Skin Therapy in Bantry Bay. Visit www.exquisiteskintherapy.com or call her on +27 72 921 9870