The Bride's Book

01

Chapter 1: Your 12-month countdown

Most wedding stress comes from things that needed booking months ago. Here is the order we suggest, from the day you set the date to the morning of the baraat.

If your date is a weekend between October and March, you are in the busiest season for Punjabi and South Asian weddings in the Lower Mainland. Makeup artists, mehndi artists, halls and photographers fill up first for those dates, so book the people you care about most as soon as the date is fixed. If your wedding is in spring or summer, you have more room, but the order below still works.

1. 12 months beforeSet the date and the rough guest count with both families. Shortlist your gurdwara, mandir, masjid or venue and your reception hall. Decide how many events you are dressing for: roka or chunni, mehndi night, sangeet, jaggo, the ceremony, the reception.
2. 9–12 months beforeBook your makeup artist and mehndi artist for the key days. At our studio that starts with a free 30-minute bridal consultation; a 30% deposit holds the date and is refundable until 60 days before the wedding.
3. 6–9 months beforeShop for your outfits, or order them if they are coming from India or Pakistan. Shipping and customs can add weeks. If you are buying fabric to have stitched, buy it now so there is time to find matching lining, latkans and borders.
4. 4–6 months beforeStart the skin basics in Chapter 3: daily sunscreen, a gentle routine, enough water and sleep. Book a haircut so you know how your hair behaves. Groom's side: decide on kurta pajama, sherwani or pathani.
5. 3 months beforeBring your outfit fabric for measurements. Start a facial every four weeks. Book patch tests for anything new: brow tint, lash lift, bleach.
6. 8 weeks beforeYour pre-bridal plan begins (facials, waxing, threading, hair, nails). Order the sherwani now; it needs six to eight weeks.
7. 6–8 weeks beforeMakeup trial and first outfit fitting, ideally in the same visit or week, so the look is planned with the outfit.
8. 4 weeks beforeThe latest point to bring a bridal outfit for alterations. Order family kurta pajamas. Confirm timings with your photographer.
9. 2–4 weeks beforeFinal outfit fitting. Waxing and threading appointments booked into the calendar. No new skin products from here on.
10. The week ofLast facial 5 to 7 days before. Mehndi 1 to 2 days before. Rest.
11. Wedding dayMakeup, hair, jewellery, draping and dupatta setting, then photos, then the drive to the venue.

You do not need to follow this to the week. If your wedding is in four months, compress it: book the artist and the outfit work first, then the skin plan. Four weeks is the minimum we suggest for a pre-bridal plan; eight is better.

03

Chapter 3: Pre-bridal skin care, week by week

Good skin on the day is built slowly. The goal is calm, hydrated, even skin, not a dramatic change. Here is a 12-week plan you can follow with or without us.

Skin renews itself over several weeks, which is why a routine started three months out does more than a last-minute treatment. Keep it simple, keep it consistent, and let your skin settle before the wedding rather than surprising it.

1. 12 weeks outSettle a simple routine: gentle cleanser morning and night, a moisturiser that suits your skin type, and a broad-spectrum sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher every morning, including grey Surrey days. First facial so your skin and our facialist get to know each other.
2. 10 weeks outAdd gentle exfoliation once or twice a week if your skin tolerates it. More is not better; over-exfoliating causes redness and breakouts.
3. 8 weeks outSecond facial. If you want to try any new product, patch test it now on a small area for a few days before using it on your face.
4. 6 weeks outKeep going. Watch water, sleep and stress; they show on the skin more than any serum.
5. 4 weeks outThird facial. Book body polishing for two to three weeks out if you want it.
6. 2 weeks outFreeze the routine. No new actives, no new brands, no peels, no strong exfoliants from here on.
7. 5–7 days beforeLast facial. Never the day before; skin can be pink or a little congested for a day or two afterwards.
8. The day beforeCleanse, moisturise, sleep. No scrubs, no masks you have not used before, no squeezing anything.

• Sunscreen every day. Uneven tone and tanning are much easier to prevent than to correct in eight weeks.
• Hydration from both sides: drink water through the day and use a moisturiser even if your skin is oily.
• Sleep: seven to eight hours where you can. Puffy, tired skin is the hardest to cover without looking heavy.
• Hands and feet: they are in every mehndi and ring photo. Moisturise them nightly.
• Haldi or maiyan: turmeric paste can tint skin yellow for a while. Hold the ceremony at least a day before your makeup and cleanse gently afterwards.

A facial cannot change your skin type or fix a medical condition. What regular facials can do is keep skin clean, hydrated and comfortable, and give you a professional eye on what is working. Our pre-bridal plans schedule the facials, waxing and threading around your outfit fittings so you do not have to.

05

Chapter 5: Brows, threading and waxing timing

Timing is everything with hair removal. Too early and regrowth shows; too late and you have redness or bumps in photos.

Start shaping your brows on a regular schedule three months out, every three to four weeks, so the threader can grow out any thin patches and settle the final shape well before the wedding. Do not let anyone change your brow shape dramatically in the last month.

• Wax before mehndi, never after. Waxing and scrubbing over fresh mehndi lifts the stain.
• Hair needs to be about 6 mm long for waxing, roughly two to three weeks after shaving. Stop shaving three weeks before your final wax.
• If you use retinol, prescription acne treatment or exfoliating acids, tell us. We may suggest threading for the face or a patch test first.
• Never try waxing for the first time in wedding week. Have a first wax at least four weeks before so you know how your skin reacts.

07

Chapter 7: The makeup trial

A trial is where your look is decided, not on the morning. Ninety minutes, four to eight weeks before the wedding, with your outfit in hand.

Our bridal trial is $100 and is credited to your bill if you book bridal makeup with us. Book it after your first outfit fitting so you can bring the real fabric, and on a day when you can go somewhere afterwards: wear the makeup for a few hours to see how it lasts.

• Your dupatta, or the outfit itself, plus jewellery or photos of it.
• Three to five photos of looks you like, and one or two you do not.
• A clean, moisturised face and clean, dry hair.
• A top with a similar neckline to your blouse.
• Your mum, sister or one honest friend. Not six people.
• Your phone, to take photos in daylight, indoors, and with flash.

Many brides choose airbrush for a long ceremony day with lots of flash photography and HD for a reception or second look. Both are offered here; the trial is the place to decide.

• How long will makeup and hair take, and what time should I be in the chair?
• Which lashes will you use, and can I wear them comfortably for 10 hours?
• How will the dupatta be set, and will it stay through the ceremony?
• What goes in my touch-up kit?
• If I am changing for the reception, what changes and how long does it take?

09

Chapter 9: The day itself

Work backwards from the ceremony. Every timing on the day comes from one number: when you need to walk out of the door.

Bridal makeup and hair take about three hours. Add jewellery, draping and dupatta setting, then photos of you getting ready. Here is an example for a 10:00 am ceremony with a 30-minute drive.

• Anand Karaj: usually a morning ceremony at the gurdwara, with heads covered. Your dupatta needs to be pinned securely for the laavan, when the couple walks around the Guru Granth Sahib, and to stay put while you sit.
• Hindu pheras: the timing often follows a muhurat chosen by the family or priest, so it may be early, late or in the evening. Long ceremonies by the sacred fire mean warm rooms; a well-set base helps.
• Nikkah: often at home, a masjid or a hall, usually with the bride's head covered. Tell us at consultation if you wear a hijab so hair and pinning are planned around it.
• Mixed and civil weddings: two outfits and two looks in one day are common. A reception second look is $300; plan about an hour for the change.

If we are coming to you, on-location travel within Surrey and Delta is $50, and further is quoted. Make sure there is a chair by a window, a table and a mirror, and that the room is free for the full three hours.