If you’re one of the brave brides who has decided to cut costs and invest your money in more important things, such as wedding decorations, catering, etcetera, take a look at these wedding day makeup tips. From foundation to the finishing touches, we have you covered with all the how-to’s!

Prepare Your Skin
To look your best on your big day you will need to invest some time beginning three to six months prior to your date. For those with serious skin problems, such as persistent acne or rosacea, make an appointment with a dermatologist to help begin clearing up your problems. For those with minor to normal issues, make it a habit to begin a skin care regimen that suits your skin type. Begin exfoliating several times a week and preparing masks for your skin. Moisturization is key – make sure you don’t over-dry your skin!

Foundation and Primer
Choose a good quality primer as the first step in your makeup application. Your makeup will need to remain fresh all day, so don’t skimp on this base layer! Select a foundation that matches your skin perfectly (a good match should blend into your skin within three strokes.) Mix your concealer with a drop of your foundation to cover any trouble spots you may have. Use opposite colors to hide under eye circles, for example, if your under eye circles are blue, use a peach based concealer to cover them.

Powder and Blush
High quality makeup brushes will solve many of your makeup dilemmas. Use your everyday loose powder and set your foundation with a large brush in circular motions. For your blush, begin at the apples of your cheeks and blend backwards. Your blush is a step that will make or break your makeup application, so take your time blending. Add more if you look bare faced, or lighten it up if it appears too heavy.

Eye Shadow and Lipstick
The choice of colors is totally up to you! Choose a lip stick that boasts an all-day wear to ensure that it stays put throughout your event. Set your color with a clear gloss for that extra shine you need. Keep your eye makeup color light and romantic – dark colors will only appear darker in photos, risking the dreaded “raccoon eye” look. Keep it natural for the prettiest photos.

The Extras
Fill in your eyebrows with powder that matches your hair color. Stick with your “tried and true” waterproof mascara to avoid any allergic reactions. Keep eyeliner a shade lighter than normal and ensure that you stay close to the lash line for the most definition. Highlight your cheekbones and collarbones with a shimmery powder.

To keep your makeup looking fresh throughout the evening, keep oil blotting sheets handy. These sheets will reduce your excess shine without covering it up with powder, which results in a cakey appearance. Keep your lipstick and gloss handy for reapplications and prepare to have the time of your life!

Tip 1: Invitations
Instead of ordering your invitations without a second thought, do some research and choose a company who prints on recycled or reused paper. The invitations will be just as beautiful! Check out the Bloomin Wedding Company that has engineered a seed paper that infuses wildflower seeds with their stationary. Your guests can plant the paper and watch it grow for years to come!

Tip 2: The Venue
Choose a venue that offers outdoor space to reduce your electricity footprint. Places such as indoor halls often consume a lot of energy when lighting the way for your special day. Rosabelle Manor offers beautiful outdoor options with lush greenery as your background – reducing the need for many decorations and also providing you with lots of natural light.

Tip 3: The Food
Ask your caterer if they are familiar with local, organic growers. The more local the food, the better for the environment, as the amount of packaging and transporting is far less than your typical trip to the super market. Also ask if your caterer will donate leftover food to local food banks, and consider cupcakes as opposed to a traditional cake.

Tip 4: Reuse for Decorating
Don’t blow your budget by purchasing expensive, overpriced centerpieces and decorations. Shop at local antique shops, Good Will’s, and yard sales. Choose items such as glass vases, hurricane glasses and mason jars – whatever suits your wedding theme. These items can be reused and turned into fabulous decorations.

Tip 5: Dress the Part
Ask your groom to consider buying his suit as opposed to renting it. He can wear it whenever the occasion calls and also search for “green” fine clothing companies. If you aren’t particularly attached to your gown, sell it so another beautiful bride can re-wear it. There are endless ways to make your wedding the hit of the year while you “go green!”

The esteemed annual awards program recognizes the top local wedding vendors from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism within the wedding industry. While many industry awards are selected by the organization, Rosabelle Manor was selected based on its stellar reviews from past newlywed clients.

Rosabelle Manor is recognized as part of the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire local vendor community, comprised of over 200,000 wedding professionals throughout the United States and Canada. The Bride’s Choice Award recognizes  the best local wedding vendors across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, based on their overall professional achievements throughout the past year.

“WeddingWire is thrilled to honor the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community,” said Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire. “Since the launch of the Bride’s Choice Awards™ program four years ago, thousands of outstanding wedding professionals have been recognized by the bridal community for their supreme service and dedication to the wedding industry. It is with great pleasure that we congratulate Rosabelle Manor for their continued professionalism and commitment to enriching the wedding planning experience for engaged couples.”

We are happy to announce that Rosabelle Manor is one of the very best Ceremony and Reception Venues within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Project Wedding, Brides.com, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for taking the time to review our business on WeddingWire. Thanks to their positive feedback we were able  to receive the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ for 2012.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/rosabelle-manor-adairsville/952c650d266610a4.html.

To learn more about the Bride’s Choice Awards™, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.

Step One: Choose your stationary
Keep it simple with plain or pastel colored paper. Avoid full size sheets of paper and stick with cards or postcards to keep your thank-you short and to the point. Ensure that the card has minimal writing (a “Thank You” on the front should be enough) so you can fill the space with your own words.

Step Two: Greet the recipient
Dear Jessica or Dear Uncle Rob…write your greeting in blue or black ink only – no eccentric colored markers or gel pens. Always handwrite your notes, as a typed thank-you will seem impersonal and rude.

Step Three: Say thank you
Obviously! Say “Thank you for your generous gift” or “Thank you for the coffee maker.” Never directly mention money, instead use phrases such as “your kindness.”

Step Four: Discuss why the gift is helpful
For example “I begin every morning with a cup of coffee, so it will get a lot of use.” Don’t love the gift? It’s okay to fib a little, but avoid direct lies. If your Aunt Robin gave you a juicer that you will never use, say something like “I’ve read the recipes the juicer suggests and they all sound delicious!”

Step Five: Appreciate their presence
Say something like “It was a pleasure to have you at my wedding and I hope to see you again for your birthday in March.”

Step Six: Say thanks again
You cannot say “thank you” too many times, so say it once more.

Finish your thank-you note with ‘Love,’ ‘Yours Truly’…whatever suits you. Sign your name, place it in an envelope and send it off! Your guests will not overlook your kindness!

Time: Since you and your guests will want to party past midnight, set the ceremony time for 7:00PM or 8:00PM. This will encourage your guests to stay past the New Year countdown and keep them fresh and awake without stretching your event out for endless hours.

Food: As always, the food is one of the most important parts of your reception. Remind your guests to eat early since your ceremony isn’t until 7 or 8. Allow your guests to munch on hot and tasty appetizers through the evening to keep them awake and to offset the alcohol.

Drinks: Everyone enjoys a drink of bubbly on New Year’s Eve, so ensure that you offer champagne as one of your drink choices. Also, provide plenty of nonalcoholic beverages such as water and juice to keep you and your guests hydrated. Coffee is also an excellent choice, since the weather is cool and the party is stretching into the wee hours of the morning. Serve it with dessert or offer a coffee bar.

Dress: You can’t overdo it on New Year’s Eve, so make your wedding a black tie event! Men should wear tuxedos and women full length gowns. Brides and bridesmaids can opt for sequined, beautiful dresses.

Save The Date: People make New Year’s Eve plans many months in advance, requiring you to send your “save the date” earlier than usual. Allot at least three months in advance and use catchy phrases such as “a countdown to the rest of our lives.”

Decorations: Confetti, noisemakers, party hats and balloons will make your reception feel like a New Year’s wonderland. Use the availability of glitter and sequins to your advantage – make unique centerpieces and use snowflakes as hanging décor.

Televisions: Ask your DJ if they can provide a large television or projection screen for the midnight countdown.

The Best Entertainment
Of course, you will have a DJ at your reception. Discuss with your entertainment the list of songs they will play. DJ’s may allow you to select from a library list of songs or may also allow you to recommend grooves of your own. Have a flexible DJ? On your RSVP card, leave a blank for the guests to write their favorite party song. When they respond, add the song to the recommended list for your DJ. Guests will enjoy listening to their all-time favorites and will encourage everyone to get on the dance floor.

Get Comfortable
While your wedding gown may be breathtaking, it is probably going to be uncomfortable to dance the night away in. Consider changing into a shorter, more relaxed dress for your reception, and encourage your groom to change into a relaxed blazer. You will not only have more range of motion, but you will also not have to worry about staining your gown. Another great idea? Order flip-flops for your female guests and allow them to kick their heels off and get on the dance floor.

Keep it Short
Depending on where your wedding is held, your guests may have traveled from some distance to attend. They may have spent days away from home to participate in pre-wedding preparation, and although you may want your reception to be never ending, it is important to keep your guests in mind. Limit the reception to five hours and ensure that your guests know that the party is optional.

Provide Alcohol
If your budget doesn’t allow for an extravagant set up, consider serving only beer, wine, and maybe a signature cocktail. Alcohol will loosen your guests up and make them more prone to laugh and enjoy their evening.

Provide a Late-Night Snack
A quick snack is often what many guests need to keep the party going into the evening. After drinking and dancing, your guests will be craving some salty, tasty food to quell their appetite. Go with French fries in a color coordinating cup, squares of grilled cheese or some cheese burger sliders for a unique and necessary snack.

Colors
Perhaps one of the easiest choices you will make when planning your wedding, you sould coordinate your colors to the season that surrounds your wedding date. Use dark blues, airy silvers, white or cream and golds to bring out a chilly winter feel. The use of snowflakes and glitter is also totally acceptable – create your own winter wonderland!

Decorations
Carry your wedding colors into your decorations to tie your wedding coordinating together. As opposed to the typical flower centerpieces on tables, consider using vases and bowls to incorporate classic winter decorations. Fill a vase with cranberries or glittery white tree branches, a bowl with round Christmas ornaments that match your wedding colors, or center white poinsettias on the tables. White Christmas lights and crystals also make excellent decorations during this time of year.

Flowers
Winter time limits your flower choices. Your color scheme will have a major impact on your flower selection, so choose wisely during this time. For a silver or white wedding incorporate white holly branches or silver-dollar eucalyptus. Roses and tulips will be in season, pair them with holly or pine greenery for a Christmas-time bouquet.

Favors
This time of year offers many different varieties of seasonal gifts. If you celebrate Christmas, a unique and beautiful ornament makes for a great wedding favor. Tins of hot chocolate mix with marshmallows or chocolate candy with a personalized wrapper with a winter theme also make for clever favors. Snow globes, holiday candy jars and winter candles (think snowflakes, pinecones, white, red and silver) are other great ideas.

Menu
Your wedding menu should reflect you and your spouse’s taste in food. Among your favorite dishes, serve some winter staples. Soups such as butternut squash, pumpkin, or corn chowder make an excellent palate warmer and give your guests a cozy feel. Comfort foods will be your best bet during the chilly winter months, so select foods that are in season and remind you of the holidays. Serve hot chocolate, spiced wine and eggnog among your beverage selection and consider decorating your cake in a snowflake or winter theme to top it all off.

Russian Weddings
In traditional Russian wedding ceremonies, there is often a “ransom of the bride” practice. While the word “ransom” may invoke large dollar signs in your mind’s eye, this practice is fun and quirky – unlike kidnapping at all! On the groom’s way to the bride’s house, the bridesmaids and groomsmen construct interesting problems for the groom to solve. This can be as simple as stopping the car in the road to have the groom-to-be solve a riddle to pass, or a demonstration of his strength to open a blocked door. The custom has been modified down over the years and now requires the grooms to perform simple and romantic tasks, such as writing the brides name in rose petals or composing a sweet poem for the bride.

Chinese Weddings
A tradition that has been continued for centuries, Chinese couples on their wedding day are adorned in the color red. The bridal bed will be covered in red sheets and bridal gifts will be wrapped in red paper. This is a small and easy way to incorporate a little Chinese culture into your wedding. Another interesting Chinese tradition is the combing of the bride’s hair. The night before the wedding, the bride must sit next to a window in view of the moon. The bride must find someone of “good fortune” to comb her hair four times, each signifying a special meaning. The first comb: from beginning to end, the second comb: harmony now until old age, the third comb: sons and grandsons, the fourth comb: good wealth and a long-lasting marriage.

German Weddings
German couples ask their wedding attendees to bring a simple thing: old dishes. During the reception, the guests smash and break their plates, dishes, and glasses along the floor or outside. The bride and groom then sweep up the broken tableware, symbolizing that nothing in their new household will ever be broken. Upon leaving the ceremony, the couple tosses coins to the excited children onlookers – tradition also says that the amount of rice grains left in the bride’s hair are the number of children she will bear.

Indian Weddings
Indian weddings rely heavily on tradition and rituals. The bride’s and groom’s families have an elaborate exchange of gifts and sweets, signifying the acceptance into the other’s family. The bride and groom also exchange garlands of flowers and beads as a pledge of respect to one another. An ornamental fire is also lit, in which the bride and groom toss herbs, sugar and rice in as a sacrificial offering to religious figures. The parents of the bride and groom bless the newly wedded couple by dipping a rose in water and sprinkling it over the couple.

Make a deadline – For the sake of your guests, it’s best to make a deadline on a Friday, rather than an earlier day of the week. During the weekend, many invitees have lots of plans, and the simple task of slipping an envelope in the mail can be easy to forget. Your invitees are much more likely to respond by the deadline if you set it towards the end of the week.

Allow invitees to RSVP via website – As you already know, many of us spend time browsing the Internet on our computers or phones.  Attach a website or e-mail address to your invitations to make the process easier for your guests. This will also give you an e-mail address to keep in touch with them, and allow you to share your wedding theme and plans if you create a website.

Use a term other than RSVP – Many guests are familiar with the “RSVP” term but neglect to recognize the importance of it. Instead, use “please reply,” “a favor of reply,” or “kindly respond.” This adds a less formal and more personal touch to your invitations, and may encourage more guests to RSVP.

RSVP regrets only ­– Expecting a large number of guests? Request an RSVP for guests that cannot attend only. This way, you will be dealing with fewer responses, and it will be easier for guests who cannot attend to politely decline your invitation.

Follow up with reminders – Still unsure of your guest count? A week or two before the RSVP is due, send a polite e-mail (save your stamps) reminding your guests of the upcoming deadline. Remind them that you look forward to their response and that you would be honored to have them at your ceremony.

Tip #1: Have an adorable umbrella ready.
Protect your hair and dress by ordering a cute umbrella that can be broken out if the skies open up. Websites such as cloudnineumberallas.com offer a variety of adorable umbrellas that will suit nearly any style. Go for a color that pops as opposed to a neutral one – everyone will notice, so don’t try to blend in!

Tip #2: Rain boots are a must.
Unless you’ve competed in the latest high-heeled 5K, it is probably best to kick off your heels once the rain sets in. Purchase a cute pair of rain boots that feature designs such as polka-dots, flowers, or a bright color. Imagine your wedding photographs as the bride with the bright blue rain boots peeking out from under her dress – adorable! These boots will save the bottom of your dress and keep you from loosing a heel in the mud.

Tip #3: Get great photographs.
Imagine photographs of you and your husband kissing under an umbrella, the flower girl jumping in a puddle, and your friend and family having a blast dancing as the rain mists down. Own the rain – don’t try to hide it! The more fun you look like you’re having, the more fun you will have. No need to be miserable – this rainy day makes grass and trees liven up and makes pictures that much more beautiful.

Tip #4: Make sure everyone can hear.
The sound of falling rain can deafen the way sound carries, especially to your guests several rows away from you. Ask your DJ or band if they can supply you with a clip on microphone or sound system that will project your voice for everyone to hear.

You will have no worries about rain if you choose to schedule your Atlanta wedding at Rosabelle Manor. Our beautiful venue offers two rain options that will not impair the beauty of your special day – you won’t have to worry about a thing!

If you’re not at Rosabelle Manor, remember, don’t stress about the rain! There is nothing you can do to prevent it – simply make the best of the situations you’re given. Rain on a wedding day is actually considered a blessing and a sign of good luck, so consider yourself lucky to receive a downpour on your special day!