If your hair is short your options are somewhat limited but the chances of a hair malfunction is decreased as well. The longer your hair is the more options you have. Up- do’s, partial-up do’s, braiding, curls, the list of possibilities is long.

What you decide should be what you prefer and what looks good with your dress but if you choose to have your hair up be prepared for a headache if you don’t plan ahead. I don’t mean to say that having your hair done will be a headache. I mean that an up-do can literally cause you to have a headache because of how tight your hair is pulled back. Prepare yourself for an up-do. For two to three weeks before your wedding put your hair in a pony tail, pig tails, braids or anything that can simulate the pulling back and pulling up of your hair to get used to the feel.

Thinking about how you are going to look on your wedding day?  It's important to look and feel your best, so we've put together some tips to help.

Here are some things to consider leading up to yoru special day:

First, some context.  This was our week of helping out two brides who ordered their dresses from less-than reputable Internet retailers. One bride ended up with a dress eight inches too short. Not exactly a minor detail!  The other bride is not happy with her dress overall: essentially it does not match the picture provided on the Web site.

Here is some advice to follow BEFORE ordering from an Internet retailer so this does not happen to you:

Sample Sales

Suppose your wedding is next month and you need that gown now? Or suppose you love the sample but it’s just been discontinued? Or else you love the sample but can’t afford to special order it? You do realize next season a whole new stock will be arriving? This means your salon needs to get the old out of the way. And all those gowns with full skirts just hanging there take up space, or haven’t you noticed? While sizes are limited and samples mostly run sizes 6, 8, and 10, the good news is that sample markdowns usually go half off, sometimes less. Some salons have sample sales they advertise a couple times a year while others offer marked down stock continually. Absolutely love that gown you just tried on? Offer to buy it. Yes, that same gown. Ordinarily samples are not for sale but this may be the time they’re moving in all those spring confections, especially if it is in less than perfect shape, which, more than a few samples tend to be.