So, you’re engaged! You’ve probably already got in mind who you’re going to ask to be in your maid of honour and bridesmaids at this point (let’s be real, you’ve talked about it with them long before this moment or guy ever came around!).
But leading up to the big day, the idea of getting that many girls into a nail salon or spa & having it be a good experience seems like just ANOTHER headache on your to-do list that you just don’t have time for!
Leading up to my day, all of my girls were travelling from out of town & the idea of planning something for everyone just seemed awful, but something that I REALLY wanted. I didn’t get a bachelorette party so this was my only time to just be with my girls before the big day, plus I so just wanted to relax and not do ANYTHING for just five minutes and on the week before, that seems impossible.
I called around the week or so before, trying to find someone to take us in on the day before. The place that was the most accommodating (plus allowed us to bring in stuff for mimosas!) was the Urban Lounge in Petawawa. We decided to do pedicures with just my maid of honour & I on the Thursday and the manicures with all my girls on the Friday.
Seriously, this was one of the best spa experiences I’ve ever had. We were all so well taken care of. We had no idea what we actually wanted when we walked in, but they were so kind to walk us through picking out the colour & then offered to do the glitter differently on each of our nails and it was brilliant.
It was so incredibly relaxing & such a difference from the rest of the week and even day we had planned for ourselves. It was also really nice being able to treat my girls to something that was so lovely as a thank you for flying all this way just to be apart of my day (my maid of honour came all the way from Waterloo, Ontario the Wednesday before my wedding just to make sure everything was okay and the other ones flew from flipping SOUTH DAKOTA to be there!!). Drinking mimosas, good conversations, celebrating the day to come, & just being pampered for two hours was exactly what we all needed (honestly, who doesn’t need that any day??).
I got in contact with the lovely manager of The Urban Lounge to give some advice for future brides & their bridal parties (you didn’t think I was just going to show off my wedding stuff, did you??). They have their regular Urban Lounge accounts to show off what they do on an average day, but pop on over to the Urban Bride to see exactly how they can cater to your big day specifically (just a few services they offer are spray tans, hair, make up and more!)
To get started on booking or even last minute booking, Keri told me “Something really important for brides to know is that even if our bridal specific services are fully booked doesn’t mean we can’t make in-salon accommodations for bridal hair & makeup! We always encourage brides to reach out jusssst in case we can make room in our schedule for their party. You never know! We’ve even had brides walk-in the morning of their wedding in a last minute emergency and its all-hands-on-deck to make some magic happen!”
And when it came to the services I booked with them (& loved!) for the bridesmaids, Keri says to “call or email” ahead so that “This way, we can ensure that there are no other services happening while your party is in services. Bring some bubbly and request some music if spa music isn’t the vibe you’re going for! Our aestheticians love bringing together your vision for your manicures or pedicures, even if glitter is involved! 😉 It’s all a part of the bigger picture and every glitter covered detail is important.” Don’t you just love that idea of privacy & just having that time with your girls?! We were seriously so well looked after & I know that they will for you as well, no matter your needs or ideas!
She’s also quick to remind us: “Also, don’t forget the guys! We also have grooms and their groomsmen book in for a full Vintage service with a hair cut, wash, beard trim and even some eyebrow grooming, too! The Urban Lounge has a barber in-salon who helps many grooms prepare for their big day with a hot towel and straight razor shave. We’ve found that this type of prep and pampering is so welcomed for the guys coming in. It’s a great break from the hustle and time to refresh and refocus.” I know that a lot of guys even need a “man”-icure, especially if they work with their hands a lot! They’re not used to so much attention being put on their hands with the photos of the rings and everything! You don’t want photos featuring all of the dirt under their nails! (I’ll be doing another blog post on grooms soon too, featuring my groom’s thoughts on everything & what he wanted to be apart of & frankly didn’t!)
HUGE THANK YOU to all of the girls over at The Urban Lounge for both my day & for giving tips for future brides! Whether you choose them for your experience or someone else, I hope that this is either a kind reminder to take time to do something like this before your day or gave you tips on how to book for this kind of thing!
Anything you think we missed? Anything you want to see in upcoming instalments of the The Everyday Bride’s Guide? We’d love to hear all about it!
Thank you so much,
Caroline
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