TPR Bride Amie Gormly Shares Her Bridal Beauty Prep
As part of The Bridal Edit, our online resource with absolutely everything you need to know, including what treatments to book and when, expert advice, and your very own complimentary bridal beauty checklist, we share the incredibly heartwarming stories of our TPR Brides so you too can be inspired and prepared as you plan ahead for your wedding day.
This week we speak with Amie Gormly who married her partner Tom, back in November late last year after 8 years together, 4 of which were spent doing long distance. Ducking and weaving their way through the covid restrictions, the couple only had to postpone once and were able to celebrate restriction-free, surrounded by beautiful blooms on the South Coast of NSW. Here, Amie shares all the details that went into planning her special day and advice for future brides.
The Backstory
Tom and I were together for 8.5 years before we got married in November 2021. We only had to covid-postpone once, but were incredibly fortunate with our new date - we snuck in between lockdowns, and didn’t have to shorten our guestlist. And we ended up with a beautiful time of year, with all the flowers in bloom around the property!
We lived long distance for 4 of those years, including most of the planning time - which presented its own challenges! I hadn’t even been to our venue before we booked it. I think living apart for so long, and then having to postpone, just made us all extra appreciative to be there. It was a really special couple of days!
I am the first to say I’m not a “make-up person”. I’d never had a spray tan or a bikini wax before! And I can’t remember the last time I used anything other than clippers on my nails… The Parlour Room was suggested to me by my make-up artist, and they were great! Really friendly and skilled, and such a nice space.
The Inspiration…
I think our primary theme for our wedding was “relaxed”.
We found an amazing property on the south coast where all of our guests could stay on-site for 2 nights, so there was no travel time and no rushing. We wanted to be able to spend time with our loved ones with as little structure as possible. We had good food (including a wood-fired pizza night on arrival), good wine (sourced from my hometown of Orange), good company, and nowhere else to be.
My favourite part was our ceremony - which was written by us, and almost entirely spoken by our two oldest friends. The awning around us was also covered in jasmine - it smelt amazing!
For my dress, hair and makeup - I just wanted to be comfortable! My dress was so comfy that I forgot I was wearing a wedding dress after a little while. As someone who almost never wears makeup, I didn’t want to feel too “made-up” - it took a couple of trials but I found someone who just made me feel completely me, just polished! I wanted my nails to be fairly neutral but a bit fun - I settled on a spectrum from white to grey with a pop of glitter.
The Prep…
Skincare
For my face I have a pretty simple home regime .. an oil gel cleanser, hydrating toner, and a face oil. For the 1-2 months before the wedding I added a gentle chemical exfoliant, and tried to drink lots of water!
For my body I tried to be very diligent about exfoliating and moisturising for my tan! For the 2 weeks before I exfoliated every 2-3 days with either a scrub or the Sunescape tan mitt, and moisturised all over with a body oil every day.
Beauty
I had a practice spray tan 3 weeks before the wedding, and loved it! I was expecting to feel a bit awkward, but the girls made me feel so comfortable and it was a breeze; I had the Sunescape Bondi which gave me a nice glow that wasn’t too heavy. Having a practice run was really helpful, as I could watch how it settled and tell how many days before the wedding I wanted to get my tan done.
For nails, I had the Nail Recovery Treatment a month out, and from then used the TPR cuticle oil most nights. My nails and hands ended up really lovely and soft. I had a practice manicure 2 weeks out to help decide on colours, and the shellac helped avoid me breaking my nails.
Waxing was a week before - legs, bikini, brows - and I had my lashes and brows tinted too. Two days before the wedding I had my spray tan and my nails done, and they lasted beautifully.
Her advice for future Brides-To-Be…
It’s a really lovely opportunity to spoil yourself and feel special. I really enjoyed taking the time to do these little self-care things, and it really helped me feel comfortable and confident on the day!
My other favourite thing we did was buy wedding fragrances. Neither of us ever wear perfume/cologne; but we went and chose some together. We wore them throughout the wedding and honeymoon. Smell is really strongly tied to memory - so now just the slightest sniff of it has this incredibly strong effect, immediately transporting me back to that place and those beautiful happy emotions.
We save them for date nights and other special occasions, and it really lifts the mood and makes us both feel all lovey and connected all over again.
