Look and Feel Your Best: The most relaxing moments are yet to come
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By Beth Anne Piehl
waiting roomA big part of the fun of preparing for the wedding ceremony is getting pampered from head to toe so the bride looks and feels her best.
"What I think is truly great is if the bride or bridal party wants to spend half a day here, or most of the day before the wedding, and we can serve them lunch out on the terrace, we have an outdoor pool and hot tub, and they have access to all the spa services while they're here," said Camryn Pollard, manager of The Spa at the Inn at Bay Harbor.
The Spa caters to wedding parties with a variety of services, including full hair, makeup, massage and food service. Pollard said for brides and attendants who are staying at the Inn, hair stylists will travel to their room to complete their look for the special day.
With an Aveda salon in the Inn, it can also be a festive gathering place for the attendants.
"We also have a manicure and pedicure room that overlooks the Bay, and our French nails are very popular with wedding parties," Pollard said.
Around 20 staff members serve spa guests, including several who offer massage services, facials and more. Trial hair and make-up appointments are also available for brides to test out their best looks, Pollard said.
Make-up applications, by a certified aesthetician and cosmetologist, can include lessons, with Jane Iredale the preferred line of cosmetics.
The Spa aims to offer a luxurious experience for locals and guests alike, she added.
"We fill a niche in the community in the fact that we're part of the hotel and we're a day spa," Pollard said.
She added that the Spa prefers about 30 days' notice for wedding parties. A group sales coordinator handles reservations and can be reached at (231) 549-7948.

Make-up, and kiss
lisa millerLisa Miller has been doing make-up for more than 20 years and has found the key to making brides sparkle on their wedding day: By helping them to look natural.
"A lot of people aren't familiar with contouring their face for the camera," said Miller, owner of Lisa Miller Beauty, based in Alanson. "I am able to apply make-up in a way that looks very natural, but that shows up well in photographs."
For the past 10 years she has been specifically focused on bridal makeup, and she travels to area salons to meet with brides-to-be for makeup consultations and application. Her method involves using several layers on top of a primer base that will last the 12-plus hours most brides will need. "It's very soft and you don't even feel it," Miller said.
Her training in San Diego, Los Angeles, Dallas and Nashville has taught her the skills in choosing the right colors as well. The wrong color can make a bride look tired, sickly, heavier and/or older.
"Color is extremely important," she said. "I was trained in color, so it's easy for me. I look at how color affects the skin. Looking at a person I can tell if they have warm or cool undertones."
Creating a natural look for the bride is her ultimate goal.
"You don't need more (make-up)," she advised. "You want to keep your look soft and natural. You want to look like you."
Miller, a certified makeup artist and a spa consultant, prefers at least six months notice for bridal makeup appointments. She can be reached at 548-3053.

A glowing bride
For brides who prefer to not travel to several locations for hair, makeup, tanning and other Big Day preparations, Sunkissed Tanning Salon and Spa on M-119 in Petoskey is literally a one-stop bridal salon.
Staff offers hair, pedicure and manicure, facials, make-up, massage, tanning beds, spray-on tanning, artificial nails, waxing, tattoos and piercing.
ahhh spa"Brides have a comfort zone here. We're able to do everything for them," said Kasandre Dangler, owner of the three Northern Michigan Sunkissed locations. (The M-119 salon is the only one that offers hair services.)
Bridal parties enjoy being able to be together in a designated room, share mimosas and laughs while getting primped for the party. Stylists become like friends, said Dangler, and "we relieve some of the stress for them."
Some special offers at Sunkissed include massage with body scrub, and the salon is one of the only in the area that offers Brazilian-style waxing, Dangler said.
She said the salon prefers about two months scheduling time for bridal parties, but with five staff members who are trained in various salon services, she said they will accommodate any requests when possible.
Sunkissed hair stylists also offer a half-price pre-wedding practice-run. Spray-on tanning that lasts 7 to 10 days is also available for those who prefer not to tan in a tanning bed. Dangler added that the spray-on tanning is ideal for those who need to cover tan lines as well, since colors can be blended to match various skin tones.
"Talk about full-service," she added. "We've got it."