This month’s Spa of the Month:

The moment the proposal is made, the clock begins ticking, and does not strike 12 until sealed with a kiss at the altar. In the fairy tale dream of every bride, her fiancé gets down on bended knee with ring in hand, which of course is later followed by a perfect wedding on a beautiful day.
In reality, the journey to the blissful wedding question is fraught with many challenges that strain families and friendships, and can either make or break the business reputation of the professionals involved. With all eyes on the bride and bridesmaids as they walk down the aisle, the only thing anyone at the ceremony should be thinking is, “Wow, isn’t she beautiful.”

Developing a reputation as the spa or salon to go to for bridal or wedding party services is a goal all spas should strive to achieve.

Oasis Day Spa in New York City takes the responsibility of getting brides ready for the biggest day of their lives extremely seriously, and strongly recommends all other spas do the same, as providing bridal services is a great way for any spa to grow their business. The spa offers a full range of services that includes hair styling, massage, nails, body treatments, skin care services and makeup for brides, friends of the bride and wedding parties.
Developing a reputation as the spa or salon to go to for bridal or wedding party services is a goal that all spas should strive to achieve. There is no form of advertising more effective than word of mouth, especially in a niche market.
What are the main concerns of the bride on her big day? That seems like an easy question to answer, but as you start to think about it and begin ticking off the possibilities, you quickly realize that the answer is everything.

You can rest assured that the meeting with the bride will include her closest pack of pals, who will have a wide array of opinions themselves.

A typical last minute crisis scenario that arises for brides on their wedding day is portrayed in a scene from the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding. On the morning of the big event, the bride is surrounded by 50 family members and friends when she discovers a pimple on her chin. Complete chaos ensues as everyone shouts out their own home remedies for the problem.
It is our job in the spa and beauty industry to create a road map for a smooth journey and a happy ending on the wedding day when it comes to the beauty of the bride. Achieving this mission successfully requires proper planning, which begins with a meeting with the bride to determine what her expectations are.
You can rest assured that the meeting with the bride will include her closest pack of pals, who will have a wide array of opinions themselves. Many of them are likely to have their own best interests in mind when they make suggestions. Therefore it is critical to make sure that you are focusing on what the bride herself wants. When you sit down with your client alone and ask her what she wants after everyone else has said their piece, her answers may be quite a revelation.
It is your responsibility as the esthetician to speak up if you feel strongly about how a particular service should be done. After all, you are the expert who has worked with hundreds of clients with similar issues, whether it is regarding skin type, hair or makeup. Many of your suggestions will be based on elements of the wedding itself. Is it indoors or outside? What season is it? What are the colors of the event space? Is there a special theme?

At Oasis we recommend a series of four of our signature facials, starting six months prior to the wedding.

Here at Oasis Spa, we had a client that was getting married on a yacht in the middle of the day. That meant that the sun, sea, air, wind and possibly ocean spray would all be factors. Creating the hair updos for that wedding party was a huge undertaking and a top issue of concern for the bride.
Once you understand the background of the event itself, as well as the bride’s wish list (expect this to change as the planning progresses), you can present the initial plan to her. Start from the head and work your way down to the toes.
Oasis Spa recommends the following five steps as a guideline:
1. For the spa that offers styling services, determine if the hair requires any coloring treatment. If so, realize that the subtle changes need to start several months out so that the final result is perfect for the wedding. Decide when you will do her last color treatment, cut or trim before the big day. Figure out which services you will be doing on the day of the wedding itself well in advance. You may go through several trials before one is settled upon. Remember that you are charging for this, so do not milk it. Under no circumstances may the bridesmaids outshine the bride, so recommend an understated updo for the wedding party, and make sure that each member of the bridesmaid team has the same one.
2. Makeup is such a critical component of the bridal beauty regime that you must arrange for a professional artist to meet with the bride several weeks or even months prior to the wedding. While we always say less is more, a variety of looks should be sampled in this case. The final look that is settled upon depends on factors like skin type, weather, the time of day the event is taking place, etc. Once again, if you are making up the bridesmaids, they must have an understated look. If you are not making up the bridesmaids, you can offer that advice to the bride on her bridesmaids’ makeup application.
3. It is very important to begin the skin care regimen at least three to four months ahead of time so that the bride’s skin looks flawless for the big event. It is essential to find out if the bride is on any medications—topical or oral—that could cause a reaction. This is a highly critical factor to take into account.

Oasis Spa can handle up to 24 services at a time, which comes in handy when people are changing their minds about treatments or suddenly requesting add-on services.

At Oasis we recommend a series of four of our signature facials, starting six months prior to the wedding. That allows us to see how the skin reacts and determine problem areas. The series of facials is followed with a low risk peel for a good exfoliation three to four weeks before the wedding. The skin care regimen concludes with a collagen facial on the week of the event itself to plump the skin and boost its glow.
4. A salt scrub is another wonderful treatment to offer. It helps to exfoliate dry skin and reveal a glowing complexion.
5. For the nail treatment, the manicure and pedicure color should be selected in accordance with hair, makeup and skin tone. Usually the bride has a particular color that she is happy and comfortable with. We recommend that the last mani/pedi treatment be done about a week in advance. It usually takes place at the bridal shower (which is hopefully held at your spa). We advise a simple polish change on the day of or several hours before the wedding. That is a great time for the bride to simply relax and reflect on the day to come.
As you formulate your ideas and plan for preparing the bride and her wedding party for the big day, do everything you can to make sure the bridal shower is at your spa. By this time the bride is definitely going to need a massage, and it should be a relaxing Swedish massage. Now is not the time to go with deep tissue or experiment with a new service. Select one of your most experienced therapists, one who is also a great listener (no chatterboxes), and make sure they pamper the bride, who by now is no doubt a bundle of nerves.
Oasis has a private room created specifically for such events at each location. The bridal shower is a great opportunity to attract new clients and provide an experience at your business they are sure to tell their friends about. Oasis Spa always orders catering for the guests to enjoy at the function.
Do not forget the retail aspect of the event either. At Oasis, we always offer our services in providing the bridal goody bags, as well as the gifts for the bridesmaids.
When hosting a bridal shower, we try to keep it simple and limit the array of services they can make selections from. For large parties, it is best to make up a menu that consists of a basic massage, a facial, wet room treatment, blow-outs and nail treatments.
If the menu is not kept simple, it can become very chaotic, and the last thing you want to create at a large party is chaos. Oasis Spa can handle up to 24 services at a time, which comes in handy when people are changing their minds about treatments or suddenly requesting add-on services. The most important aspect of your job is to make sure the event is well organized and runs smoothly. We assign an event coordinator to oversee every party that Oasis hosts.

Our most popular Bridal Party Package is the “Bride to Be” package, which retails for $320 and includes the following services:
• 60 minute aromatherapy massage
• 60 minute body wrap
• 30 minute salt scrub
• 30 minute express facial
The final service you can offer to the bride is your presence at her wedding, so you are available to provide any last minute services she may need.

Oasis Day Spa, founded and owned by husband and wife team Bruce and Marti Schoenberg, has three locations in the New York area, two in Manhattan and one in Westchester. Oasis Day Spa has been recognized as the “Best of New York” by New York magazine, Allure and CitySearch. The Westchester location was named Best Of Westchester by Westchester magazine, and won the 2009 Readers Choice Sage Award as the favorite day spa in the country. For more information please visit www.oasisdayspanyc.com.

Bruce Schoenberg is the co-owner of the full service Oasis Day Spa. He has more than 20 years of experience in the trade show industry. He opened Oasis Day Spa’s first location in 1998 with his wife, and has since added two more award winning facilities. Bruce is a frequent keynote speaker and a business and marketing consultant for the spa industry.

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