Mother of the Bride/Groom Wedding Preparation Guide by Corinne Erickson, MD

Wedding season is upon us, and it’s not only the brides who are in preparation mode. The Mothers of the Brides (M.O.B.’s) and Mothers of the Grooms (M.O.G.’s) are also getting ready to be in the spotlight. After all, their roles extend far beyond providing around the clock emotional support to their soon-to-be-wedded children, or writing check after check to vendors. This is the M.O.B.’s and M.O.G.’s time to see close family and friends, and often meet an entire new family to whom they are now related, till death do you part!
This places the M.O.B.’s and G’s under a certain amount of pressure, and rightfully so. They come into the dermatologist’s office a few months or weeks before the wedding and all want the same thing: to look bright and refreshed, and sometimes a few years younger, for the upcoming nuptials. Of all of the requests that come up in weddings, helping the Mom’s prepare themselves is one of the most rewarding.
I have had the extreme pleasure of helping my mother prepare for two weddings. The first was that of my youngest sister, and the second is my own. In preparing her for these two events, I developed a top five treatment list for the MOB/MOG that addresses her particular concerns, and prepares her for the big day.

1. Botox and Dysport

We can’t talk the bride out of her ice sculpture shaped like her childhood pony, or the groom out of his bachelor party running with the bulls in Spain, but we can erase the lines that these ideas have put on your forehead. Botox and Dysport work wonders on those pesky lines between the eyebrows, like the ones that deepened when the caterer told you the price per head for a seated dinner. Instead of trying to strangle the caterer with your eyebrows, take a deep breath, and consider relaxing the grimacing muscles before the wedding. This is also effective for the forehead lines, like the ones that sprung up when your daughter requested rap music for her processional. We can’t control the creativity, but we can help with the collateral damage.
Botox takes 5 days to be effective following injection, and touch ups may be needed 2 weeks following to make sure everything is perfect. For that reason, we recommend having Botox or Dysport injected at least 4 weeks before the wedding so any adjustments can be made and bruising can resolve.

2. Fillers

Fillers, such as Juvederm and Restylane, are another effective and safe way to refresh your face for the wedding day. As we age, we lose volume and elasticity in our skin, which leads to parentheses around the mouth, smaller lips, and drooping mouth corners. Essentially, gravity takes hold and everything seems to fall and droop. Isaac Newton can keep his falling apples, but you don’t have to sit by and let your cheeks fall down to your shoulders. Fillers correct this by restoring areas of lost volume, thereby lifting the sinking skin and smoothing out the deep creases. Another excellent area for fillers is the border of the mouth. As we age, we lose the definition around our lips, and lipstick runs into tiny wrinkles. Injecting a small amount of fillers into the lip border redefines the mouth and smoothes out many fine lines around the lips. It’s a subtle but beautiful result. Bruising is the most likely side effect, and that resolves within 1 to 2 weeks. For that reason, I recommend having fillers injected at least 3 weeks before the event.

3. Latisse

3 months before my youngest sister got married, our mother’s lashes were barely there. For 3 months, she dutifully applied Latisse every night, and by the wedding day, she didn’t need to wear mascara. Her lashes were darker, thicker, and longer. They were literally running into her sunglasses. Her eyes sparkled in every photo, and she delighted in all of the compliments she received. My youngest sister, who applied fake lashes for her wedding, was a bit jealous. Latisse is a simple and safe way to create show-stopping eyelashes, as long as it is used as directed and under your dermatologist’s supervision.

4. Brightening and Lightening Treatments

Unless they are on the bridesmaid dresses, there is no place for brown polka dots in a wedding, especially on your face. Solar lentigos are brown spots that emerge over time as a sign of sun damage, and while they are not dangerous, they are annoying. There are both products and procedures that can lighten these spots and brighten your skin. The topical treatments include hydroquinone based pads or creams, and azeleic acid and kojic acid based creams. These take time to work, and are best started at least 6 months before the wedding. For a quicker and often more effective fix, IPL, or photofacials, can virtually erase the brown spots in 3-5 sessions. These need to be performed in the fall or winter as they make your skin more sun sensitive, and finished at least 1 month before the wedding.
Fraxel is a more intensive laser treatment that significantly reduces pigmentation. After one DualWave treatment and 7-10 days of down time, your skin is practically spot free. Like IPL, Fraxel cannot be performed during sunny times of the year, and needs to be done at least 3 months before the wedding.

5. Sclerotherapy

This treatment will be of most interest in women wearing shorter dresses for the wedding, or perhaps the rehearsal dinner, and who want to get some semblance of their pre-pregnancy legs back. Pregnancy, genetics, and life in general tend to paint purple spider veins on our once gorgeous gams. The smaller veins can be easily and safely treated using sclerotherapy, when a solution is injected into the veins. It usually takes 3 treatments to achieve the best clearance of the veins, and to be honest, your legs look worse before they look better due to bruising. This is definitely a treatment to undergo 4-6 months before the wedding so that you can fit in all of the sessions, and that any bruising or discoloration has time to resolve. How lovely would it be, though, to walk down the aisle without a vein in sight?

As my own wedding draws closer, I am truly excited to help my mother and future mother-in-law shine on this special day. After all, it wouldn’t be happening without them, and those pictures will last for generations, so my grandchildren will know their great grannies at their best!