Nails on Wedding Day - French Manicure, Color, Bare?

[cammy85]

I''m having a really hard time deciding what I want to do with my nails the day of the wedding. While I like the french manicure, I have pretty short nail beds, which means that sometimes i think the french manicure looks a little silly on me. i just got a manicure in one of OPI''s ''sheer romance'' colors, and I like it, but I''m just so stuck.

What are you guys planning on doing?

 

[BeachRunner]

No idea! Sorry I''m not much help!

I''ve thought french manicure, acrylic nails (even though I havent had these in years, and think they are pretty outdated), or just a red polish.

Decisions!

I''d like to hear what others are doing as well!

 

[Clairitek]

I plan on doig a subtle french manicure. Ya know, with the white tips that aren''t too stark white and a beige/pale pale pink top coat. I think that this is what will most likely be "me" since I don''t often wear color on my nails and they are bare most of the time.

When I think of my ideal french manicure I think of how I am just enhancing the beauty of my natural nails.

 

[tlh]

I like the really pale pink look. Too me, pale lips, big eyes, and pale hands just works... and says bridal. That is what I did... of course I freaked out the week before and bit off all my nails due to stress, so I didnt really want an attn drawing french! HAA!

 

[LauraBabe08]

Good question b/c this was a big dilemma for me!

I have short nail beds as well, and *had* very short nails as well b/c I have been biting them since I was 5! I just recently quit biting them for the wedding (cold turkey!) b/c I am strongly against fake nails. I just hate how they look.

So, my nails are getting longer, and I am using Sally Hansen Maximum Growth daily nail growth program to help. I am also taking a multi-vitamin and using cuticle oil every night before bed.

As for the color, I decided on a light pink instead of french. I purchased OPI "catch the garter" and Chanel "ballerina". I am going to go with the Chanel color, and bring it to the nail salon when I get my nails done for the wedding. I am going to keep the polish with me on the wedding day as well incase something chips or needs a touch-up.

Thanks for letting me post my whole nail saga - hope it helps!!!

 

[elrohwen]

Honestly, I don''t even think I''m going to get one, so I''m no help! lol I''m sure I''ll make my nails look nice and neat myself; I may even paint them a sheer beige or pink color. But I highly doubt I''ll pay to get it done. I dunno, I''ve never had a manicure that looked nicer than what I''ve done myself. I''ve never had a french manicure ... I generally don''t like them on other people though.

I can tell you that I will be painting my toes a purple-ish color

I love to keep my toes painted and I was using this new medium shade of purple-pink when I first tried on my dark blue wedding shoes. The colors look awesome together, so that''s what I''m gonna do for my toes. Haha. At least I have that figured out.

Sorry, I''m not really any help at all

I''m sure whatever you do will look beautiful, but most people won''t notice either way.

 

[BeachRunner]

Date: 2/26/2009 3:00:27 PM
Author: elrohwen
Honestly, I don''t even think I''m going to get one, so I''m no help! lol I''m sure I''ll make my nails look nice and neat myself; I may even paint them a sheer beige or pink color. But I highly doubt I''ll pay to get it done. I dunno, I''ve never had a manicure that looked nicer than what I''ve done myself. I''ve never had a french manicure ... I generally don''t like them on other people though.


I can tell you that I will be painting my toes a purple-ish color

I love to keep my toes painted and I was using this new medium shade of purple-pink when I first tried on my dark blue wedding shoes. The colors look awesome together, so that''s what I''m gonna do for my toes. Haha. At least I have that figured out.


Sorry, I''m not really any help at all

I''m sure whatever you do will look beautiful, but most people won''t notice either way.

I have to keep my toes painted, esp. in the summer. You''ll never see me without painted toe nails. Usually its a DIY french manicure. I''ve actually become quite good at doing them on my toes!

 

[cammy85]

it''s funny. I realize that i find myself obessing over little details that absolutely no one is going to notice. I know people aren''t going to look at me and say "*gasp!* she''s wearing "totally pink" and not "passionately pink! HOW DARE SHE?"

I do see this as a time I would like to look my best, if nothing more than to feel absolutely radiant on my wedding day - then I don''t feel quite as psycho over-analyzing my nail color choices. I really like some of the opi colors, but with about 2 weeks to the wedding, I really don''t know if I will find that perfect color. Not to mention it seems like colors don''t apply all that smoothly to my fingernails, so it''s a little more obvious than an american manicure (american manicure is a subtle version of a french manicure - you can google it haha)

I like the color I got at my last manicure, but to me it looks more peachy-pinky than pinky-pinky. I feel like it makes my hands look a little redder too.

And I''ve had my toenails painted all of like twice in my lifetime, but I''m debating it for the wedding. I dunno, i don''t want gnarly toes showing in my cute shoes. I see that as more of an investment in my guests happiness

 

[geckodani]

Date: 2/26/2009 3:15:04 PM
Author: cammy85
it''s funny. I realize that i find myself obessing over little details that absolutely no one is going to notice. I know people aren''t going to look at me and say ''*gasp!* she''s wearing ''totally pink'' and not ''passionately pink! HOW DARE SHE?''

I do see this as a time I would like to look my best, if nothing more than to feel absolutely radiant on my wedding day - then I don''t feel quite as psycho over-analyzing my nail color choices. I really like some of the opi colors, but with about 2 weeks to the wedding, I really don''t know if I will find that perfect color. Not to mention it seems like colors don''t apply all that smoothly to my fingernails, so it''s a little more obvious than an american manicure (american manicure is a subtle version of a french manicure - you can google it haha)

I like the color I got at my last manicure, but to me it looks more peachy-pinky than pinky-pinky. I feel like it makes my hands look a little redder too.

And I''ve had my toenails painted all of like twice in my lifetime, but I''m debating it for the wedding. I dunno, i don''t want gnarly toes showing in my cute shoes. I see that as more of an investment in my guests happiness

LOL! I had a really sublte french on hands and feet - just the barest hint of the white, and an almost clear polish over that. Worked out well, and in my photos my nails actually look pretty natural!

 

[CDNinNYC]

Date: 2/26/2009 2:53:47 PM
Author: tlh
I like the really pale pink look. Too me, pale lips, big eyes, and pale hands just works... and says bridal. That is what I did... of course I freaked out the week before and bit off all my nails due to stress, so I didnt really want an attn drawing french! HAA!

I''m with Tlh; I prefer the pale pink look. Essie nail polish is one of my favourites. The Mademoiselle colour is really popular with brides. Not a fan of the french manicure look, personally.


Essie

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 2/26/2009 3:08:55 PM
Author: BeachRunner

Date: 2/26/2009 3:00:27 PM
Author: elrohwen
Honestly, I don''t even think I''m going to get one, so I''m no help! lol I''m sure I''ll make my nails look nice and neat myself; I may even paint them a sheer beige or pink color. But I highly doubt I''ll pay to get it done. I dunno, I''ve never had a manicure that looked nicer than what I''ve done myself. I''ve never had a french manicure ... I generally don''t like them on other people though.


I can tell you that I will be painting my toes a purple-ish color

I love to keep my toes painted and I was using this new medium shade of purple-pink when I first tried on my dark blue wedding shoes. The colors look awesome together, so that''s what I''m gonna do for my toes. Haha. At least I have that figured out.


Sorry, I''m not really any help at all

I''m sure whatever you do will look beautiful, but most people won''t notice either way.

I have to keep my toes painted, esp. in the summer. You''ll never see me without painted toe nails. Usually its a DIY french manicure. I''ve actually become quite good at doing them on my toes!

That''s impressive! I just stick to solid colors, but almost always something bold like a hot pink or maroon. I''m super conservative with my finger nails and almost never paint them, but my toes are usually some fun color

 

[tlh]

This is a blurry pic of basically my lil nubs... in pale pink.

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 2/26/2009 3:15:04 PM
Author: cammy85
it''s funny. I realize that i find myself obessing over little details that absolutely no one is going to notice. I know people aren''t going to look at me and say ''*gasp!* she''s wearing ''totally pink'' and not ''passionately pink! HOW DARE SHE?''

I do see this as a time I would like to look my best, if nothing more than to feel absolutely radiant on my wedding day - then I don''t feel quite as psycho over-analyzing my nail color choices. I really like some of the opi colors, but with about 2 weeks to the wedding, I really don''t know if I will find that perfect color. Not to mention it seems like colors don''t apply all that smoothly to my fingernails, so it''s a little more obvious than an american manicure (american manicure is a subtle version of a french manicure - you can google it haha)

I like the color I got at my last manicure, but to me it looks more peachy-pinky than pinky-pinky. I feel like it makes my hands look a little redder too.

And I''ve had my toenails painted all of like twice in my lifetime, but I''m debating it for the wedding. I dunno, i don''t want gnarly toes showing in my cute shoes. I see that as more of an investment in my guests happiness

 

[honey22]

I will be doing a pale pink french mani, hopefully DYI. If you don''t want the stark white tips, you can ask your manicurist to put a single thin coat of white on, and then put two coats of a sheer pink over the top, it will take away the stark of the white, and still look natural. I can''t stand big square fake french manicured nails, they just look tacky. IMO they look nicer with natural short nails if you can''t grow them.

I wouldn''t wear bare though, even a clear gloss coat will make them look healthy.

I must confess to my new addiction, collecting sheer pink OPI colors. They are crazy expensive here in the shops in Australia (like 30-40 dollars each) but I found a US site that sells them for around $5 each. Even with our exchange rate I am laughing so I now have 3 shades of sheer pink, which are very close but subtly different. DF thinks I am crazy, and asked me why I NEED 3 of the same colour? Well, he is colour blind, it''s not his fault.

 

[Winks_Elf]

My favorite is Sally Hansen''s Extreme Wear in "First Blush." It''s not too pinky a pink, and is very flattering to my skin tone, and I can wear it for 10 days before it starts to show any wearing down.

 

[cammy85]

tlh that is a really nice color, what brand/shade is that, do you remember?

I am loving all these suggestions for actual colors and brands. I apparently am not very good at looking at the whole shelf of colors and picking that perfect one. Go figure.


Also.. do pedicures tickle?

 

[FrekeChild]

My toes are always painted silver, so that will stay the same. My fingers only ever get painted with clear or pearly white polish. I'm guessing I'll do clear. Unless my nails are doing terribly (breaking, cracking etc) in which case I'll do some short acrylics.

I'm only worried about breakage...

ETA: And this is one of those things where it's important to me because everyone will be looking at my wedding ring, and there will probably be at least one picture of our hands. You know?

 

[cammy85]

Freke - thank you!

Date: 2/26/2009 4:41:04 PM
Author: FrekeChild
My toes are always painted silver, so that will stay the same. My fingers only ever get painted with clear or pearly white polish. I''m guessing I''ll do clear. Unless my nails are doing terribly (breaking, cracking etc) in which case I''ll do some short acrylics.

I''m only worried about breakage...

ETA: And this is one of those things where it''s important to me because everyone will be looking at my wedding ring, and there will probably be at least one picture of our hands. You know?

That makes me feel much better about at least having a little bit of thought put into it. I don''t want to do something so off-my-normal that I look back at the pictures and say, "woah, what was I thinking?" Same with the makeup I think.

Pictures, good or bad, last forever.

 

[Haven]

I can''t believe this, but I have no idea what I wore on my nails on our wedding day. I recall getting a mani/pedi, but I couldn''t tell you for the life of me what I chose.

I''m guessing pale pink.

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 2/26/2009 4:45:24 PM
Author: cammy85
Freke - thank you!

Date: 2/26/2009 4:41:04 PM
Author: FrekeChild
My toes are always painted silver, so that will stay the same. My fingers only ever get painted with clear or pearly white polish. I''m guessing I''ll do clear. Unless my nails are doing terribly (breaking, cracking etc) in which case I''ll do some short acrylics.

I''m only worried about breakage...

ETA: And this is one of those things where it''s important to me because everyone will be looking at my wedding ring, and there will probably be at least one picture of our hands. You know?

That makes me feel much better about at least having a little bit of thought put into it. I don''t want to do something so off-my-normal that I look back at the pictures and say, ''woah, what was I thinking?'' Same with the makeup I think.

Pictures, good or bad, last forever.

You''re welcome! And the bolded part is SO TRUE. Those pictures are there to stay!!

 

[Rhea]

I can''t remember what I did. I know I had my toenails painted, but I doubt I had my fingernails painted.

 

[Diamond Confused]

A pale color such as one that would be used for a french manicure is the best bet. It looks classy and elegant and if it chips, it''s not really noticeable.

 

[Sabine]

If your nails are too short for a french manicure, I would definitely do a pale pretty color.

 

[Elmorton]

I have short nails because of years of biting, so I went with a pale pink (OPI Italian Love Affiar) on my nails. Even though I have short ones, I really wish I would have had a french or gone with the french pink color w/o the white. There are a couple of photos that are closeups of my bouquet or my DH and I holding hands where the color on the nails looks kindof strange since everything else was very "natural."

 

[ozsparkle]

Date: 2/26/2009 3:53:24 PM
Author: honey22
I will be doing a pale pink french mani, hopefully DYI. If you don''t want the stark white tips, you can ask your manicurist to put a single thin coat of white on, and then put two coats of a sheer pink over the top, it will take away the stark of the white, and still look natural. I can''t stand big square fake french manicured nails, they just look tacky. IMO they look nicer with natural short nails if you can''t grow them.

I wouldn''t wear bare though, even a clear gloss coat will make them look healthy.

I must confess to my new addiction, collecting sheer pink OPI colors. They are crazy expensive here in the shops in Australia (like 30-40 dollars each) but I found a US site that sells them for around $5 each. Even with our exchange rate I am laughing so I now have 3 shades of sheer pink, which are very close but subtly different. DF thinks I am crazy, and asked me why I NEED 3 of the same colour? Well, he is colour blind, it''s not his fault.

Ditto Honey! Although I might not be brave enough to DIY in the end.

 

[musey]

Oh man, haha! I bought a shade of sheer pale pink (I think it's OPI or something, can't remember off the top of my head) specifically for the wedding, as I don't often wear nail polish and therefore don't own much of any. I TOTALLY forgot to put it on, until I was sitting in the bridal suite trying to warm up after fainting (long story) and put a single coat on then. Needless to say, I guess I wasn't overly worried about my nails

Anyway, to answer your question more succinctly, I planned to do a sheer nude. I do like french manicures but tend to think that short nails with a sheer nude tone are a bit more sophisticated (though that all depends on one's definition/image of sophistication).

I took it off the next day before leaving on our honeymoon and haven't worn nail polish since

ETA: I used to be like the others who like to ALWAYS keep their toes painted - but I weaned myself off because the nails were stained, and haven't worn any since! I swear I'm not as boho as I sound...

 

[lala2332]

Essie-sugar daddy -one coat (it lasts longer) with short nails...its classic and subtle.

I also like OPI bubble bath (one coat only...gets too pink otherwise)

or Essie ballet slipper, though its more white with pink.

Sugar Daddy is amazing though!!!!

 

[CDNinNYC]

Date: 2/26/2009 11:48:05 PM
Author: lala2332
Essie-sugar daddy -one coat (it lasts longer) with short nails...its classic and subtle.


I also like OPI bubble bath (one coat only...gets too pink otherwise)


or Essie ballet slipper, though its more white with pink.


Sugar Daddy is amazing though!!!!

I like Sugar Daddy too.

 

[Deelight]

I was going to get a franch mani (fake as my nails don''t grow hardly ever

) but latley I have been thinking I might just go a subtle pink with my natural short nails and rock that

.

 

[Bia]

I really don''t like french manicures, I don''t know why. Maybe because everyone and there mother has them.

I think bare (clear polish), or a light pink polish on natural (but manicured) nails looks perfect.

But that''s my opinion. For all the ladies who rock the french manis (and rock them well!), don''t shoot!