In preparation for her wedding last May, Christina Tait began a yearlong beauty plan that included three sessions each of Botox and microneedling on her face and neck, one session of lip filler and laser treatment, and monthly Hydrafacials.
“I have always struggled with uneven skin tone, redness and acne and really wanted to feel beautiful on my wedding day,” said Tait, 30, a strategy director at PepsiCo, who lives in Philadelphia and had her treatments done at Ari Blanc Medical Spa, near her home.
She said she had tried medications, including Accutane, an oral acne medication, but found them too harsh and ineffective in delivering the results she was looking for.
But “the results from the treatments far exceeded my expectations”, said Tait, who started to see results shortly after her first session at the medi spa.
“On my wedding day, the makeup went on flawlessly, and I loved the way I looked.”
For a growing number of women who want to achieve youthful, glowing skin, wedding planning can also mean months of aesthetic treatments that may include wrinkle-reducing injectables, skin-plumping fillers, lasers to reduce redness or sun damage and improve skin texture, and microcurrent therapies that stimulate collagen production.
Future brides of all ages are seeking out these nonsurgical or minimally invasive treatments.
In fact, according to Zola’s 2026 First Look Report, which recently surveyed 11,677 couples, nearly 23% of Gen Z couples – who made up about half the couples in the survey – said they planned to get Botox, fillers or other similar treatments before their nuptials.
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And all this prepping isn’t just for the wedding day. Brides also want to be camera-ready for their engagement party, bridal shower and bachelorette getaway.
Weddings, unlike other events, come with a unique kind of visibility where “a photographer is following you around for 12 hours”, said Reneille Velez, the founder of Gian, a wedding planning studio based in Seattle.
“You have to greet guests for 60 minutes straight during cocktail hour.”
Vicki Mesa-Teitelbaum, 31, a client solutions manager at TikTok in New York City, wanted to look and feel her best at her wedding last October.
“A wedding is a big investment, and I knew I would be photographed a lot," she said.
Six months before her celebration, she had Botox and microneedling treatments done on her face at Velour Medical, an aesthetic practice in New York City.
“The treatments helped smooth and refine my skin and gave me a natural glow, which made me feel really confident going into my wedding day,” she said.
Many future brides are combining, or “stacking”, treatments to target different skin goals and achieve a balanced look, according to Vanessa Coppola, a board-certified nurse practitioner and the founder of Bare Aesthetic MedSpa in Closter, New Jersey.
One example, Coppola said, would be stacking resurfacing and refinement laser treatments with collagen-building treatments, microneedling and hydration, and skin density boosters.
A yearlong prewedding treatment plan that includes injectables, lasers and facials starts between US$2,500 (approximately RM9,876) to US$5,000 (RM19,755).
Revian Chang, a registered nurse and a cosmetic injector at Velour Medical, said the most popular treatments include full face and neck Botox and Dysport to relax facial lines and muscles, filler for the lips and under the eyes, microneedling and chemical peels.
Some clients even request “Trap Tox”, injections in the upper trapezius muscles that relax the neck and shoulders and can subtly improve posture.
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The key to any successful skincare regimen, doctors and aestheticians say, is starting early.
Depending on the treatment, clients can experience redness or a sandpaperlike texture for three to five days. Others can cause swelling for several days.
Experts recommend spacing treatments out carefully to avoid downtime close to the wedding or related events. Fillers, in particular, should be scheduled two to four months in advance to allow any swelling to fully resolve.
“Brides are becoming more educated on skincare, and they are learning that results are cumulative and progressive, not instant,” said Sarah Akram, an aesthetician based in Washington, DC, and the Dior US skincare expert and ambassador.
“Instead of last-minute appointments, they’re committing to six to 12 months of aesthetic treatments, spaced strategically to allow skin to respond, stabilise and improve gradually in time for the wedding.”
Audrey Bradham, a founder of Opal Aesthetics on Johns Island, South Carolina, said beginning aesthetic cosmetic treatments well in advance of a wedding “allows treatments to build on one another and settle naturally”.
Bradham started multiple cosmetic treatments 14 months before her wedding last April.
“For treatments like lasers and injectables, results improve over time, so beginning 12 months before the wedding often leads to the most refined outcome,” said Bradham, adding that brides can adjust their treatment timelines to align with prewedding events. – ©2026 The New York Times Company
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
