Bridal Beauty: Laura Henshaw’s Pre-Wedding Fitness Routine

A wedding is the perfect excuse to splurge on your skin, but we get that it can be overwhelming. There are a lot of treatments and not a lot of time. That’s why Gritty Pretty introduced Bridal Beauty, a section dedicated to word-of-mouth bridal beauty tips from those in the know.

In this edition, we’re taking you behind the pre-wedding beauty and fitness routine of Laura Henshaw, the co-founder and CEO of Keep it Cleaner.

Laura Henshaw wed Dalton Graham (who has since taken Henshaw’s surname) in a breathtaking venue set in the Yarra Valley in Victoria. “Finding the right venue was one of the hardest things to plan, but when we saw the designs for the new event space at Levantine Hill in the Yarra Valley, we knew it would be perfect,” shares Henshaw. “The spectacular venue amongst the rolling green hills and vines was truly breathtaking and really inspired the theme of our wedding.”

The couple wed on 26 November, 2021, on their fourth attempt at taking to the aisle—after Covid-19 impacted their wedding a number of times. Two days out, the pandemic threatened their big day once again. “I got a text message while I was still in bed at 7am saying that I was a close contact of someone who had Covid. My heart absolutely sunk. This was two days out from my wedding, we were so close! The wait for my Covid test results honestly felt like a lifetime. Thankfully, I was negative! Dalt and I felt so overwhelmed with happiness, we could actually go ahead with our wedding!” 

It was worth the wait—the couple had their dream day complete with a killer dance floor that not even Covid-19 could stop. “We wanted to create a warm, inviting ambience with lots of white and green florals, candles and the most important thing, enough space for a big dance floor!” says Henshaw. Her dream dress waited for her too—a beautiful gown by Kyha Studios. 

Here, she breaks down exactly what she did to get ready for her wedding day.

“I had a really busy work schedule with shoot days leading up to the wedding, and so I definitely put my skin through a bit more than I would usually, makeup-wise pre-wedding. I made sure I kept my skincare routine up, and then the week of the wedding I had a Pellevé treatment at Liberty Belle Skin Centre. The treatment was beautiful, and it had no downtime so I was able to get it a few days before the wedding so my skin would be glowing on the day. I have been going to Liberty Belle for my skin treatments for over seven years now, they are wonderful.”

“Steph [Claire Smith] actually booked me in for a body scrub and massage a few days before the wedding and it was absolutely heaven. So relaxing and my skin was so smooth afterwards.”

“I booked in for a cut and treatment after quite a big break (like all of us in lockdown) from my hairdresser (Nush at Strugnell Cole in Port Melbourne) about three weeks before the wedding. I got a fringe cut last year (which had almost grown out), and I got it re-cut for the wedding. My hair is quite close to my natural colour, and so we just did a shine treatment to give it some extra life.”

“I didn’t really change anything leading up to the wedding. I move my body, eat well and try to practise mindfulness as much as I can in order to feel my best, and this is something that is really important to me. There is so much pressure on brides to make drastic changes pre-wedding regarding health and fitness and I think it is so important we change the conversation on this. It is amazing to want to feel good on your wedding day, but the day is so much more than what your body looks like.”

“My regular routine is a mix of running and then my Keep It Cleaner [KIC] workouts—Pilates, Strength and HIIT. Work was really ramping up coming out of lockdown and into the wedding and so it was really important to me to move my body in this time for my mental health. It helps me manage any anxious thoughts, and really calm my mind. I made sure no matter how busy I was, I prioritised moving my body and even if it was just a quick run, a brisk walk around the block with [my dogs] Bill and Ben or a gentle KIC Pilates flow, I did something for me when I could.”

“Janet from Tan and Beauty Lounge. We did a trial a few weeks before, which I highly recommend! I wanted a natural glow and Janet nailed it.”

“I timed my check up appointment with my dentist (Dr Fady at The Richmond Dentist in Melbourne) the week of the wedding. I have some resin bonding on my teeth and I had these polished a little and had my teeth whitened.”

“Our wedding was on Friday and it was really important to me that I took a few days off beforehand to relax, unwind and switch off from work. On Tuesday I had a blissful day getting a heavenly body scrub, massage and a facial. I thought I would have so much time with the extra days off work to chill out pre-wedding but there is a lot that pops up at the last minute to work through, so I was so grateful I took this time. It was really important to me that I enjoyed the week before the wedding, life goes so fast and I wanted to be present and really take in each moment. [A few days before the wedding], I had to cancel my nail appointment as I was waiting for my [Covid test] results, but thankfully my beautiful best friend and bridesmaid, Steph, is a magician with nails and came to the rescue!”

“I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect morning. Our makeup and hair didn’t start until 11am (we had Monica Gingold and Tonic Agency do our hair and makeup). I went for a run with my bridesmaids and then we did one of our Keep it Cleaner meditations ‘Clear and Calm.’ The run followed by a meditation was such a good way to clear my mind, relax my thoughts and remind me to be in the moment and try to enjoy every minute of this day that we’ve been waiting so long for. 

My mum arrived and we got our hair and makeup done, with upbeat, happy music playing in the background, none of us could wipe the smiles off our faces, it was truly magical. One of the most beautiful moments was when my mum told me that she hadn’t had her hair and makeup done since her wedding day, where she went to a counter in Myer. It was so special to see her getting pampered, she was honestly glowing from the inside out. 

The photographer arrived and we had photos in our Kyha Studio robes and then my bridesmaids got dressed in their beautiful dresses by Erika Georg. They all designed their own dresses, and it was incredible seeing them all together for the first time. 

I then got into my dress, we took some photos together and then jumped in the car to the venue. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so nervous, I’m not sure why as I’d felt so calm all morning and I’d been dreaming of this day for so long, I think it just felt so surreal that it was actually happening, I was about to marry Dalton, the love of my life!”