Having postponed her wedding three times thanks to Covid, paediatric ICU nurse Laura MacKenna finally got married last December. As the winner of Frascati’s €5,000 Tip to Toe Total Transformation 2021, Laura’s wedding preparations, including a pre-wedding health and fitness regime, hair and beauty treatments, and fashion styling, were superbly aided and abetted by a crack team at Frascati intent on making her wedding day extra special.

“The true success of the Frascati €5,000 Makeover is witnessing the impact the prize has on our winners,” said Frascati Centre Director Viv Gaine. “This year, from over 2,000 entries, we chose Laura, a hardworking, dedicated ICU paediatric nurse in Crumlin Children’s Hospital, as a supremely deserving winner and her enthusiasm, energy and engagement with every aspect of her prize was a pleasure to see.” On the judging panel, Viv was joined by celebrity stylist Lorraine Keane, TV stylist Emily O’Donnell, SISU Clinic Manager Dolores Cotter and Rachel Supple from thegloss.ie.

Laura was sitting at home after a long day at work when she saw the Frascati competition on Instagram. “I thought I’d give it a go!”, she told us. “I’ve been visiting the Frascati Centre since I was a little girl and have fond memories of my mum and late nanny taking me there to shop. But the last thing I won was a lunchbox in a colouring competition when I was six, so I didn’t hold out much hope!” But the judges could see that Laura was a very worthy winner of the prize and with a wedding on the horizon, they knew a bespoke plan courtesy of Frascati’s retail partners could really benefit a bride-to-be. And it wasn’t just about the treats and treatments that Laura received – it was as much about the welcome and the support from every partner being intent on making sure she felt comfortable and happy throughout the makeover process. “They made the experience one to remember, they were so helpful, sound and professional all along by the way,” she says.

The first step was getting back into shape with a six-week pre-wedding plan, a confidence-boosting boon for any bride. “With Pat, studio manager and trainer at F45 gym, I discussed weight loss goals and he showed me the F45 app with its nutrition plans, which is really useful. He devised workout plans too to help strengthen and condition my body. Aldi and M&S provided generous vouchers so that I could have wonderful food for batch-cooking from the nutrition plan. Eating more carefully and going to both YogaHub for reformer Pilates and hot yoga with Alison, Marta and Paul and to F45, I managed to drop a dress size, from a 12 to a 10. I had finally lost the Covid stone that I had gradually gained with having to postpone my wedding three times. Thankfully now the back of my wedding dress would close again. That was a relief!”

As for wedding hair and beauty, here’s where experts Sugar Coated, Sisu and Peter Mark stepped in to help. “The team at Sugar Coated were brilliant: I had eyelash and eyebrow tinting, brow threading done and gel nails applied, which was a huge treat. So much so that outside of the Transformation prize, we booked Sugar Coated for all the wedding party. We were looked after so well, listening to their fun music playlists in the beautiful salon. I highly recommend this to anyone getting married.” Laura’s husband-to-be John was looked after at sister – or should that be brother? – salon, Sugar Daddy, with a hot towel shave, barbering and facial grooming.

A few aesthetic tweakments gave Laura a rested, beautiful complexion for her big day. “Dr Sarah was great in SiSu for recommending treatments. As a newbie to aesthetics, I was grateful for her support and reassurance. I had my teeth whitened too.” Then it was off to Peter Mark’s airy salon where stylists are no strangers to dealing with pre-wedding hair jitters. “Cillian in Peter Mark listened patiently to my wedding hair ideas and recommended the colour and style, and then made a plan for hair treatments and a full bridal makeover, including up-styling rehearsals.”

When she visited Frascati, to work out, or take a class, or have a treatment, Laura refuelled at Kay’s Kitchen – with her generous voucher she enjoyed healthy lunches – and endless coffee. With her Samsung earpods from Murray Mobile she could work out to music. Crystal Clean valeted her car while she shopped – a total treat for a busy woman. Gallerist Jennifer Hart gave Laura a stunning painting to enjoy in her home after the wedding. Bannon Jewellers gave her a beautiful piece of Carat jewellery.

Then the fashion team slipped into gear, taking Laura shopping for Day Two and going-away outfits for the wedding, with gorgeous outfits and shoes from Serena, Pamela Scott, Carl Scarpa and Bow&Pearl. “Being styled by pros Emily O’Donnell and Lorraine Keane was a huge treat and a lot of fun. They just knew the right clothes and shoes to suit me.” It was a fitting end to a Tip to Toe Total Transformation and with that, Laura was ready for her long-awaited winter wedding. “This was such a great experience that I was so lucky to receive it: thanks to Viv Gaine and the Frascati Centre for everything!”

Watch Laura’s transformation experience in the video below …

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