Wedding Accessories: Memorable Scents
Finding the right perfume can help you relive your wedding day for years to come.
It’s not just the wedding dress and flowers that make your Big Day special. Finding just the right scent is also a key component of your ensemble. There’s much more, though, to wearing the right perfume than simply smelling nice. Scents can create some of the strongest memory triggers, bringing the bride and groom back to their wedding day long after the event.
How it works: The sense of smell is directly connected to the limbic system, an area of the brain that controls mood, memory, and emotional sensors. Some studies show that scent memories are stronger than visual memories.
What better way to imprint one of the biggest days of your life than with a signature scent?
Patti Kapla, vice president of business development for Fragrance.com, agrees.
“You are starting a new chapter in your life, and it should be exciting,” Kapla says. “You are buying a new dress, wearing new shoes, have new makeup and a hairstyle. You should finish your outfit with a new scent—a fragrance that will be unique to the day and will bring you back to that specific time for years to come.”
When you’re searching for that signature scent, perfumers recommend smelling the fragrances you already have and taking notice if they have similar “notes”—floral, spicy, oriental, earthy, etc. If you notice a theme—for instance, you tend to favor floral scents—it’s probably best to stick with that fragrance family.
After that, it’s all about trial and error. Fragrances mix differently with the body’s natural oils and pheromones, so what might work for one person may smell completely different on another. To find the right perfume for you, get samples of the fragrances you like and try one a day, being sure to avoid other fragrances that can alter the scent. In the end, go with the one you keep returning to.
“Always wear your favorite perfume,” says Nannette Pallrand, perfumer and president of Rich Hippie. “Wear what makes you happy and comfortable.”
Follow your instinct and let your heart be your guide. Just like finding a mate, when you know, you know.
