5 Wedding-Day Beauty Emergencies and How to Solve Them

What do I do if I spill red wine on my wedding dress?

Since red wine is a part of traditional Christian Eucharist wedding ceremonies and the Jewish Kiddush, not to mention a cocktail hour favorite, it's entirely likely that you'll come into contact with a bit of it on your wedding day. If you spill a drop of two, it's essential you act fast so as not to let the stain set in entirely. "Gently dab—don't rub!—the stain with a moistened napkin," urges Angel Swanson of the Southern California-based boutique wedding and event planning firm Love and Splendor. "You can use water or club soda, but the key thing here is the dabbing. After the area dries, you can use a piece of chalk to gently cover any parts of the stain the club soda didn't remove. Have a friend take your gown to an experienced bridal dry cleaner as soon as possible after the wedding.

What do I do if I break the heel on my shoe?

Your walk down the aisle should be dramatic, but not because the heel of your shoe suddenly snaps. "Make sure your shoes are not poorly made," urges Brides fashion director Rachel Leonard. "Practice walking in them a few days before the wedding to scuff up the soles a bit." This will help to prevent any slips or falls. If you do break a heel, all hope is not lost."Bring a hot glue gun," suggests Heather Minicucci, "and then you can glue the heel back together."

What do I do if I ruin my manicure?

You smudged your polish before it had a chance to dry? Not a problem. "Use a Q-Tip or your finger to apply a small amount of nail polish remover to the damaged area," directs Jennifer Orsini. "This will remove any polish globs and smooth away rough edges. Let the nail dry, and then apply clear nail polish to the area." It's a good idea to have a small bottle of your nail polish color stored in a safe area the day of the wedding. Not your purse, per se, since a polish spill could result in a second beauty emergency.

A broken nail is a bit more complicated, but curable nonetheless. "Make sure your emergency kit (or your wedding planner's) contains an emery board," says Angel Swanson. "In a major pinch, you can use a thick fabric (like denim, burlap, etc.) to roughly 'file' the area down."

What do I do if a zipper breaks?

Safety pins, it seems, couldn't be more valuable when it comes to curing wedding-day beauty emergencies big and small. Here's one more reason why you may want to stick more than one in your clutch: zipper malfunctions. "Just before she walked down the aisle," Jessica Harris recalls, "a dainty little grandmother approached me and motioned to the back of her dress where the full length zipper was broken from neck to tailbone! We delayed the beginning of the ceremony so I could use large safety pins to secure her dress from the inside. No one could see the safety pins, and she walked down the aisle without giving the other guests a show."

What do I do if I get a run in my stockings?

"Clear nail polish often helps with this," explains Dana Wood. "But if you're really freaked-out at the size of the snag, ditch the stockings altogether! Just make sure your legs are moisturized—no flaky flakes!"