Whether walking down the aisle or approaching another milestone, self-care can empower you to be your best
By Hope Daniels
Getting married is a dream for many, but planning a wedding can sometimes turn that bliss into a burden.
The stress of dealing with every little detail of the special day and the pressure to keep everything flawless can lead to unwanted wrinkles – both in the planning and on the bride’s face.
As decisions become overwhelming, from selecting the right venue and curating the ultimate playlist to finding that perfect dress and navigating family drama (like figuring out where to seat the cousin who’s no longer dating the groom’s best man), it can be easy to forget there is help available. Medical professionals, skincare gurus, coaches and lifestyle experts in the Two River community have come together to share their wellness secrets and treats for brides- and grooms-to-be. A team like this can help those getting married walk confidently and calmly down the aisle while empowering everyone to create a balanced life during milestone moments.
That knowledge is what led three local women to launch the first-of-its-kind “self-care social,” a transformative opportunity to meet and learn from beauty, mental health and spiritual healing insiders at the Galleria in Red Bank Feb. 22. The trio will transform the space into an open marketplace, bringing a host of sales and service vendors in the wedding industry, among others, to unite women while sharing their knowledge.
Siobhan Gallagher of Monarch Wellness and Vanessa Drew of Cleansing Concepts recently established Be Well and joined forces with Sarah Williams, founder of Moms of Business, to create the upcoming event.
Bringing Experience Together
Drew believes the core of wellness comes from within. Her business, Cleansing Concepts, focuses on gut health and achieving optimal results through colon cleanses and detoxing principles, which she claims “truly change lives.”
“Wellness should be accessible to all,” Drew said, and her business has always made it a priority to keep its high-quality services affordable for everyone.
Gallagher of Monarch Wellness recognized that the community would benefit from a collaborative wellness platform when her fitness clients sought more details about self-care outside their workout sessions.
“As a fitness trainer with over eight years of experience, I have gained a deep understanding of our community’s needs. I naturally became a resource for my clients on various topics, including detoxification, health care providers, supplements, skincare and more,” Gallagher said.
Drew and Gallagher created a new venture, Be Well, partnering with Williams, founder of Moms of Business, due to her past experiences, which aligned with the team’s mission.
“As a new mom trying to find ways to make more money and create new friendships, I recognized a significant gap in existing networking groups: ambitious mothers seeking genuine connections and opportunities for business growth,” Williams said. “This insight led me to establish Moms of Business, a dynamic network where mom entrepreneurs can connect, collaborate and thrive.” Williams is known for her successful event outcomes and for helping businesses make the right connections at the right time.
Whether women are looking for a day of pampering, a little mindfulness or a full glow-up, the self-care social can provide it. Here’s a sneak peek of tips from some of the experts who can guide you during your wellness journey.
Mental Stability:
Get in the Right Frame of Mind
Shanley O’Keefe Walker, the event’s keynote speaker and a respected psychotherapist and master coach, offers some insight into gaining clarity from personal experiences.
“Start by calming (your) nervous system. Once in a regulated state, we can focus on what matters most,” she said. As a single mother of four and an entrepreneur, O’Keefe Walker understands how difficult it is to implement self-care practices. However, she said she has seen how essential it is in her life and the lives of many others.
If she had to pick one self-care practice with the biggest positive impact on mental health, it would be “digital minimization.” This approach encourages intentional technology usage, consciously reducing digital distractions and nonessential online activities.
Body Boosters: Enhance Your Glow
From facials to chemical peels to injectables, various treatments can help a bride radiate on her big day.
“Your wedding day is one of the most photographed days of your life; it’s the perfect time to invest in glowing skin,” said Jessica Roberts, physician assistant and clinical manager of HerSpace MedSpa. “The key is to start early so your treatments have time to work their magic.”
She emphasized that self-care is more than a trend. It’s about feeling confident, refreshed and empowered in your skin.
“Aesthetic treatments are a part of self-care, helping you look and feel your best while maintaining healthy, radiant skin” – your biggest organ.
Even though balancing self-care with other wedding, work and life obligations can be challenging, Roberts believes it’s not impossible. “It just requires intentionality and small, consistent efforts.”
Danelle Aliseo, a holistic nurse practitioner from Heal Functional Medicine, echoes that recommendation: “Incorporate small self-care throughout the day rather than trying to complete them all in just the morning,” she said. She suggested focusing on “movement and anything to kick up the body’s energy production” in the morning. “Even 20-30 minutes of high-intensity exercise daily is good and can be done at home.”
Aliseo is also a fan of practicing gratitude. “I encourage people to write down three to five things they are grateful for in the morning. This sets the tone for the day and creates more optimism within us.”
One important health tip she prescribes is a full blood panel with a functional medicine provider once or twice a year to check for inflammation, hormonal balance, and vitamin and mineral levels.
Soul Searching: Align and Center
Whether it’s a walk at first light, attending a favorite movement class, spending time with friends or experiencing a wellness retreat, Noelle Dwyer, wellness practitioner of Stay Well Collective, emphasizes the importance of prioritizing self-care each day.
Her mantra is to find an individual’s alignment, which consists of a combination of movement, breathwork and meditation.
“We need to release the idea that self-care is ‘selfish’ and accept that everyone closest to you benefits when you can take care of yourself,” Dwyer said.
This is precisely the reassurance a stressed-out bride needs to hear.
Tickets for the Self-Care Social event from noon to 4 p.m. Feb. 22 are available at momsofbusiness.com.
The article originally appeared in the February 13 – 19, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
