A friend of my sister-in-law cried many tears the day before her wedding when she got a perm, which turned out to be a total disaster. Does the term a ‘poodle with rabies’ give you any idea of how bad it was? She ended up having to wear a french braid on her wedding day. This upset her all the more as she is very self-conscious of her ears and was hoping to keep them hidden under a mass of curls.

Then of course there’s the stories of colour that simply didn’t take – the blonde that turned a silvery pink, the red that stained a forehead and one ear, and so on… Maybe some that you’ve heard are urban legends, but it’s my guess that most are true.

This gives you plenty of time to go to Plan B if something disastrous does take place. Obviously don’t go too much further out than that time frame, because if your hair grows quickly you might be sporting a monaro stripe by your wedding day with new growth after colouring!

And so very importantly, make sure the person who practices on your hair (hopefully successfully!) is the same person who will do your hair on your wedding day. Be very firm on this. There is nothing so disappointing as arriving at the hairdressers only to find the person who made your hair look amazing a week ago, isn’t working that day, or is booked by someone else. You’d be amazed at how many different ways someone can misinterpret your hairstyle request!!!