How To Choose Your Signature Wedding Fragrance

One of the biggest beauty trends right now is not just how you look on your wedding day but also how you smell. Finding a signature wedding scent is a perfect way to amplify your confidence! However, with scents ranging from manly musky notes to more feminine floral scents, the world of fragrances can be a mystery, especially if you’re looking for something to suit both a bride and groom. If you’ve been searching for the perfect eau de parfum to help bottle up the memories from your big day, Zola is here to help — with advice from the experts.

How a Spritz Turned into Wedding Day Perfume Recommendations

We know the world of wedding perfume can be complex, so we partnered up with our favorite clean fragrance brand, Snif, to help make picking your signature scent easy and fun. Regarding scents, Snif is the expert in recommending the best wedding perfumes for your big day. Plus the brand launched from a personal story.

Snif just launched Vow Factor, a fragrance made for timeless weddings with a modern take. When Emelia O’toole, AKA Professor Perfume, struggled to find the perfect wedding scent, Snif decided to team up with the fragrance expert to create a genderless, signature scent that brides and grooms alike can wear. With fresh fig, rose, neroli, and grounding woods, it’s a bouquet toss with a twist that celebrates the romance of everyday life.

For Emelia, choosing a signature scent was at the top of her wedding planning to-do list. “Scent is such a magical touch for your wedding because you will always have the scent memory associated with the day,” she reflects. “I love the idea of using the same fragrance as my partner so that we both fondly recall one scent that we can always share.”

So, if you’re looking for a way to amplify your wedding look and memories, here are Snif and Emelia’s tips for picking the perfect signature bridal fragrances.

5 Tips for Picking a Wedding Day Fragrance

1. Discover What Scents You Love

Your signature eau de toilette only needs to follow one rule – it is a scent that you absolutely adore. Rather than getting caught up in what’s most popular or what bottle will look the best for your detail photos, pick the fragrance that will make you feel confident and radiant. Sure, Viktor & Rolf’s Flowerbomb will look perfect in photos, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for you.

A great place to start is by reflecting on other fragrances that you already know and love. Maybe you always wear Jo Malone London on special days. Perhaps your mom consistently wore a Chanel fragrance throughout your childhood. Regardless of why you’re drawn to the scent, list the different fragrances you love. Doing so can help you find a starting point when you’re searching for the perfect scent for your big day.

The best way to dive in is by trying out new fragrances. Similar to shopping for the perfect wedding dress, there are so many different types of fragrances that you won’t know what you like most until you try it on. You can go to your nearest beauty counter or experience a testing session from the comfort of your home with Snif’s free trials. As you smell different fragrances, keep track of which ones you gravitate towards most. You may be surprised that you like patchouli and bergamot-filled scents over more delicate peony ones.

2. Reflect on Your Wedding Theme and Style

When testing bridal perfumes, you’ll also want to think about your wedding theme. Pinpoint the style to ensure it amplifies the overall vibe you’re aiming for. Here are a few examples of what to look for.

• For a tropical destination wedding, consider fruity and bright fragrances with notes of citrus, sandalwood, and jasmine. Natural Talent might pair well with the bright colors and summery feeling.
• For an outdoor spring wedding, a fresh floral fragrance that smells of rose petals and vanilla might be a perfect choice. These fragrances can feel refreshing, soft, and soothing. Plus, they mesh well with an outdoor wedding that features light colors, orange blossoms, and understated décor. Poppy Issues is ideal with its florals combined with musk tones.
• If you’re tying the knot in fall or winter, you might choose earth tones for your venue. Combine natural elements, such as red apples or evergreens, in your centerpieces. Also add wooden accents and plenty of candles for soft, dreamy lighting. In this case, a woodsy and warm scent like Way with Woods could be a great fit.

3. Give Your Fragrances a Test Run

Once you’ve narrowed your search down to a couple of fragrances that you might wear on your wedding day, make sure to give them a trial run. Here are the steps for testing out a new fragrance.

1. Start with a clean base. The best time to try a fragrance is after you’ve had a fresh shower and only applied unscented lotions or skincare. You don’t want to have your gardenia body butter overpower the cedarwood tones in your perfume.
2. Spray the fragrance on your pulse points. This includes the warmer parts of the body, such as the insides of the elbows, the back of the knees, the chest, and the sides of the neck. Applying at the pulse points allows the heat of your body to act as a natural diffuser, allowing the fragrance’s top notes to perform their best!
3. Give it time. Fragrances change throughout the day, and some fragrances fade faster than others. Make sure the “dry-down” of the fragrance fits what you’re looking for and has the necessary longevity. Also, layer your fragrance by spraying it 2-4 times, depending on the intensity and how long you’d like it to last.
4. Be sure the perfume works with your body chemistry. Just like certain foods can cause reactions, so can fragrances. Your favorite Miss Dior scent may smell great in the bottle. However, a test run is critical to be certain that you don’t trigger any allergies. Additionally, one perfume may also smell different on you than it does on your BFF due to body chemistry.

Try wearing each one of them for a full day. Then wait 48-72 hours before you try the next scent. This will help you get a feel for each blend individually.

4. Start Building Scent Associations

Once you’ve landed on your favorite scent(s), wear them to moments you associate with your big day in the planning process, whether it’s going to your cake tasting or your final dress fitting. Why? Well, scent can contribute to something called olfactory memories, which is when a specific scent seems to transport you back in time.

Whether it's the smell of a school bus taking you back to first grade or the smell of your grandmother’s Yves Saint Laurent perfume reminding you of family holidays at her place, fragrances can take you somewhere else with one sniff. The more you wear your fragrance for your wedding-related events, the more you’ll be able to capture the feeling and experiences surrounding your wedding.

5. Make Sure Your Partner Approves

Some folks just have aversions or even negative associations with specific scents. That Tom Ford scent from Sephora may have been the exact scent your partner’s ex wore. Or perhaps they’re just not into tuberose notes. The last thing you want to do is smell unpleasant to your partner on your big day.

If you want to surprise your significant other with how you smell, narrow your choices down and run them all by him or her. That way, they can tell you they don’t like the freesia one, and you’ll still have several to choose from for your wedding day.

Wedding Day Fragrance Wrap-Up

Choosing a fragrance for your big day is one of many decisions you’ll have to make before your wedding, but it doesn’t have to be an overwhelming one. Many things are on your to-do list, and selecting a fragrance shouldn’t be a burden. Choosing one should be a highlight that you look forward to.

In the end, you should pick something that sings to you and your partner. This will help you both cherish the moments for years to come. Plus, as you plan for the future, you can include your wedding perfume. Wear it for special occasions, such as your anniversary, or make it your everyday scent moving forward after the big day. Either way, you’ll have done your research to have the ideal scent that’s meaningful to you.