Katie's Wedding

Katie and I met working together at a restaurant in South Orange Country, and when she inquired with me to do her makeup and hair for her wedding, I was ecstatic! Katie was always kind, paid great attention to detail, smart, and an absolute knock out; the perfect client!

Like most of my brides, she wanted a natural, flawless makeup look that enhanced her features without looking too made up, but still look appropriate for her wedding. In everyday life, Katie wears makeup, but she’s not really a full glam type of woman. For her hair, she requested an effortless looking updo with smooth texture to show her decollate and shoulders as her dress was a GORGEOUS off-the-shoulder Sarah Seven dress. She definitely has an amazing sense of style that is classy and timeless.

At Katie's preview, we started with her hair because she has SO MUCH HAIR. I began curling it all away from the face using my 1.25" curling iron to smooth it out and add the tiniest bit of texture. To be honest, this was my first time doing this type of smooth textured updo, so I was kind of making it up as I went. Since I was experienced with wedding hairstyles, I didn't sweat it at all, especially since I knew Katie personally and she was trusting me throughout the entire process. Trusting your artist is so very important!

Doing her hair first allowed us to chat and for me to learn more about her wedding. We talked about her proposal, her dress and the experience she had while shopping, her bridesmaids, the venue, and the overall vibe she wanted on her big day. Even though I already knew Katie from working together, it was really cool to learn more about her personal life outside of work. I love getting to know my clients and building that rapport with them. As a business owner who specializes in weddings (such a personal and important life event), it is my goal to create and build lasting relationships with them.

After finishing Katie's updo, we moved onto her makeup. I always ask questions regarding everyday makeup routine; this gives me an idea of comfort level regarding makeup. Now, I had seen Katie wear makeup at work, so I already had somewhat of an idea of her comfort level, but I did ask more detailed questions regarding the level of coverage she wanted in her foundation, colors for eyeshadow, false eyelashes, etc. while looking at the inspiration photos she sent me. She appreciated this because as I mentioned above, Katie is a detail-oriented person, as am I.

Once I had an idea of what she wanted, I got to work. One thing Katie wasn't sure about was whether or not she wanted her foundation applied traditionally or airbrushed. What I do in this situation is apply half the face traditionally, and then airbrush the other half. This allows the client to see first hand how each method looks and feels, and how each side lasts throughout the day. A big concern from clients when I tell them this, is that people will be able to tell that their foundation was applied with two different methods on each side, but I PROMISE, you cannot. I actually have to text clients which side is airbrushed because sometimes they can't even tell when they look in the mirror and forget as the day goes on. It is never my intention to sell clients a service they don't want or need (because airbrush is an extra fee), so this half n' half technique gives them an opportunity to make an informed decision that best suits their needs.

I completed Katie's makeup, handed her the mirror and told her to BE HONEST. I have to rely on the client's honesty in order to do my job to the best of my ability. This isn't about my ego; in fact, I do my best to have no ego when I work. I truly believe you can't with this career because my sole purpose is to please the client and help them fall in love with what they see in the mirror. Of course I do have confidence, I've been doing this professionally for years and makeup has been my passion since I was a teenager, but leaving my ego behind is really important to me. When Katie held up the mirror and looked at herself an inch from that mirror, she smiled and said "This is exactly what I envisioned!"

This response is music to my ears. She felt beautiful. My work was complete.

Katie's wedding day ran smooth as butter. I brought along a full team of artists to complete her entire party. Collectively we did 11 makeup applications (all airbrush) and 11 hairstyles; totaling 22 services. Katie's friends and family were an amazing group, full of fun, supportive energy. It was such a fun day!

While Katie didn't request any significant changes for her makeup or hair after her preview, I did do more research and practiced her hairstyle on my doll head at home multiple times leading up to her wedding day. Even though she was happy with what I did at her preview, I knew I could do better. Let me tell you, Her hair on her wedding day compared to her hair at her preview... huge difference! She was so happy, which meant I was happy.

Katie's wedding hairstyle was actually an awakening for me. Before her wedding, I was more comfortable doing really textured, tousled updos. That's what was trending at the time, so that's what I was requested to do most often. After practicing the look Katie requested and feeling like I nailed it on her wedding day, I sought out similar hairstyles and began practicing them. Now, smooth textured updos are my favorite hairstyle to do for weddings.

One last thing! As I was looking at all the bridesmaids with their dresses on, I couldn't help but express how beautiful the dresses were and how they looked great on everyone. Katie then told me her bridesmaid dresses are the exact same dress Jennifer Aniston wore in the episode of Friends "The One Where No One's Ready", only in blue! I'm sorry, WHAAT??? How cool is that?! Where are my Friends fans at?