1. Tell us a little bit about your business! What’s your “business birth story”?

My business birth story is a story of offering a option of convenience before on site beauty was a real option. When I started, most were still relying on fitting in a trip to the salon and a quick makeup appointment at the makeup counter, which we have all seen that bride with the veil in the parking lot looking frazzled. I noticed there was a big need to relieve brides of this transportation stress and the going to get you makeup done on your wedding day freak out. Why not eliminate all the hassle and have a professional come to you. I worked closely with a amazing wedding planner friend that was struggling herself with frustrations on needing more flexibility for her brides with the getting ready timeline. The options for her brides were really limited and her main goal was to make the day not stressful. I told her what I was seeing as a makeup artist working for Nordstrom at the time and we both were like…I need to offer coming to brides. We teamed up on weddings and it started from there! I was doing my full time Nordstrom with weddings on the side and the business of on site beauty took off. I loved my brides, the travel, and the fun of the wedding industry so I took the plunge to do it full time 3 years ago and it’s been fast pace wedding beauty from then on.

2. How far in advanced should couples be booking their hair & makeup services?

I recommend booking your hair and makeup artist a year in advance. I see a lot of brides so surprised that they should book that early but, are very frustrated when they do decide to book it is too late to get the artists or stylists they have been hoping to work with. We book up so fast and it really is so sad to see brides scrambling a month in advance.

3. Is doing a makeup trial necessary? Why/Why Not?

 I always say a makeup trial is a great idea for many reasons. It allows you to meet with your bride to get a sense of who they are and what really they are going to be needing from you. It starts the relationship of how you will be interacting that day and really know what to expect with your hair on how it will hold or how much time will be needed to execute a style. Plus it gives the bride the chance to see the look they have been envisioning on them, to see if that is truly what they want. Looking at Pinterest gives you tons of ideas but, at a trial you can try them out to know what is best for you so that you can know what to expect that day and not have any surprises. Some don’t need a trial and I am game for that too as those are very fun and easy going brides that really just love the experience of getting ready but, if you can squeeze one in with timing you won’t be disappointed.

 4. What is the expectation as far as who gets their makeup & hair professionally done on wedding day? Who usually pays for what?!

This is a great question BTW! Most often the wedding party is requested to get hair or makeup done along with the bride to make sure everything looks cohesive in photos…because well it’s all about the pics lol. Brides generally like to gift the wedding party with hair and pay for that and give the option of the bridesmaid to pay for their makeup if they want. It is pretty rare that the bride will not want the wedding party to get any services. Also moms really like to be apart of the getting ready process and love to get dolled up too, then like to have that be their treat they get to pay for as a gift to all the ladies for helping with their daughter. This what I see the most!

5. How should brides determine their wedding look? Should it be based on their personal style? The makeup they usually wear?

Deciding on your bridal look really depends on your dress, your wedding location, and the overall vibe of your day. The dress will help you decide to have your hair down or up and what kind of style of makeup goes with, the venue will help decide what kind of makeup your decide if it’s inside or outside, then the vibe of your day can be a effortless soft beach vibe or a more sophisticate evening city vibe. Knowing what your planning to do, like take majority of all your photos outside will help decide what sort of longevity your looking for out of your makeup and hair too. The bridal look should really help you feel your most confident in all the activities you plan to do that day and that’s why taking in consideration all those things will really get you a look that is signature to you.

6. Where should brides go looking for bridal makeup inspiration? What advice do you have to brides for maintaining realistic expectations of their makeup on their wedding day?

For inspiration it is always great to look at Pinterest because there is so much content on their but, i also recommend looking at photos of brides in magazines or blogs that you like their look or feel of and seeing what they chose to see that the look of a bride is not to be perfect but, shows how they look enjoying their day. My advice for choosing a look that is realistic is to choose a look that you won’t feel like will need to be touched up every 5 min because realistically you wont get even 5 minutes to eat let alone touch up lipstick. Choose a hair look that can be adjusted through the day or a hair style that is out of your face if you know you will touch it if it’s down.

7. Is there any style of makeup that you find doesn’t photograph well? Is there a style of makeup that you think photographs particularly well? Are there any “wedding day makeup faux-pas”?

Wedding day makeup looks that don’t particularly photograph well is none at all. No makeup at all does not make you look younger or fresher. I hate to say that but, in photos you have to give the lens something to focus on and if you don’t enhance where the focus is everything is just lost. You do not have to commit to heavy makeup to look amazing! Some brides it is a total of 3 products that just makes their natural beauty come alive. Most brides will have to wear more than what they are used too but, you don’t have to wear it heavy. When wearing makeup on the daily we are looking for it to make us look better but, with limited time. Wedding day makeup is to make you look and feel amazing and look that way all day no matter what the time, so you have to put on more or do more steps to make that happen. The one makeup faux pas would be needing to use black, black liner, black mascara, black eye shadow…it does not have to be Noir all the time. Black is sometime very stark on fair skin and in natural light along with lasting all day.

8. What should brides plan on having on them throughout the wedding day to touch up?

Brides should really only need a translucent powder for touch ups, in case you get oily, and a clear gloss. With long wear products offerings these days they really don’t have to touch up lipstick and really just need a little touch of moisture and shine on the lips to refresh it up again. Plus all the kissing and canoodling you the wedding day the groom will appreciate it too.

9. What are the top pre-wedding prep tips you can give for those who want to show up with a solid canvas to apply makeup to?!

The best pre wedding things to do to make sure your wedding day ready for makeup and hair are : Hydrate! Drink water, use moisturizer, use lip balm and use a good hydrating hair mask. Everything is that much better when it is hydrated and most like to celebrate with drinks and run off barely any sleep, which hydration can make it look like you did none of those things! Then the second one would be to get exfoliating weeks before your wedding, exfoliating can help get you the best results out of all the hydrating you will be doing with a body scrub, and facial scrub or peel. If you don’t feel super confident in doing it yourself a nice facial weeks before your wedding is a great idea, not a week before your wedding because you will break out but a good 3 weeks out is a great idea.