Model Bride

Every bride wants to look beautiful on her wedding day. Most brides start months in advance with planning their wedding day look. There are so many beauty treatments, makeup products and hair styles, how is a bride to know what works and what doesn't on your wedding day. Many times despite the brides best intentions not all goes as planned. Throughout my years of doing brides hair & makeup I have heard and seen many beauty mishaps. Below are 10 Beauty Mistakes To Avoid.

1. Every Bride naturally glows on her wedding day, so apply any shimmery makeup sparingly. Quite often shimmery makeup can look great in person but it doesn’t always photograph well.

2. Skip the hair conditioning and silicone based products on your wedding day. They are Long Lasting Curls worst enemy!

3. Avoid experimenting with any new beauty treatment (ie: facials, microdermabrasion, massages) within a month of your wedding. Start your new beauty treatments & regime well in advance of your big day. You never know what type of reaction if any, you may have to them. 4. Don't over do it with the sun or sunbed. A touch of color is nice, but too much tan will photograph muddy and is unflattering to the makeup. 5. Use a concealer with peach undertones. It eliminates darkness and brightens the eyes without creating raccoon eyes. 6. If you're removing your veil after your ceremony, be sure to order the veil with a small metal comb. This is easier to remove and won't destroy your hairstyle. 7. For long lasting curls, leave your hair pinned up to cool & set for 30 to 60 minutes. Better yet, release the curls right before you are ready to walk out the door.
8. Avoid Lady GaGa eyes when using false lashes. Either use individual lashes or full lashes that have a natural look. 9. Be careful to not go too trendy with your hair or makeup. Remember you want to look back at your pictures in years to come and love the way you looked on your wedding day. Current yet classic is always a great look!

10. Be careful of soft flowing tendrils around your face. They tend to lose their curl quickly and hang in your face. This is a huge pet peeve for many photographers when it comes to ruining a perfect picture!

Remember, when creating your wedding day look, experiment months in advance, don't try anything drastic, especially close to your wedding day, and take pictures of your look so you can see how your look transfers in photos.

Going for your pre-wedding hair and makeup trial can be both very exciting and very nerve racking at the same time. You know you want to look like yourself, probably a bit more glamorous than every day, however, you may not know exactly how to explain it to the stylist.
Below, are a few tips to get the most out of your hair and makeup trial…

1. Come prepared! Take the time to do a little research. Look through magazines or search on line for wedding day looks. Gather any pictures that speak to you. Many times the look you love is part of one picture and part from another… and you “marry” them together. Bring a picture of your wedding dress. This will help the stylist get an idea or your style and help in the creation of your wedding day look.

2. Wear a white shirt or off white shirt to your trial. This helps in visualizing the coloring on your wedding day.

3. If there is someone’s opinion that you value in regards to your hair and makeup, bring them along. It is much better to get their input during the trial, then after you get home.

4. It is very important to communicate with your stylist. Don’t be afraid to state your thoughts if you don’t care for the direction in which the styist is going. Most stylists can achieve any look you may desire, it’s more a matter of communicating your likes and dislikes. You will find most are more than happy to make adjustments in order to create the your perfect wedding day look.

5. Experiment with hair accessories during your trial. The hair accessory you though you loved, may not be the one that works best with your hair style.

6. Take pictures! Be sure your stylists takes pictures at the end of your trial. This way, they have the look or looks they created for reference for your wedding day. Take your own pictures, as well, so you can see how your wedding day look, looks in pictures.

7. Relax and enjoy! If you don’t find your perfect wedding day hair and makeup within the time of the trial, Do Not Fret, you probably didn’t find your venue, photographer or wedding dress within a few hours. Schedule a second trial. Most times after a first trial and a bit of further research you arrive at the second trial, knowing exactly what your want.

From the time I started doing brides' hair and makeup, I've always thought that a bride's wedding day is very similair to a model's photo shoot. You find the location site, you have your hair & makeup professionally done, you have an amazing dress and accessories and your picture is taken from morning until night. 

 Throughout the years many brides have asked me for tips on looking great while being photographed. Below are a few of my favorites.

While posing for pictures stand at a slight angle. This is a great slimming trick.

Place the majority of your weight on your back foot. This helps you to appear more graceful.

Remember to breathe. Taking deep breaths and exhale, this helps you to relax.

To avoid blinking, and having blank stares in your pictures, look down until the photographer tells you they're ready. Looking up at the precise second helps to give you a fresh look. This is especially helpful on sunny days.

While having your picture taken, Think Happy Thoughts! For example, I love him soo much! It's my wedding day! I'm leaving for Bali in 20 hours!! It may sound corny, but believe me, the happy thoughts will show on your face.

Most importantly, HAVE FUN and Enjoy! It's your wedding day!

All brides are concerned with keeping their makeup looking fresh and picture ready throughout their wedding day. Here are a few of my favorite tips to help you do just that.

Primer: Apply to clean skin surface smooth and ready for foundation. We like MAC Prep+Prime.

Matifying Gel: If you tend to get shiny, apply this product to eliminate midday shine. We like MAC matifying gel.

Eyeshadow Base: Helps eliminate shadow crease and helps to keep your eye shadow looking perfect from sun up to sun down. Can you sense a theme here..We like MAC eyeshadow base.

Rice Papers: Before powdering your nose and forehead, apply rice paper blotting papers to remove any excess oils and then apply your powder. We like Palladio rice papers, which can be found in Harmon Stores or Sephora blotting papers.

Water Proof Mascara: Not only is it tear proof, it’s smudge proof too! We like Maybelline Waterproof mascara. It does the job and it's not expensive.

If you are a DIY Bride, these few extra steps will keep your makeup lasting all day, as if  it were done by a professional!