Brittany - My Barbie Bride

Whenever I'm talking about my wedding w/ Brittany this past Summer to friends or clients I always refer to her as my "Barbie Bride".  I, in no way mean this as a derogatory term.  I LOVED Barbie growing up and I still think Barbie is awesome.  Basically I just think Brittany looked so blonde, gorgeous and glamorous on her wedding that it was like Barbie getting married!  In fact I basically made her swear on her life that she would send me pictures after the wedding lol!  I just thought it would be such a shame if I didn't have a bride like her on my site!

One of the things I really loved about Brittany and the look we created for her wedding day is that she actually let me put makeup on her!  She wasn't afraid to be a little glamorous and smokey eyed. That doesn't mean it was super heavy but it was definitely a level up from what a lot of my brides let me do.  The funny thing is I KNOW future brides are going to be telling me they want to look like her but they won't want the style of makeup she has one b/c they will think it's "too much".  Truth is when you look at her pictures it doesn't look "too much" at all.  In fact, it reads pretty natural w/ glowing skin and a soft lip but the eye was a decent level Brown/Black/Gold smokey eye plus there was full black liner all around the eye.  I will totally admit though not every bride can pull off this look - for some it would be too much.  It all depends on your features, skin tone and comfort level of course.

I think one of the most exciting things about the wedding for me was the fact that Brittany's mom was a glamour girl just like Brittany.  I could definitely see where Brittany got her looks from.  I only wish I had pictures of her mom too b/c I don't think I've had a mom that let me do such a dramatic look on them before...and the thing is she totally pulled it off!  She looked great and I loved the full dramatic lashes on her!

Brittany was also another bride that had clip-in hair extensions for her wedding day.  She wanted her hair BIG w/ big, soft curls and we did just that.  The funny thing is like the makeup when you look at the hair it looks perfectly in line w/ the dress, her face, everything and yet I know there was volume! It's so important for brides to remember everything looks less dramatic (or more appropriately dramatic) once you have a big white gown on!  Plus I LOVE her hair piece...still one of the nicest ones I've seen to date...so different and unique!

More pics of this beautiful bride! Photography Courtesy of Stephanie Amoroso

Can you tell she's a dental hygienist - Perfect Smile!

Update...Brittany and her mom read the blog post and they sent me a pic of her mom...doesn't she look amazing!

Adrianna - Bridal Updo with Extensions

 I had the pleasure of working w/ Adrianna back in June for her gorgeous wedding.  I also got to fancy her up for not 1 but 2 different bridal showers (one her sister in law and one was her own) before her wedding so I definitely got a good chance to work w/ her hair and face before the day and learn the tips and tricks to make her look her absolute best!

After the first makeup and hair appt. (about a yr before her wedding) we both agreed to get the style she wanted for her hair she was going to need some clip-in hair extensions.  I've talked on here and to my clients quite a bit about the importance of hair extensions for when clients want to wear their hair down...pretty much every girl needs them to get that luscious "pinterest worthy" voluminous, long, big curl look but I haven't really talked that much about their importance and how much they can help a style when a bride wants an updo but has less than thick hair to fill it out.

Let me just say that Adrianna's updo on her wedding day has to be one of my fav updos that I've ever done on a bride!  And let's be real we all know how many updos I do EVERY wedding season so that means a lot!  It also helps that Adrianna hired an amazing photographer Azure Blue Photography and they took some gorgeous pics to capture my work.  Sometimes it's so sad when you know you've done amazing work and yet when the bride sends you pics you're disappointed b/c the photographer just didn't capture it...definitely not the case here!  There's also a video if you want to see a bit of my work in action...I always love videos b/c there is no hiding behind retouching in them - your work is on full display whether it's good or bad!

If I didn't know better I'd never know that there were extensions in Adrianna's hairstyle...sometimes brides and their fiances get a little freaked out about the idea of "fake hair" and not looking "like yourself" but anyone who knows me and my work knows that above all I strive to make my clients look and feel like the best versions of themselves.  And the truth is not all of us are blessed w/ thick, gorgeous hair so what's wrong w/ supplementing it to get the style you want on your wedding day!  Yes, it will cost extra but when you think of all the money you're spending on the day anyway isn't it worth it if it's going to bring your hairstyle from a 6 to a 10!  I just love the texture and tousled curls in this style!

Another great thing that Adrianna invested in on her wedding day was a return visit for her and her girls.  If it's in your budget and you're starting early in the morning w/ an early church ceremony before pics and the reception a return visit can be very beneficial to your wedding day look!  Yes, I do always give my clients an extensive touch up kit but at a return visit I touch up all the bridesmaids makeup/hair (if they got services in the morning) plus I touch up or adjust/change the bride's makeup and hair look.  Often times I darken the makeup a bit for night - or in Adrianna's case added a gorgeous bold red lip and a smokier eye.  Plus sometimes I'll change the hair going from an updo to down.  Plus after pictures...especially in the Summer when it's hot touching up the hairstyles and makeup can be a real lifesaver!

So here's some more of Adrianna's beautiful wedding look...there's even a couple of me looking serious as usual ;)

Adrianna and her girls

 Teaching how to take out the veil

Great shot of the back!  So often photographers don't take nice shots of the back of the hair :(