Wedding Blog

During the countdown of the last month before my wedding, I suddenly realized I had forgotten to book a make-up artist for my Chinese reception down in Southern California. I panicked as the first two people I contacted were already booked. Would I, Ms. Never-Wears-Makeup, be left to my own hands?

I scoured both The Knot and Weddingbee, and soon found a few more contacts. Natalie Buketov was the first to reply back to my emails (score for promptness!) and within a few days we had scheduled the time and date, as well as negotiated a price. Since I mentioned I found her on The Knot, and that it was just for a reception and not a wedding, she was willing to do my hair AND makeup for only $95 on location! Being used to the higher prices in NorCal (average of $400 for hair/makeup on location) I was both surprised and pleased. Obviously I would not have a chance to do a make-up trial, but since the Chinese reception was less formal than a typical wedding/reception, I wasn’t too worried. Plus Natalie had been given rave reviews on The Knot, so I figured I was safe.

The day of the reception came, and Natalie was actually early to our appointment. She quickly set up her tools and went straight to work after I showed her a few pictures of what I wanted (always a good idea).

I’m one of those introverted extroverts (if that makes any sense) so breaking the ice has never been one of my talents. I usually hate making small talk in hair salons because I know I won’t be coming back for another year, and they won’t remember me anymore anyway, so what’s the point? Yet Natalie has a warmth about her that contributes to easy conversation, and before I knew it I found out she used to know Brooke Shields and Jennifer Aniston in her childhood. Her easygoing personality was probably one of the reasons my experience with her was so memorable.

What I appreciated most though, was that she truly listened to what I wanted. She didn’t let me leave the room until I was happy with every curl, the false eyelashes were the length I wanted, and the lip gloss was exactly the right color. I loved how my face didn’t feel caked on with makeup, but it still lasted all night. To tell you the truth, I liked my hair/makeup at the Southern California reception better than at my actual wedding (and that had looked pretty darn good, if I do say so myself)!

If only she was in Northern California…I’d be calling for her services at every formal event!

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Rating: 5/5

Pros: Affordable price, attentive, easygoing, prompt

Cons: Can’t think of any.