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Weddingbee Blog
As I searched the internet for hair inspiration, I came across these pictures of the Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2011 RTW runway show.
Image via Style.com / Photo by Yiannis Vlamos
According to Style.com, the show was inspired by a hope chest that a bride might pack. And the story behind the makeup? Well, according to Pat McGrath (via Allure.com), the makeup artist, “The story was a girl who goes to get married and then runs away.”
Well, I was with her right up to the “runs away” part.
Right on the heels of my bout with feelings of being old, I realized that it was time to book a hair and makeup artist. Some very kind friends told me that I did my own makeup well, but I honestly feel that my skills are a little lacking in that area. I have one look. I don’t experiment with anything new or different. I’ve been using the same products for years and only changed my foundation when the TSA started limiting how much liquid we could carry on flights (I travel for business and switched to mineral foundation to avoid checking bags).
When I started my search for a hair and makeup artist, my only requirement was that they work on-site. I plan on relaxing and enjoying the beautiful bridal loft at our venue. I don’t want to be running all over town. Luckily, there are plenty of wonderful artists who are willing to work on site.
Image from CvilleMakeup.com / Photo by Jack Looney Photography
As I looked at portfolios and blogs, I was swept up in how wonderful every image looked.There were glowing brides on their big days and beautiful models at dreamy inspiration shoots. Slowly, I realized that I was craving diversity. I’m not a model (anymore) and I’m not in my 20s. I wanted to find someone whose portfolio included some people who might be like me.
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Very Highly Recommended
These vendors went above and beyond anything we would have expected.
Fine Invitations (Paper goods)- Including invitation package, programs and our place cards. We were so happy with all of our paper goods and they were incredibly flexible. We may have procrastinated a little with our program and in the end they stayed back and Mr. Teaspoon collected them the evening before the wedding.
A while back, I decided I would do my own wedding day makeup. I am not a difficult person, but I do have a lot of OPINIONS, especially when it comes to not looking like a fool. I’ve had my makeup professionally styled a handful of times over my life…and I always hate it. Hate it.
Sooooo…I guess I really am a difficult makeup client, but I digress.
Anyway, Wrigley-T (a Snapdragon bridesmaid) also plans to do her own wedding day makeup, so we joined forces and stormed our local Southport Ave. Benefit store. Wrigley-T and I are both perfectly competent at doing our own makeup, but we needed Fancy Makeup. We made a girlytimes date of it (sans pillow fight).
I know we’re supposed to post some ugly-looking, dire, starving photo of ourselves as a before post, but Wrigley-T and I never look bad. I mean, I looked all through our photos and couldn’t find one. 
So that’s what we look like when left to our own devices getting ready for a night out!
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All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
“Make an elegant invitation statement without the fuss. Stylish invitation sets with matching envelopes, reception and response cards included.”
Makeup.
I thought of it as “make stress,” personally. Like other bees around these parts, I’m not big on makeup. I pretty much rock the natural look…the bulk of my morning “beauty” routine is spent on my hair. My daily makeup application goes like this: some mascara, a little eyeliner (shadow if I’m feeling particularly ambitious), a brush of blush, swipe of lip gloss and out the door.
OK - if I’m being really honest, there are days when I mix it up with concealer or bronzer.
Anyhow, the truth is, I never feel like I have too little makeup on…but I have definitely had times where I feel like I have too much. So, when seeking a makeup artist for the wedding, I really focused on those who had good reviews by brides who wanted to look “natural.”
I know, I know…”natural” is a total buzzword in the wedding world (goes with “classic,” “traditional,” etc) and my “natural” could be very different from your “natural.”
For reference, here’s my makeup “spectrum”: sans makeup (rocking the specs), daily wear and with “fancy” makeup (at a wedding - did it myself).
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| I know - the difference is minimal |
I consider each of these pictures to be natural in their own way - clearly the right being most appropriate for a formal event - if you must choose from the selection above.
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I never felt old before I started reading wedding message boards and blogs. Age was never really something I thought about all that much. Perhaps it’s because my mother wore her age fairly proudly and never seemed obsessed with looking younger. People always seemed shocked to know her age. Her hair stylist seems convinced that she has a colorist because she’s still a redhead in her late 60s.
Working in academia has probably kept me young at heart. I’m surrounded by the energy and enthusiasm of students in the college bubble. Though I finished graduate school just over a decade ago, people still ask me what year I am as if I’m a student. I haven’t yet considered that a compliment, but I know there’s a time when I will.
Getting engaged at 33 felt just right. I considered myself a city girl before coming to Virginia and city dwellers (especially those in the northern cities) tend to marry a little later than others. I didn’t realize that in the world of wedding blogs and message boards, I’m old.
Image 1 from Style Me Pretty / Photo by Agnes Lopez Photography
Image 2 from Style Me Pretty / Photo by Mademoiselle Fiona
Image 3 from Style Me Pretty / Photo by Olive Juice Studios
Early on in my planning, I felt just fine about my age.
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Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
Wednesday was a big planning day for me….I crossed some big planning items off of our list!
Mr. O had been up in D.C. for the holidays, hanging out and drinking beer with two of his three older brothers. I planned out engagement photo shoot for the day after he returned because our photographer was already going to be in town for the holidays (and I saw no point in having her make two trips).
I also planned a meeting with my friend that is doing my makeup for the wedding. I scheduled my first trial before the pictures. I know what you’re thinking… if I hated it then I would hate my engagement pictures, right? Well, yeah, normally that would be a concern for me, too, except that she does an awesome job and if I hated it I would have no problem telling her and having her fix it. Plus…I didn’t hate it!
I loved it. She did such a great job (especially for someone that doesn’t wear tons of makeup all that often) that I’ve scheduled a second trial to try some more daring looks, just because I am curious to see what it would look like. She totally boosted my ego, too. She told me I had great skin (this is news to me, hello!!) and barely used any foundation.
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| Personal Photo- Please excuse my poorly lit phone photo! |
Basically I felt pretty darn fantastic going into our engagement shoot (and having confidence is half the battle, right?).
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After my first makeup trial, I decided to be a little more selective in finding the next makeup artist. I pored through countless websites looking for examples, reviews and of course, prices. I was pretty lucky to find a few who were still around during the holidays and had good reviews online. The day after Christmas, I had a trial with a nice woman who was also the most affordable. I was pretty adamant about the amount of coverage I wanted and probably came across as bitchy. Oh well, she did a great job anyway!
From the beginning I felt comfortable because she told me what she was doing every step of the way. I think my bitchiness about coverage might have gotten to her because she used super light coverage. I was happy I didn’t look all crazy, but would have been fine with a tad bit more coverage. I know, I sound like Goldilocks. Hive, weddings make people crazy. She got major points for asking before applying shimmer to my face. I absolutely cannot stand shimmer because I always tend to leave traces of it on everything and everybody. But since she had a light hand, I let her try it out. It actually looked really pretty. You win this one, shimmer. We also tried out some false lashes which I was surprisingly OK with. I’m normally a freak about things going in, around, or near my eyes. But I could barely feel the lashes and I felt like they made me look hot. But, I was scared I wouldn’t be able to take them off by myself so I had her take them off before she left so you won’t see them in the photos. Yup, I’m that girl.
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Hey there, remember me? Miss Warbler? Yeah, it’s been a while. Sorry for not keeping in touch. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy our time together, I’ve just been…busy. You know, wedding planning and all. Don’t take it personal. It’s not you, it’s me.
It’s been a while hive, but I promise I haven’t been sitting on my ass this whole time. Wedding projects (and mishaps) will be shared in due time!
Over the holiday break, I had a couple of makeup trials. The first trial was…not good. There’s no other way to put it. But I guess it was my fault. In an effort to try and save some money, I went to the mall and tried out a makeup artist at a department store. I figured that it might be cheaper and if the bridal party had to drive to the mall the day of the wedding, than it would be worth it to save a little cash. It’s what I did for prom, so why couldn’t I do that for the wedding too? Yeah, you can go ahead and file that one under harebrained ideas.
Even though I didn’t have an appointment and it was the weekend before Christmas, I was helped right away. I took bridesmaid E with me to get her opinion on the makeup. The whole time I sat in the chair, the MUA wouldn’t let me see my face so all I could go off of were E’s facial expressions which were pretty amusing. Except that she was making them at my face. I don’t usually wear a lot of makeup, but expected to probably wear a medium coverage for the wedding. However, I was a little worried when the MUA artists put on generous amounts of liquid foundation, two different powder foundations, concealer and a shimmer setting powder. How in the hell is that medium coverage? Bridesmaid E snapped a photo of the end result.
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In between my first dress fitting and bachelorette party, (which I’ll post about next!), this past Saturday, I was able to squeeze in my makeup trial.
I wear makeup every day so I’m not afraid of going for a more dramatic look for the wedding. Bare Minerals is my current choice for foundation and concealer, but thanks to you smart and informed peoples here on the Hive, I learned that this type of makeup does not photograph well. Apparently it reflects the light and can make you look like a grease face. Yeah - that doesn’t sound very bridal to me!
After learning this tidbit of info, I knew airbrush was the direction I wanted to go. I’ve never worn airbrush makeup, but my FSIL did for her wedding and she looked radiant.
My makeup artist, Anjelica, asked that I bring pictures of makeup looks that I liked. Pinterest to the rescue again!
Image via ProjectWedding.com / Photo by AllMadeUpTeam.com
My approach to makeup (and many other things, now that you mention it) is to just try random things and see if they work. I have no idea how to actually put on mascara, though I wear it every day. I literally don’t know the difference between powder, concealer, foundation, and anything else beige-y that you put on your skin. So my “Makeup Ideas” pinboard on Pinterest, despite being created months ago, only has two pins on it:
Image via Glamour / Barrettes from Ban.do
On a regular day my makeup routine consists of concealer and eyeliner, if I have made it out of bed with enough time to do even that much! So why would I decide to DIY makeup for my wedding day, you might ask? Well…it’s pretty simple. I don’t really trust other people to do it better than I can. You see, I have really deep-set eyes, which give the illusion of dark circles very regularly. I feel that most makeup artists on the wedding circuit like to use dark eyeshadow to give that smokey eye, and that is exactly what I do not want. That makes me look like I haven’t slept in days, and so I decided to see what I could whip up for a wedding-day look on my own!
My inspiration: Lucy Hale. Love the dark defined lash line contrasted with the very light eyeshadow! Also love the pink lips with minimal blush.
Image via DJMick
*All remaining photos are personal
Step #1: Coverup and foundation. I use Covermark concealer on my eyes, since they are so deep set and therefore dark. I use Almay Smartshade foundation—goes on very smooth. Here you can see makeup on the left side of the photo and no makeup on the right side of the photo.
I’ve been trying to plan a party for my bridesmaids for quite some time. Because there are a bajillion of us, it’s been hard to get a time that works for all of us. A friend of mine sells Mary Kay and she doesn’t live in the city, so that was another person to coordinate times with.
But last night the stars (and our schedules) aligned and we were able to all get to my apartment at nearly the same time and have our party. We had chicken, pizza, salad, and screwdrivers. And we had music and good conversation.
But most important was the reason we were there. We were there to sample Mary Kay products. This event was all about skin care. We will get together next month and that will be all about makeup (I think) and then we will get together one more time.
The end result is that each girl will have a color palette for her makeup especially designed for her skin tone and the color of the bridesmaid dress.
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I’ve been doing this for about half of my life—why is figuring out how I’d like my makeup for the wedding so difficult?
Photography by Jamie Vester Photography and Design / Image via their Facebook
I’ve never been the type that can wake up in the morning and not look a little scary. Seriously. You know how in hospitals they take pictures of newborns? Mine was so bad that to this day even I have not seen it. Yikes! My everyday look uses a handful of products and is reasonably dramatic. To do much more might be a little too much. I started looking for things in the opposite direction. I did an online search for natural makeup, and what came back was pretty but wasn’t what I would call natural. In the hope that it isn’t me with the skewed idea of natural-looking makeup, I put together a little how to. It’s pretty simple if you have no idea where to start, or it might be a good base if you want to build on it. I think this might be what I do for the rehearsal and the days leading up to the wedding so my makeup on the actual day seems that much more special.
Of the many things that I love about my appearance, perhaps my very favorite physical features are my eyes and my hair. Nearly every time I look in the mirror, I notice one or both of those and I can’t help but smile at my reflection. It’s not vanity, and I hope it doesn’t come across that way. It’s just that I truly believe everyone should have aspects of themselves (physical, relational, emotional, intellectual, etc.) that they can acknowledge as strong, positive features (even if, at times, it’s simultaneous with less positive features—for instance my acne-prone skin).
So, given this love affair I have with my eyes and hair, you’d think I’d have spent more time considering my wedding hair and makeup. But, in actuality, I had one very brief moment of hair inspiration and zero ideas about makeup. I don’t know if it was anxiety or just feeling overwhelmed with other stuff, but I showed up to my trial session with one inspiration picture and almost no ability to articulate what I was looking for. Thankfully my amazing hair and makeup artist Lucy Flint knew just what questions to ask to get a sense of my wedding day vision, and then she began to work her magic. (Side note: She even continued with said magic as the building was rocked by a 3.8 magnitude earthquake. That’s running a business in the Bay Area for ya!)
Over the course of a few hours we tried out a makeup look, with and without false lashes, and two different hairstyles. I was so pleased, relieved, and excited about how great everything turned out that I wanted to go back for a second trial to do a bit of a different hair version. You know how I love me some options!
Forgive the poor lighting—it was dark by the time we finished.
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