Weddingbee

I’m sorry to disappoint those of you who are reading this post today to find more embarrassing drag queen-esque photos of Miss Cupcake. Unfortunately for you, there will be no more drag queen incidents for this Cupcake. Fortunately for me, I won’t be looking like a lady of the evening at my wedding.

I had my second makeup trial last weekend with the amazingly talented (and uber sweet) Emily Aznouvarian of Cheekadee. Emily was referred to me by my fabulous day of coordinator, Jenn Poletti of Perfect Planners (after she got a good giggle at my expense when seeing the photos from my last trial — who can blame her?). Jenn and I have become quite friendly over the last several months, so I completely trust her opinion and value her referrals — she assured me that Emily is amazing, and her prices are also super reasonable, so I made an appointment for a trial.

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Over the weekend Mr. Sundae and I ventured from the city to the suburbs in search of wedding bands and suits on sale. We were hugely successful in both of those tasks (more on that later). So successful, in fact, that I was feeling pretty brave. But before I get into all the details you’ll need some background on the situation…

I don’t normally wear much makeup. I have pretty clear skin and therefore skip foundations in favor of light powder. My daily makeup regimen consists of a little eyeshadow, some mascara, and lipgloss. I’ve had my makeup done a few times in my life, always for special occasions, and I have always wound up hating it. But I realize I must have just had bad luck because now I’ve seen the magic that good makeup artists can create. I know without a doubt that I need some makeup help on my wedding day, but I’ve been avoiding that situation like the plague for fear of aforementioned hideousness (Miss Cupcake’s experience only heightened the fear). But like I said, on Saturday I was feeling brave.

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I scheduled my hair and makeup trial for Saturday, just before my shower. (If you are doing hair and makeup trials, I’d highly recommend scheduling them for some sort of occasion, so there is a reason for getting beautified.)

I headed to Studio Palmieri, located in the Warehouse District in Cleveland. The studio was chosen strictly based upon location- it is only 3 blocks from the hotel where I will staying the night before the wedding. When I was speaking with one of the receptionists on the phone, she decided to set me up with the amazing Dena to do both my hair and makeup.

For the hair, I just wanted a simple french twist. Dena graciously offered to take pictures of every angle of my hair, so that if I want something changed for the wedding, I’ll be able to tell her exactly what I want done differently.

The back
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Saturday was my day to get all dolled up. I had my hair trial and then I was going to my friend’s house for my makeup trial. I’ve been anxiously awaiting this day for awhile. When I arrived at the salon, I didn’t know exactly what I wanted. I knew I wanted to have something vintage inspired, a low bun, and it had to be on the side. I just hoped for the best and let my hairdresser do her magic.

I originally wanted some sort of wave in my do (on my bangs) but my hairdresser wanted to do without it. She said it would most probably not stay since it’s loose and flowy. I wasn’t too sure about that, but maybe she just didn’t understand what I was saying. Anyway I present to you my do:

(Please note - I’m not wearing any makeup here - and I look horrible)

Front with little hairs everywhere (that won’t be there day of)

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Hair and makeup trial was…OK. I must admit I wasn’t particularly blown away…but I thought I’d get yall’s input.

We started with makeup. At first, I thought it was just because I’m not used to wearing heavy makeup (I don’t wear much other than some foundation and eyeliner usually, and occasionally some eye shadow). The stylist said that it does need to be heavier to show up in the pictures, which I get…but the more I looked at the makeup, I dunno, I just didn’t think it was me.

Obligatory “before” makeup-less picture…

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Many of you weighed in on my post last week about my hair and makeup trials (the second of which was disastrous!). I had expressed how disappointed I was that the first stylist who did my hair so beautifully wouldn’t have enough time to do my hair plus all of my girls since she has another wedding to work the same morning…. I had already asked her about having another stylist come earlier, but her usual stylist partner will already be working with her that morning, so neither of them would be able to get there until a few hours before the wedding.

It is really important to me to have the entire morning before my wedding to relax and get ready without having to leave the hotel where I’ll be getting ready, and that includes having my best gals by my side. The idea of having my girls go to a salon to get their hair done was definitely my last ditch solution, but trying to find a way to make this all work with on-location stylists has proven difficult! I thought I was ahead of the game looking for stylists 6 months in advance, but apparently a lot of other brides had beat me to the punch.

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Disclaimer: I have been hesitant to post about my recent hair & makeup trials, because honestly, I’m a little embarrassed to post the photos! At least, the makeup trial photos. Yes, that’s how much I disliked my first makeup trial. Let me start at the beginning.

I first contacted a stylist in the Philadelphia area who I have seen mentioned often on the Knot boards. She and I arranged for a trial at my mom’s house; when she got there, we never stopped chatting it up! She was so sweet, and took her time looking through the photos that I had collected and talked to me about what I was going for. She did 3 really great styles in the 90 minutes I had before I had to jet. Now, the styles weren’t completely refined, because we were short on time, but I love what she did and I know she would do a spectacular job on the wedding day. Here is my favorite style that is absolutely exactly what I want:

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On Sunday night, my bridesmaid and I went to meet Ai Sakai for my hair and makeup trial. Ai was recommended by Sachiko Yanese who was already booked on my date. Sachiko is amazing and came highly recommended, so I trust Ai would be too. Ai is incredibly sweet, pleasant to be around, calm, and very efficient in her work. I feel confident that she will do a wonderful job on the wedding day with little direction.

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Once Mr. Eggplant and I were officially engaged in January, we worked diligently to secure all of our wedding vendors on our short timeline. We did a-heck-of-a-lot in one month. I found my dress and booked practically all of our vendors by the end of February. It was quite busy time for us! I must’ve disappeared off of the face of the earth for those thirty days.

One of the very first vendors I negotiated was my makeup artist. I knew exactly who I wanted to book after seeing her fabulous work in another wedding: Nam Vo (makeupnv.com). My trial with Nam was scheduled on a Friday evening before a dinner out with Mr. Eggplant and some friends. Originally, I wanted to ask for their opinion before I officially booked a makeup artist, but once Nam had finished applying my makeup, I was so pleased that I booked her on the spot! The trial was one hour long and during the session Nam was professional, friendly, and very skilled at her craft.

Before. This is the normal amount of makeup I wear on a daily basis. Read more…

Makeup Trial #1 

I was only able to set up another make up trial with one other person since everyone else was booked or wouldn’t travel to the location. A few weeks after setting up my first make up trial with Mary Dee Housley, I finally heard back from one of the salons that I had emailed at the same time!! (Apparently, my email had gotten lost in their system) They had availability, were in my price range, and I could set up a trial with them for the day after Mary’s (which was good, because my mom was in town). Since I was also still looking for someone to do my hair, I booked a hair and makeup trial with them at the same time.

My mom and I headed down to Wedding Tresses in Plympton, MA and met with Jennifer for my trial. Upon arriving I found out that I had misunderstood the email from the owner and I was only scheduled for a make-up trial. That was disappointing and a little frustrating, but we went ahead with the make-up trial.

I told Jennifer that I was hoping to make my eyes look bigger and brighter and that I wanted to try a nude lip. I pointed to a picture of a bride on a marketing piece for hair falls that was nearby and showed her what I meant. Read more…