Archive for category Bridal Gowns & Accessories

Make-up artists, by nature, love to make people beautiful. I can attest to that first hand. When I started doing make-up I realized right away that brides and their maids were extra special people, and much more festive and fun than the average supermodel wanna-be. Make-up artists who specialize in bridal make-up are serving double-duty: they want the bride and her friends to look her absolute best on this very special day, but they also want the bride to feel great about herself. Working weddings isn’t the same as television commercials; in both cases you’re required to be diligent and professional, but when you’re a part of someone’s wedding day, you are a part of an experience that lasts a lifetime.

That said, there are ways a bride can get the most out of her make-up artist as well, to look her very best and make the experience beautiful for the both of them. If you’re reading this article, then you’ve already heard the legends of Bridezillas, seemingly sound and sweet girls who transformed into card-carrying monsters (with a bouquet of calla lilies). Clearly, extreme behavior is unacceptable. But there may be a few additional pointers you haven’t heard or simply just need to hear again in order to get the most out of the person responsible for bringing the best and most beautiful out of you.

1. Don’t Skip the Pre-show
Most reputable make-up artists will absolutely insist on a consultation, at least several weeks before the wedding. Yes, it’s true that they charge for this, but trust me when I say it’s an investment worth its weight in gold wedding bands.

How to get the most out of it? For every client I consult I offer to give her a step-by-step make-up lesson, where I describe in absolute detail exactly what she’d need to do for every day beauty. I go through make-up cases and tell them what to throw and what to keep. I make it simple and fun and always encourage my consults to make an event out of it, invite friends, and enjoy themselves.

2. Trust Us
For some odd reason, about half of the women who come to me for consultations are dead set on dark smoky eyes and pale lips. Now, believe me, this is a gorgeous look that I personally love and adore, but it’s not a look that’s perfect for every single person. Moreover, it’s not always the very best look for bridal photos and sometimes difficult to maintain if you’re not keeping your make-up artist through the end of the night.

How to get the most out of it? Before your consultation, start by ripping out looks you like from magazines; chances are great they’ll all be similar in some way. If all you want is dark, smoky eyes and pale lips and your make-up artist is resisting, then one of you might suggest trying something lighter first, and then trying a dark-eyed look later. One is easily transferable into the other. Of course, make sure you bring a camera so that you can see how it looks in pictures. If you insist on a look and your make-up person is obstinately opposed, remember that you are always the client, and can easily take your business somewhere else. But give your professional make-up artist an ear, she may have something truly valuable to say!

3. Dedication and Commitment
You’re a bride, and that means you’re allowed to change your mind. However, once you and your make-up artist have decided on a look, try not to be surprised when that’s exactly what you get on your wedding day. This hasn’t happened to be personally, but I’ve been told complete horror stories from make-up artists (and hair stylists) who prepared for one look only to have an emotional bride, moments before show time, demand another.

How to get the most out of it? You’re not doing anyone a favor by changing the flow of things, least of all yourself. There’s a time and place to let your emotions get the best of you, but right before you walk down the isle, scraping off a beautiful, well-planned full face of make-up, is not one of them. Trust the people who care about you for their opinion. If they say you look beautiful, there are excellent chances that you really do.

4. A Little Landscaping
Make-up artists have been known to work miracles, but trust me, you don’t want to test their almighty powers the day of your wedding. That’s why brides need to take the responsibility for skincare and grooming several weeks before their wedding. The average standard is to get a facial no less than two months before the big day, in the event there’s an allergy issue. Many brides have unusually bad skin due to the inevitable stress; do not put this off, go and see a good dermatologist. A make-up artist is not a magician, probably extremely close, but she can’t make all of your skin problems disappear.

How to get the most out of it? Perhaps the smallest of the important maintenance issues is the bride and her eyebrows. For all of my clients, I insist that they get their eyebrows shaped and tweezed by a reputable professional two days before the wedding. All make-up artists know how to tweeze brows, nearly all women have some sort of reaction to getting their brows tweezed, whether it be bright red puffing, or just general unpleasantness. A professional can take the time to make your brows groomed and shaped, so that you can maintain them yourself over the course of several months. Chances are a reputable eyebrow shaper will cost more than you think, but in then end you will be so grateful. Have you ever seen someone with bad brows? There’s nothing pretty about it.

5. Order in the (Wedding) Court
I had a job once where I was contracted to do make-up for the bride, her mother and one bridesmaid. It was a job I could easily perform myself, no questions asked, and agreed, unusually, to do it for a set fee. However, a week before the wedding her mother (officially the client) called to ask if they could add a few more people. I told her the truth, that I would be happy to add the others if and only if the primary clients, most especially the bride, were taken care of. Well, the day of the wedding rolls around and very suddenly there are nine women who’ve all been promised make-up. I made sure to stick to my guns (as well as my priorities), but in the end while everyone got the make-up they wanted, it wasn’t the best was to handle things.

How to get the most out of it? Everyone understands that a bride can’t manage everything on her wedding day, nor should she have to! But, if you sense that things could potentially spiral, maybe assign someone to “manage” your group in the event you suspect things could get out of hand. There are many ways this could happen. For example, I worked a wedding once where I was to make up the bride, her mother, her mother-in-law and her (I kid you not) nine bridesmaids. They’d only contracted one make-up person (me) and a hair stylist, so we got together and made up a strict schedule, starting at 9:00am with everyone ready for their 1:00 photo call. Well, lo and behold the girls had been out late the night before, and no one showed up until 11:30.

All I can say is, don’t be that person.

The inevitable is going to happen, no doubt about that. But in the end you want this to be an experience you remember the same way you dreamt it. It wouldn’t hurt if everyone around you had a great experience, too, so that they can help you be as happy and as beautiful as you know you can be.

Article by:

Liza Lentini is the Founder of Liza-Jayne (www.Liza-Jayne.com), specializing in wedding make-up for those who want to look their most beautiful. She has written for such varied publications as the men’s magazine Gear, the Americana literary journal Grit, and the science magazine Discover.

I often have brides asking me for advice on where to find bridal gowns under $250. While there are a few places, often there just isn’t that much selection. What I often tell brides is to make sure they look through the bridesmaid dress selections as well. Many bridesmaid dresses are available in styles that, if ordered in white or ivory, would look just as good if not better then the cheaper bridal gowns available.

Here are a few examples I picked out from the Bill Levkoff bridesmaid line. These are just a few of the ones I found with photos in white or ivory, but there were plenty more – and each one is priced under $250! They are stunning styles, perfect for a semi-formal, informal, garden, beach or destination wedding and very nice on the pocket book.

Styles shown here: Style #808 – $220 at The Bridal Shop, Style #550 – $220 at The Bridal Shop, Style #303 – $230 at The Bridal Shop, Style #305 – $190 at The Bridal Shop, Style #355 – $196 at The Bridal Shop, Style #966 – $184 at The Bridal Shop

SO – here is the next question that I often get asked: If I wear a white bridesmaid gown,how do I make sure that my gown stands out from the bridemaids? Well, color is of course the first key – but the other key is length. If you are wearing a full floor length bridesmaid style as a wedding gown – then choose a tea length style for your bridesmaids and your gown will look even more bridal. For example, here is a quick photoshop knockup of Bill Levkoff Style #550 with Style #267. There is no doubt which one would be the bride, and which would be the bridemaid – but both girls look stunning! That bridesmaid Style #267 is also a very affordable option for your bridesmaids at $150!