Wedding Wednesday: Artist Kit Essentials

As a freelance makeup artist, I do bridal work more than anything else. For that reason, my kit and the products inside are more geared toward just that.

While this list is not finite or the end all be all, they are just some of the things I can't live without when doing bridal work.

Wedding Wednesday: The Haughtons

This past April I had the pleasure of working with one of my favorite brides who is also a very dear friend to me. I know when you think of weddings you normally only think about the bride, but this couple is amazing, individually and collectively, so I can't mention one without the other. Kiara and Malik are amazing people, amazing friends, and amazing partners to one another.

Last week I learned that their April wedding at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington D.C. was featured on ESSENCE in the Bridal Bliss stories. It so beautifully captures some of the best moments from the day.

It's not very often that I get to paint a face and attend the wedding. This by far was one of the most amazing weddings I have ever attended and the love could truly be felt.

Here are some of my favorite photos from their amazing day.

PhotoArt by Lu

To see the full story and get the scoop on their love story click here.

Wedding Makeup Don't: Waiting Until The Last Minute

Hello beauties! I'm back for another installment for #WeddingWednesday. This post comes from yet another place of frustration so just hear me out.

I was perusing Pinterest one night, and stumbled across a pin that had a wedding planning timeline, and it was instructing brides to find a makeup artist 60 days out from their big day. I think I immediately screamed out loud "HEEEEEEEELL NO".

As a bridal makeup artist, far too many times I am hit with a request to do a wedding party in 60 days or less. And I think this is absolutely crazy. Especially when I ask when you got engaged, and you've been planning a wedding for over a year and have had a date and venue secured for 8 months or more.

Dear Brides: Pay For Your Party

Some time ago I tweeted something from my Twitter account where I said that Brides should pay for the makeup of their entire bridal party. Many people agreed with me, while some penny pinchers had their feathers ruffled. I stand by what I said, and this is why.

As a Bride, everything is about “your day”. From the gown, your flowers, the décor and ultimately your photos. At the end of the day everything needs to look amazing so your photos will capture that for a lifetime. YOU care about your photos, your bridesmaids do not. I promise you.

As an artist, there is nothing more frustrating than dealing with the disgruntled bridesmaid. She has already spent a ton of money on a dress, shoes, manicure, pedicure, hair, your bridal shower and possibly your bachelorette weekend. Maybe she has had to take time off from work and she didn't have leave, so that is money missed as well. And now on top of all of that, she has to spend even more money, when she probably doesn't even wear makeup often just for YOUR photos. See how annoying that can get?!?

I have experienced bridesmaids refusing to get makeup done, magically coming up with allergic reactions 24 hours before the wedding, asking for a la carte services, all because they don’t want to pay the quoted price. I understand it, but as an artist, my time and services come with price and that is not to be haggled or argued about.

The smoothest most stress free weddings I have worked are when the bride pays for the entire bridal party to get their makeup done. No one is worried about spending extra money, and they just hop in the chair and relax. Never worn lashes and don’t like them? So what, you’re not paying for it. You don’t like wearing makeup? So what, you’re not paying for it. No worries. For the bride, it’s almost kind of like a thank you gift for dealing with you and your shenanigans (if you happen to be a Bridezilla) for the past 8 months to a year of planning. Everyone deserves just a few minutes to relax and be pampered on that day.

This is merely an artist suggestion. This is not a bridal beauty law. Just thought I would share my 2 cents on the topic. For more Wedding Wednesday tweets and posts make sure you're following me on Twitter @CandiceOBeauty

Tell me what your experience has been like as a bride or a bridesmaid. I would love to hear it in the comments below.