Vendor Spotlight: Making Up with Leah

Today, we have a super special post for you. Get to know Leah from Making Up with Leah and pick her brain about why a professional makeup artist can put you at ease on your big day!

5 Reasons to Hire a Professional Makeup Artist for your Wedding

1) Before the wedding, you will have plenty of things to worry about. The last thing you need to worry about is if your skin breaks out from stress or ending up with bags under your eyes from lack of sleep! Knowing that a trusted expert will be on hand to give you flawless skin you are dreaming of for the wedding will provide you with the peace of mind you need!

2) A makeup artist will have the skills to create the look that you have envisioned for your day and know the techniques to flatter every feature. Whether it is a subtle, soft and pretty look or a dramatic look, making a bold statement, she should be able to talk with you and understand your thoughts and perceptions for your “day of’ look.

3) A professional will know the very best products and techniques to use, so that your makeup will stay on and look great all day or night. She will also know how to tailor those techniques and products for your skin type as well as your event’s conditions. It is important that she take into consideration the humidity levels, temperature, and how many hours of dancing you plan on!

4) With all the stress of those hundreds of details coming together on that one day, you deserve to be pampered. Get the royal treatment! Let an expert take charge of you looking your very best!

5) You booked a great photographer for your wedding, and it is probably a significant portion of your wedding budget. You are trusting them to capture those special moments on film for you. You need a makeup artist to make sure you have beautiful skin, and perfectly chosen colors and flattered features in those photos. It will make you feel more comfortable while all the eyes and cameras are on you, and mean less retouching for your photos, and maybe even save you money on photo editing. There are lots of reasons to hire a makeup artist for your wedding day. It is important to look at pictures of her work, and see if you she has created looks that resemble what you are interested in. Also, talk to her and make sure you feel comfortable that she will listen to you. A trial run is always a fabulous idea! It's your day, and you need to know that she will treat you like it, so that you can relax and enjoy looking beautiful!

Make sure you visit Leah's website here if you have any questions or want to schedule a consultation!

Your wedding gown! When is it really time to start shopping?

Over the past few weeks, it has become apparent that some of our brides are unaware of the "gown time-line" so we thought we'd take a moment and break it down. This is a rough time-line and will vary by month as well as by designer. However, be concerned about any major deviation from this time-line as this may forewarn you of a store's stability. (IE. an overall exaggeration of the time-line for all dresses - not specific designs or designers).

 

Typically, it takes 12-16 weeks for a gown to ship (not arrive) from the designer. It can take less time but a well planned bride always works off of worst case scenarios.

Once your gown arrives in the salon, you will need to schedule an appointment to pick up your gown or begin alterations. (add 7-20 days here).

Alterations can take anywhere from 6-8 weeks depending on your schedule, their schedule and the amount of work to be done. This includes multiple visits to the alterations specialist.

Add all this up and you are looking at approximately (6.75) 7 months - just to get the dress ready to wear!

Now, factor in bridal portraits since this is the first time you will wear your gown (assuming you are taking bridal portraits). Then, factor in climate. Climate - why climate? Well, we do live in Texas. July-September equals HOT! (read: glistening bride and not in a good way) December - March equals all things dead. (plants) so, if you want outdoor portraits, this could drastically change your time-line.

Example: You are getting married in October. You are taking bridal portraits and want them outdoors so you probably want to take them April - June. To have your gown ready in time, you need to have it purchased by November. Amazing how quickly time gets away from you!

From December until the end of February, the time-line gets longer as you have to factor in the holidays. Gown production teams typically take three weeks off during this time which means that your time-line needs to expand by three weeks during these months.

Now, this time-line is "worst case scenario" but a well planned bride will work off this to alleviate as much stress as possible. It can be done in a shorter time frame with some creative bridal consultants behind you that know their stock and their designers but why take a chance

Start early, be prepared to buy at your first appointment (we didn't say you had to - just be prepared to) and the gown shopping experience will be Blissful!