A Knot for Tying the Knot

I had so much fun hanging out with Jenna and her man during the wedding trial. He played a great mix of tunes for us and kept us entertained with his comedic style. We looked at several pictures she had for hair and makeup inspiration, including this really cool one (pictured here) of hair tied half up in a big knot to the back and slightly to the side of the head. She wanted to keep her hair's natural texture and curl for the most part but just de-frizz the "jew'fro" as she lovingly referred to her mane. We added in a few straighter pieces for fun and re-curled as necessary. For her makeup she wanted pale shimmery lids, brown liquid liner, and nude glossy lips. For the month following the trial I obsessed over it and lost sleep at night thinking about her makeup. I looked at the trial photos over and over. I liked what we settled on at the trial but I often think something better is right around the corner. About a week before the wedding it hit me - this MAC pigment (cream colored that has a hint of pink in certain light) would be absolute perfection on her. I also thought of the perfect gloss for her from Rouge Cosmetics that had a nude look but with a touch more pink. I was afraid her lips were at risk of looking too washed out in photos.
On the day of the wedding I showed her the alternate colors to see what she thought and she loved them. We added a beautiful hair ornament made by her cousin who also did the wedding flowers. When I was all finished and she saw herself in the mirror, she was overcome with emotion. "This is what I wanted," she cried, "I just didn't have the words." Moments like these mean everything to me. It's what I love, it's what I hope for (that every bride loves her looks!), and it's why I lie in bed thinking about things like eye shadow at night. The groom also had to wipe away the tears when he saw her for the first time out on the balcony of their suite. Sharing a private moment together like this is really a fabulous idea. It would be hard to explain this in a blog post, but these two were made for each other. I would like to wish them a long and happy life together. You guys rock! Thank you very much to Stephanie Violette Photography for several of the lovely pictures shown. You can see a cool picture of the crazy matching purple shoes this couple wore on Stephanie's website.