Getting Ready Part I

As many of you know, finding a hair stylist and make-up artist was the hardest part of planning a wedding 300 miles away. Here is my post about my trials so you can see what went into my wedding day hair/make-up.

My mother, mother-in-law and I got our hair and make-up done at the Stephen & Burns Aveda salon in Burlington, VT the morning of the wedding. We had a really nice time and I was thrilled with the final product. First I'll share the hair -- Britney did my hair and she was so patient and sweet.



My mom (left) and mother-in-law (middle) look over my MIL's inspiration photos she brought with her.


My mother being a goof










The clip in my hair was my grandmother's broach that I had turned into a hair pin


Me with my lovely hair stylist, Britney


My mother-in-law checking out my hair

Photo Credit: Daria Bishop Photography

Hair & Make-up, Part IV (final chapter)

As you all know by now (sorry this is a four part saga), planning my hair and make-up 300 miles away has been a difficult task. The good news is I've finally found my match! Mr. Onion is so sweet and just wanted me to be happy so he insisted we take our last free weekend before the wedding and drive back to Burlington for TWO more hair and make-up trials.

Round 1:
8:15 AM on Saturday morning I arrived at the Indigo Salon in Burlington, VT. My stylist, Tu, was very nice -- she looked at my inspiration photos and then spent an hour and a half working on my hair and make-up. We were a little rushed because she had another bride coming in for her wedding right after me.

Hair Option 1: Half up/half down



Hair Option 2: Loose curly up-do




Make-up:


(Indoors)



(Outdoors)

I came away liking the hair but not loving it. I did feel comfortable that if I did decide on Indigo that she could have done a better job on my wedding day. I liked the make-up as well but wasn't sure how it would hold up in pictures until I saw these quick digital shots. It didn't look fantastic (note the circles under my eyes still there).

Round 2:
After I went back to the hotel, washed my hair and took my make-up off, I headed back to town for my 2 PM appointment at the Stephen & Burns Aveda Salon. First I had my hair done by Britney, then my make-up was done by Veronica. They were both so patient and meticulous. Neither one had an appointment after me so they really took their time. When they finished I was confident I could have walked out of the salon that day and gotten married happily! I guess I should have known then. I did tell both salons I'd let them know on Monday if we were a go for the wedding.

Hair:





Make-up:



Note: The make-up photos in natural light were taken by Mr. Onion so my hair was taken down so he wouldn't have a hint of the wedding day hair.

And just one more because I figured I'd spent all that money on hair and make-up trials and I felt pretty fabulous...



The winner is: Britney and Veronica at the Aveda Salon! I feel SOOO much better and 100% confident that I'll look beautiful on my wedding day a mere 27 away!

Hair & Make-up, Part III

So you all know by now that my first hair/make-up trial in Burlington was a disappointment. A few days later I went to the MAC counter at Bloomingdale's to get another make-up application to see if I could get a better idea of what I wanted.

This was great, except I couldn't find someone in Burlington to hire and still had no idea about my hair. First I got in touch with another bride whose hair and make-up was beautiful (we share a photographer which is how I'd seen her pictures).

Here she is -- the beautiful knottie VTBride2Be




I reached out to her stylist, Talia at Signature Style in Manchester, NH -- the bride had highly recommended her. She was booked as was the owner of the salon, but she referred me to another stylist in New Hampshire -- she too was booked. That's when I decided it was time to look in Burlington again and not give up.

I called Indigo Salon in Burlington this afternoon based on some recommendations on the VT board on the knot. They said someone would call me back tomorrow. Then, because Mr. Onion urged me to, I tried the Stephen & Burns Aveda one more time (I'd called and called in May and their wedding coordinator never called me back).

I spoke with Dawn who was SO helpful and nice. She went ahead and booked me for the wedding and would have been able to book me for a trial two days before the wedding, but I decided that we'll just take ONE more trip to Burlington the second weekend in August (our last free weekend before the wedding - yikes). There is a 24 hour cancelation policy with no deposit needed so I'm in the clear.

When I calculate what we've spent on gas, hotels and trials my hair and make-up better be AWESOME on the wedding day! The Aveda's prices weren't insane either -- $65 for an updo and $50 for the make-up (day of the wedding) and for the trial - $50 hair and $25 make-up. The really shocking thing -- the pedicure is $75! Wow -- I better have the softest most relaxed feet in town. That's steep even by NYC standards.

So I will return equipped with photos and ideas (see below) and be relieved (I hope) with four weeks to go before the wedding, not two days (which really would have stressed me out to no end).






Last two photos from knottie meandoc -- photos by Zlatko Batistich. This is meandoc's bridesmaid who brought the same Katherine Heigl photos with her as inspiration -- I think it came out pretty well!

Second dress fitting...

I had my second dress fitting on Wednesday morning with Melissa at Mark Ingram's Bridal Atelier. We're almost there! She still has to shave down a little fabric under my right arm so my arm falls naturally over it and isn't uncomfortable. She's also going to shorten the lining which is causing the hem to flip out a little instead of stand straight and bow under a little like it should be. It's so nice not to have to worry about a bustle!



I wore my hair up in a bun to see what it would look like with the dress and veil as I'm thinking about an updo now as I was so unhappy with my half-up/half-down hair trial in Vermont.

Here is my new inspiration -- Kkatherine Heigl from the Emmys! She looks stunning and I love that it's inspired by the 40's but she doesn't look like she's playing dress up with pin curls and bright red lipstick. There is some interest to the wave in the front and the side bun looks so pretty.




And here is my hair with my veil just thrown up in a quick bun to see what it would look like from behind.




Thoughts on the new inspiration??

Hair & Make-up Trail

As I mentioned in a previous post, Mr. Onion and I went to Vermont this past weekend for our last trip before the weekend. On Saturday I had my hair and make-up trial with Sarah, the owner of Aras Salon in Burlington.

I brought a few magazine clippings of hair ideas and no pictures for make-up ideas (my fault) and as a result I don't adore the make-up. I don't know if that's because the only direction I gave her was "I don't wear make-up every day so I want it to look natural" or if she just didn't "make it happen." She is confident she can lighten up the upper lid (tone down the pink) for the wedding. Here's hoping!

So here is what we came up with:







I will have a clip in my hair and a veil for the ceremony. We'll take the veil off for the reception. What do you think? Is the hair to ethereal for my dress? This is one of the down sides of planning 300 miles away. I can't go back next weekend and try something else -- this was a one shot deal! Thoughts on how to make the make-up a little more refined/subtle?

Here is her contact info:
Aras Salon
188 Shelburne St
Burlington, VT 05401
(802) 651-6990