Kate's Big Day… Words by Miss Lavender Jade @ GS Pro Team

When Kate booked me to get her ready for her big day, I was extremely honoured and excited as she is Gemma Sutton's sister, and of course that meant a little extra pressure. Normally I would get a chance to run through things with the bride at the trial, but as this booking was for Kate's registry office ceremony in Guildford, she wanted to keep things pretty relaxed and therefore she didn't request a trial. She would be having a bigger wedding ceremony in sunny Spain only a week after the registry office, so we discussed in as much detail as possible, how she wanted her overall look to feel, and what style of makeup she felt most comfortable in. I encouraged Kate to send me piccies in advance of looks she had loved from Pinterest, and as I had not met her before, I took liberty in browsing through her Facebook pics to see how she does her own makeup for special occasions. On the big day, it was really important that we had a through consultation in person, not just to get the look perfect first time, but to find out if Kate had any skin sensitivities or 'pet hates'. For example, some brides really dislike shine on their skin, whereas others find it flattering. Some brides never want to wear lipstick as gloss is all they are comfortable with. It is important to check if the bride would like to wear false lashes and if so, has she worn them before, does she react to the glue?  Being a contact lens wearer myself, I alway check this too, and makeup can sometimes affect my lenses. Every aspect is important to understand what the brides perspective is on how comfortable she feels in your makeup. Together we determined that Kate would be wearing quite natural tones, suitable for a day time event, but also looked polished with emphasis on her eyes. The most important points were that she wanted flawless skin, with a matt finish and gloss on the lips, and no lipstick if possible. She said she would not feel herself without a strong black top liner.

To create her look, I prepped her skin with a mattifying moisturiser by Nuxe, and Laura Mercier oil controlling primer. I chose a By Terry Densiliss foundation as it has a lovely matt finish with light reflecting technology that keeps skin looking super smooth. We required 2 coats of the foundation to get the coverage that Kate wanted. I set this with a light dusting of YoungBlood rice mineral setting powder which is a brand I have started loving recently for its rich pigments and mineral content, plus it is vegan/animal friendly! I used my favourite Hourglass ambient lighting palette for sculpting cheekbones and eyes contours, using the pretty light pink shimmer on the middle of the eyelids and adding extra definition to the eye crease with a smokey taupe brown HD brows palette. To define the under eye I chose Nars long lasting eyeliner in Via Appia, a brown with a rich bronze hue as we decided to go for something a little different and with more bounce than the black eyeliner that Kate would usually wear. I lined the top lids with Laura Mercier Noir creme gel liner, which glides on beautifully with the matching smokey eye defined brush. Initially I lined Kate's lips with a flesh tone liner, and used a glossy natural Bobbi Brown lipstick but Kate wasn't sure it felt like her, so we switched it over to a sheer hydra-radiance lipstick from  By Terry - Innocent kiss, a lovely soft peachy shimmer. To bring a pop colour to her cheeks, I match the peachy lip tone with the HD brows blusher in Punch. As most brides want their lashes to look luscious on their special day, I used a set of individual lashes on the outer wings of Kate's eyes to make them stand out even more. We went with Fine Lines lashes, and black duo glue which I love for individual lashes as it defines the lash line even more!

Each step of the way, Kate's mum was watching with fascination as the makeup layers developed, becoming more intrigued with each step, asking how everything worked and what tools I was using. It was really lovely seeing her getting so excited watching her daughter transform into a bride.

The same steps were carried out for Kate's hair. I had seen plenty of pictures of Kate with mid length blonde hair and she sent me lots of pics of hairstyles that were all blonde girls, with tousled side up dos, so of course I was slightly surprised when she opened the door and had short brown hair, thank goodness for hair extensions! We sat down and discussed the way her hair could look with the extensions added in and how it may vary from the piccies she saved. I wanted to ensure that she felt comfortable with her hair from the front, side and back, so we chatted through elements that were important to her. The main points for Kate's hair was she wanted to keep her registry office ceremony look different to her wedding in Spain, which she had recently had a trial for with her sister Gemma. She wanted her hair to look 'done but undone', worn up in a textured side do for the registry office. To create the hairstyle I started by prepping the hair with Percy and Reed mouse to give the hair more root lift and texture as Kate's hair was very soft and silky. I used Dreamgirl hair extensions to add thickness and length by attaching in the extensions below the occiput, then curling the whole head of hair with L'oreal Pli curling spray and Diva curling tongs. The spray is great for giving hair a long lasting bounce without the crunch! I was able to start twisting a side pony into a loose bun and add sections in to create texture, checking with Kate as I worked to make sure she was feeling fab! Kate was such a lovely character, extremely happy to sit back, relax and letting me know she was extremely happy with what she was seeing so far! To finish the hair and maintain a softer feel, we left some hair out around her face, similar to the styles in the photos she had previously saved. We embellished the style to make it stand out more, with pretty silver hair pins from her sister Gemma.

The moment a bride sees her final look in the mirror for the first time, is always a mixture of excitement and nerves. Getting the thumbs up from Kate and a big smile, I started to pack up my kit and watched as she ran off with excitement to put on her gorgeous little A-Line cream lace dress, and matching heels. She looked so pretty and sophisticated, excited and ready to become Mrs Stott! It was such a pleasure being a part of her morning, I couldn't have asked for a more lovely bride, and the time just flew by! It was such a pleasant surprise to receive a thank you card through the door just days later, especially when she had such big plans only days away!

Wedding Date: July 1st 2016