Planning your big day

If there is a wedding season there certainly is a "Wedding Planning Season" and right now we're in the thick of it.

I take a look at what mistakes to avoid making when considering an artist for your wedding hair & makeup.

SPOILER ALERT:- The biggest mistake you can make with bridal hair & makeup is probably the most important! xx

Getting the style right

A lot of my brides often ask me what the best way is to do their wedding hair & makeup or do their hair and quite honestly there is no one perfect way!

Every single one of our brides is not only beautiful and unique in their very own way, but they also have their own tastes, styles and love to indulge themselves very differently!

Your bridal hair & makeup should not only enhance that beauty but express that unique personality and style as well.

We try to take as holistic approach as possible to make sure that we meet not just the needs of your wedding hair & makeup are met, but every detail of organisation is well orchestrated to ensure that all you have to worry about as our bride is setting her alarm for the morning so you're ready for your artist to work their magic.

OMG!!

As the main point of contact for our brides, I get to hear some real horror stories about trials they may have had along the way to planning their wedding, one bride even told me that on her hair trial the artist didn't even put a look together - they just held the brides hair in place with her hands saying "Would you like it over here or over there?"...!

When challenged on actually styling the hair in the trial the artist excused themselves by saying that they never put a style together and just hold the hair in place as; "I would never be able to re-create that look on the actual day" - GASP!!

How will the artist and bride even know if they have the right type of hair to make that look work or if it even suits the bride if it isn't put into place!!??

Take it from me....

Some time before I joined Gemma's Pro Team as an artist, speaking from my own experience, when I got married to my husband Tom. Knowing her stellar, reputation I enquired with to Gemma but ultimately I opted to go for a cheaper artist to save a couple of hundred pounds.

Being quite organised I had my trial early on and everything went as planned and I was happy with the look, we confirmed the date and that box was well and truly ticked I remember thinking to myself.

Horror sets in...

The week before my wedding I reached out to my artist, and cue the heart palpitations, she turned around to me to say that she had double booked!! Panic set in. What was I going to do!!? I only had a couple of days left before Tom and I were getting married.

I was set to walk down the aisle at 230pm to meet Tom, so, naturally, I wanted my wedding hair & makeup to look radiant and as fresh as possible - my artist had other ideas. Because she had double booked herself she would be leaving at 11am and I would have to be fully ready by then, I'm sure there's an emoji somewhere for that!
Then what do I do - on the morning of my big day instead of having fun with my sister and bridesmaids, like I had planned - or do I sit like a statue in hope that my makeup and hair stays fresh before I embark three and a half hours later??? Well, my "artist" decided that one for me.

On reflection

It was a stress on not just my wedding day, but the whole week that I could have quite frankly done without - looking back now and without even going through it in my head I would have paid the extra every single time to have that value and assurance that things would go smoothly for my wedding hair & makeup.

From the very first moment working for Gemma if she ever catches wind of the time to leave about when to leave she'll hone in on you like she's taking aim and with gravitas says "IT IS THEIR WEDDING - SET THAT ALARM TO EARLY!!! - AND GET TOM TO SET HIS TOO, I MAKE OLLY!!!"

The Gemma Sutton way...

OK so what is the Gemma Sutton way to do things and how do we make every effort to make sure the process as smooth as possible?

We like to think of it as the "Right Way" to do things, though we do acknowledge that we're not completely infallible which is why we outline many of these steps x

Lets get to know each other...

We kick things off with me (and Fran who'll be back shortly after her maternity leave), I always like to get to know my brides a little bit where possible, what we have on offer isn't just a turn-up and go service, but an entire experience.
As we get to know each other we can go through what is important on your big day so we can get a clear picture how we can help make sure that looking and feeling that very best version of yourself on your special day just happens xx

We're both very close to Gemma and our Pro Team, we know their talents inside out and understand their personalities so getting to know a bit about you really helps us match the two of your together.

You might be someone who handed your fiance a big fat file stuffed with magazine cuttings, tonnes of inspiration from wedding hair & makeup, to dresses and favours, spreadsheets and lists galore and are all set with your exact requirements and you just want to confirm your date with us! On the other hand getting married is a great big thing, either way we're here to help & guide you through the process start to finish - need some inspo on styling your wedding hair & makeup we're here to help, got the dress and not sure on the complimentary look, we'll put forward a wedding hair & makeup style that will suit you and the dress, bottom line we really are here to help!

Be realistic

Barely does a swipe goes by on Instagram or Pinterest without seeing a either a Peruvian Princess flaunting their long luscious locks or a Brazilian Bombshell beauty brandishing the fullest most beautiful plaits that you have ever seen....

You know what I'm talking about, we've all seen them, the follically gifted goddesses that just pop up everywhere, well I hate to be the bearer of bad news for the 99.99% percent of us out there those hairstyles just aren't going to work but..... And there is always a but, we can get close, you may just need to reign in those expectations a little bit....

On your wedding hair trial we work with you on a style that you want, make suggestions along the way and tweak it to perfectly compliment your natural beauty xx

Don't be tardy or you might miss out...

Get that booking form and deposit back to us - we're popular and we book up quickly, although we do have a team, on those busy dates of the year and we do end up having the unfortunate task of delivering the bad news that we're already booked.

We try to make it as easy as possible, our online form has all of the basic details about your wedding so we can start reserving artists for you, two clicks later our deposit can be paid for online too x

Time for your trial

For the ultimate Gemma Sutton experience, we hold our wedding hair & makeup trials in our dedicated Studio. Not only is it the right environment, decked out with professional lighting Gemma has put a huge amount of energy and focus into making sure that all the right little touches are there, from bubbles to sofas to make sure everyone is comfortable to the essentials. 

When I say essentials we've got plenty of pins, hairspray, every shade of hair & makeup available on the shelf for the perfect match to Gemma's very own range of bridal accessories for that extra special finishing to your look.

Realistically having a trial at home just doesn't compare in terms of your artist having all the necessary resources to hand to make your look special.

Bridal hair and makeup trial tips:-

• Have your wedding dress fitting first. Your bridal boutique or your designer will have some input about the best hairstyle to compliment your wedding dress.
• If you're not coming from work or somewhere try to keep your skin clear of makeup and not too heavily moisturised - we'll give you a cleanse and a moisturising massage before any makeup goes on x
• Don't have a facial on the morning of your trial or for a few days before.
• Your skin can change throughout the day - have a morning trial if you have an early wedding or an afternoon one if you're having an evening wedding.
• Wear a white top - we can decide the right makeup shades and colours to work with your complexion. 
• Wash and dry your hair as you normally would either the night before or the morning of your trial so you can come to us without any products in your hair, we need to see it's natural state so there are no surprises on the big day!

Avoid this biggest mistake!

Nobody is perfect - we admit that we're far from it.. All the consulting and all the good planning we do together on the run up to your trial and you might hate the look we've crafted for you. We don't get it right 100% of the time, but we also like to take pride in the fact that we are professional. If we don't get it right we aim to put it right, the best time to do it is there and then on the trial. xx

Brown eyeshadow not working for you - HOLLA! - we'll try again there and then.

That super intricate up do we've just done looks lovely but just doesn't feel right for you - HOLLA! - we'll try some long flowing locks.

We're all big girls, feedback we can handle and even criticism - working for Gemma we've all been given that chat where something we did just wasn't right and she has been set on us raising our game! We will all show you the very same respect we showed her and up our game to get it right for you there and then.

Please please please don't wait until after your trial to let us know - it makes us feel deflated that we haven't had the chance to put things in order and meet your expectations xx During the trial we can do that - afterwards we're going to find it harder, we want to make the most of our time together and we want you to walk away feeling like you have done the same xx

Approaching the big day xx

I'm sure you've scoured the latest hair care and skincare regimes to make sure you are absolutely glowing, whilst I'm not going to go into too much detail on this (you can find out more on Fran's super awesome blog pieces here - https://gemmasutton.com/gs-top-tips-on-beautiful-skin-before-your-big-day/ and here - https://gemmasutton.com/beautiful-wedding-skin/)

I'm going to lay out some golden rules to follow at all costs.....

Skincare

If you do break out a pimple or two just before your big day or the one itself, NUMBER ONE - DON'T PANIC & DON'T SQUEEZE, resist and NUMBER 2 reach for your phone, call me, Fran or your artist and we'll hatch the best plan to work through things for you xx

Your skin can be quite fickle, if you are going to change your regime on the run up to your wedding do so with plenty of time beforehand. Don't wait until you're inside of a month.

Top priority here is at the very least 6 weeks before your wedding date make sure you remove all makeup at night, wash, cleanse and moisturise before bed xx

Haircare

As for hair it takes a year to grow six inches - just avoid dying or bleaching it heavily or a risky treatment out of the ordinary, keep it clean, healthy and conditioned, don't go crazy with blow drying or hair straightening on a high heat x

Wedding Hair & Makeup quick simple tips on your day x

Here it is, months, sometimes years, of anticipation, planning, panic, tears, smiles and ultimately lots of love along the way....

It starts with a KISS! Keep It Simple for Stunning!!

Wake up and wash your hair and face as you normally would - don't try anything new or untested! 

Booking a blow dry with us will really help us achieve your wedding hair and makeup look xx

What now?

In the words of Patsy, "Be fabulous Darling!!" Own that look - we've all worked hard together to get here!! xx

You're married - the adventure is just about to start! But please don't forget about us! Sharing your photos of your wedding hair & makeup with us really helps us showcase our work to other brides - we would love to have your feedback too!

Lots of Love Michelle xx