Our stylists are frequently asked how to create the perfect wedding day eyes. These simple tips will insure that your eyes are bright and beautiful whether you choose a classic, romantic or dramatic look.
Erase Dark Circles
Did you stay up late dishing with your bride tribe? Dark circles are an easy fix with the right concealer. First, apply foundation and then gently pat your concealer in the corner of your eyes working outward. Gently press concealer onto your skin – never rub. To add staying power, top with a translucent powder.
The Brows Have It
Consider having your brows shaped the week prior to the wedding by a professional that uses tweezers. Waxing and threading don’t remove individual hairs and you want to make sure that your shape is clean and near perfect. To enhance your brows, select a powder with the same undertone as your hair color but be sure it looks natural in the daylight. Outline the natural shape of your brows with an angled brush designed for this application then lightly fill in with powder and pencil if needed. We love Urban Decay’s brow box.
Expert Eye Shadow
Create the perfect canvas for your shadow by applying primer to your eyes. This will keep your eyeshadow from creasing and extend the wear time. When applying color, opt for soft, subtle, neutral shades to enhance your eyes. A creme base, layered with matte powder, will extend the life of your shadow from your first look all the way through your last dance.
Liquid or Pencil Liner
Liquid liner can look heavy, especially in photos so our experts recommend a pencil liner in charcoal, navy or mahogany to enhance your eyes. While black is a popular go-to, you may find it is too severe. Consider amplifying your liner by applying a bit of shadow over the top (be sure to use a slightly damp brush to apply).
Bat Your Lashes
False lashes are popular additions to your wedding day beauty regimen but if you are a big crier you may want to rethink them. Shedding tears of joy will cause your lashes to lift. You can create a dramatic effect with your own lashes. Start by curling the lashes, starting at the lid to create lift. Follow this with a volumizing mascara (note, you can swipe a small amount of baby powder across your lashes to help the mascara grab thus creating more volume) but be sure it is waterproof! Now you are ready to face your groom and the camera.
We had the great privilege of being a part of a styled shoot at the CopperWynd Resort thanks to Arizona Weddings. It is such a wonderful thing to work with such talented and kind individuals in the wedding industry. StepOnMe Photography captured all of these gorgeous shots with a stunning backdrop of the McDowell Mountains and with details of desert plants, gold and a lace gown to die for; needless to say it is a styled shoot bursting with inspiration for a desert wedding.
One of my favorite recent beauty trends is the thick dark brows. I’ve always had more of thicker brow than other ladies (and when I was younger it was not on purpose) until I had that small stint of almost non-existent brows in college; which is a time that I am still trying to forget. But now I have fully embraced the dark thick brow and I love it; especially when there is a sharp arch and perfectly lined with the nose and eye. For the longest time I would just fill them in with out much thought but now, after learning this simple trick my brow game is strong; and your’s can be too!
First things first there are many different products that you can use to fill in your brows. There are powders, pencils, gel pots and pens. I prefer the gel pots because I feel like I have more control over the sharpness and line than other products. Try out a few different ones until you find the one you like. Secondly, if you want more of a softer look go a shade lighter than your natural brow color. I personally go a shader darker than my natural brow color (I like the boldness of it). The next four steps are all about examining your brows on their natural point as well as determining the thickness you want them at. I have included a handy instruction list complete with diagrams to help guide you. I refer to this quite a bit when I am filling in my brows. It can be quite helpful!
Lastly, regular maintance of the brows is key to help keep their shape. Whether you prefer to trim and pluck or wax or all three, keeping up on the maintance will make it easier to fill in since your brows will already be shaped so all you need to do it fill in. For more tips and tricks of the trade ask your esthetician or a brow expert. They are full of great knowledge and helpful ways to always make sure your brows look on point!
So now that you have the back story to the amazing photoshoot Babydoll Weddings did with Strut Bridal at Chateau Luxe I can now dive even deeper into the process, the looks and the creativity that we all put into this shoot. Since I feel that every look deserves their own this post will be all about one look and one stylist. And I don’t think everyone wants to read a 15 page post which is what would happen if all four looks were in one post.
We will start with the Classic look which was given to Micky. Of course as you all know before the shoot I created inspiration boards for the stylists to use to gain some idea what I wanted the outcome to be. Thanks to Pinterest and past brides I gathered pictures of what I felt looked like the classic bride. Of course when this was handed to Micky I made sure to tell her this is inspiration but please do what you feel will make your model, Megan, look like a classic bride.
With the help of Ashley from Strut Bridal we were able to pair the dresses to the looks prior to the shoot. Megan was wearing a stunning gown! A fitted champagne/ivory mermaid style gown with a ruffle bottom and lace details. It was so amazing and fit her perfectly! I have to say the ladies at Strut Bridal rock at fitting girls and dresses!
And then comes Micky with all of her talents and experience and turned Megan into exactly what I expected a classic bride to look like! She used a dark red lipstick which made the ivory color of the dress pop! And then Micky pulled her hair back in a gorgeous bun and completed the look with the two details that screams classic bride to me; the veil and the pearls. Absolutely in love! I am not talented in hair and makeup so being able to see an image you have created in your imagination come to life and be everything you wanted it to be a more; it’s a great feeling!
I’m sure I mentioned how excited I was to be able to book this shoot at Chateau Luxe and if not, I was very excited to be able to have this shoot there. With the glamorous chandelier when you first walk in, the beautiful and unique rooms and all of that wonderful furniture and decor that fills the halls; it seemed like the perfect fit for this shoot! It was such a success and I’m so excited to continue sharing photos and experiences from the other stylists and models from this shoot!
Our featured Real Bride for April is Julie who was married last March. She had such a fun wedding with some elements of Irish tradition and adorable ring bears!
What is your name and when was your wedding date?
My name is Julie Kotzbach and we were married on March 14, 2015
How did you and your groom meet?
Mike and I used to work together at a restaurant. He was a bartender and I waited tables. One days, after about 5 years of sort of knowing each other, he invited me to go hang out with him after work with some of his friends. I did. We hung out again a couple days later, and then started spending every day together. We got married just after 8 ½ years of dating.
We are dying to know, how did he propose?!
Mike proposed on Christmas Eve at my dad’s house. It was my dad’s birthday and we do Christmas with that side of my family the same day. Everyone was there. My dad and step-mom totally knew, and I had no idea. My dad called me into the living room (everyone was sitting around the room since we just opened presents), Mike snuck up behind me, my dad spun me around, and BAM! Mike was on one knee.
After he proposed lots of things that he’d said and had happened earlier in the day made total sense. He’s a sneaky little devil. I called my mom to tell her right away, but she already knew. Mike had gone to see my dad the week before to ask permission, and had gone to see my mom to tell her since she wouldn’t be there when it happened. He’s thoughtful like that.
What were your wedding colors? Did you have an overall theme for your wedding day celebration?
Our colors were grey and green. There wasn’t a theme per say. We found colors we liked, loved the space, and just kind of went with how I felt about everything. I guess maybe our paper gardenias became the theme since they took over our lives for a few months. Haha.
How large was our wedding party?
We had 4 bridesmaids, 2 groomsmen, 1 groomsmaid, 2 flower girls, and 2 ring bearers.
Where did you find yourdress? Would you say that finding your dress was a relatively easy or a difficult process?
I got my dress at David’s Bridal in Ahwatukee, it was the first and only store we went to. The consultant I had was great. I showed her all the David’s dresses I liked, but I should have shown her all my pictures. I tried on 4 dresses. The 3rd was a tea dress and I went in with the mindset that a tea dress was what I wanted. However, I wanted to like a long dress to compare. I put the dress and didn’t want to take it off. Surprising I went to my would-be dress pictures later, and the one I ended up getting was really similar to another once I had been looking at. Go figure.
Where did your ceremony and reception take place? Was there any special meaning behind the choice of venue(s)? We had our ceremony and reception at Chapel at the Farm in Gilbert. I had been looking for a venue and was starting to feel like I had to have a certain type of wedding. It sucked. I found Chapel and went over to the site. Then I realized I’d been there many times before. My mom and I have breakfast often at the little restaurant in front of the area. The moment I walked under the pavilion I immediately relaxed. This was the place. It was pretty, open, there was a big grass area for the kids, and we could make the space whatever we wanted.
What kind of flowers did you have in your bouquet and the ceremony/ reception?
Oh the flowers. My amazing friends came over to our house for 2 months before the wedding and helped me assemble 300 paper gardenias for the entire wedding. They were amazing when they were finished!
What was the flavor of your wedding cake? Did you have a groom’s cake?
We ended up not having a groom’s cake, even though I tried to talk Mike into getting a 1995 Chevy cake. Our cake had 3 tiers and we did a different flavor for each tier. The bottom was almond cake with almond buttercream. (I’m normally not into almond all the much, but the cake was amazing. We tried it at our tasting and I was surprised at how yummy it was!) The middle tier was chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting, and the top tier was vanilla cake with salted caramel filling. We had buttercream for the outer layer with a simple white on white design. The whole thing was totally delicious! We may have had cake for breakfast the next day.
Did you provide favors to your guests? If so, what were they?
Since we got married on Pi Day, I decided to have a little fun with it. I made mini recipe cards of some family pie recipes and other recipes pie recipes I loved, and turned then them into a mini cookbook with a binder ring.
What details from your wedding that made it unique to you?
The flowers were A LOT of work but they meant a lot to me, and spending that extra time with my friends was fun. I made 2 flavors of popcorn, packed in Chinese take-out boxes, the night before the wedding for cocktail hour. I love making popcorn. A blogger friend made custom peg dolls for our cake toppers, complete with flat top for make. One of my favorite things was leaving the wedding in Mike’s 1955 Chevy. He’d worked for a month to get her back in action so we could drive her home from the wedding. The other big thing was, the lead piper from our bagpipe band played me down the aisle. Mike chose the song. His sister walked down the aisle to it, when his dad passed they played it, and now he was welcoming me to the family with the same song. It was a big deal to me.
Other than marrying your husband, what was your favorite moment from your wedding day? There are two moments. The first was the Best Man’s speech. Kyle was so funny and sweet, and he had the whole thing memorized. Apparently there’s a 12 minute version of the speech I’m dying to hear. The second was at the after party. One of our bagpiper friends dedicated a song to me before the boys started playing their set. He never plays this song in public, it’s only for very close friends and family special occasions. It was a great song, and I was so flattered he thought to gift me that way.
Did you take a honeymoon? If so, where did you go?
We are hoping to honeymoon in Vegas for our anniversary.
What is one piece of wisdom you learned from your planning experience that you would like to share with future brides?Drama will happen, you can’t control it, don’t let it suck you in. We had a lot of back and forth with the guest list. Due to venue and budget limitations we were inviting family only. We managed to sneak in a few longtime friends after getting some no RSVPs back. There were people that got upset that their invitation came before another family member’s and vice versa. If anyone (moms, dads, etc.) start pushing you about RSVPs, put them on the job. If they want to know so badly, they can find out and report back to you. It added a lot of stress I didn’t need, so I made it someone else’s problem. Put them on the wedding team and make ‘em work!
Who were some of the other vendors that were a part of your dream team?
Hair and Makeup – Babydoll Weddings
I cannot say enough great stuff about Sabrina (and her staff)!! She’s amazing! My bridal trial was great. I had no idea how to explain what I wanted. I showed Sabrina some pics and she took it from there. She talked me into my first salon hair coloring ever and killed it! My hair and makeup day of was perfect. My curls lasted all day, which is unheard of, and I felt beautiful.
Dress – David’s Bridal Bride’s rings
Gemvara (online) – Groom’s ring
The Irish Jeweler (online) – Finding the right claddaghs (rings) was hard, but a little searching left Mike and I both happy. I had to custom order his ring from Dublin and the jeweler was awesome!
Cake – Piece of Cake Desserts
Rentals & Catering – Heidi’s Events & Catering (Jillian was so great to work with)
DJ – Cerrick Entertainment (Crissy kicks ass!!)
Photo Booth – AZ Photo Box (had a thumb drive of all the pics, photo strips and individual pics, to take home with us that night!)
Thank you so much Julie and Mike for sharing your special day with us! It was a honor to be included!
When most fill in their eyebrows or when they apply lipstick they seem to only focus on what is inside and not so much the outside area. One of our stylist Anna has a fantastic tip to help highlight the lips and brows. She goes back and uses a little concealer or highlighting power with a flat round brush and goes under the brows to highlight their color and shape. She also takes a Q-Tip and cleans up the lips all to make sure they have that on point look!
Consider having your brows shaped the week prior to the wedding by a professional that uses tweezers. Waxing and threading don’t remove individual hairs and you want to make sure that your shape is clean and near perfect. To enhance your brows, select a powder with the same undertone as your hair color but be sure it looks natural in the daylight. Outline the natural shape of your brows with an angled brush designed for this application then lightly fill in with powder and pencil if needed. We love Urban Decay’s brow box.
Liquid liner can look heavy, especially in photos so our experts recommend a pencil liner in charcoal, navy or mahogany to enhance your eyes. While black is a popular go-to, you may find it is too severe. Consider amplifying your liner by applying a bit of shadow over the top (be sure to use a slightly damp brush to apply).
False lashes are popular additions to your wedding day beauty regimen but if you are a big crier you may want to rethink them. Shedding tears of joy will cause your lashes to lift. You can create a dramatic effect with your own lashes. Start by curling the lashes, starting at the lid to create lift. Follow this with a volumizing mascara (note, you can swipe a small amount of baby powder across your lashes to help the mascara grab thus creating more volume) but be sure it is waterproof! Now you are ready to face your groom and the camera.
ow than other ladies (and when I was younger it was not on purpose) until I had that small stint of almost non-existent brows in college; which is a time that I am still trying to forget. But now I have fully embraced the dark thick brow and I love it; especially when there is a sharp arch and perfectly lined with the nose and eye. For the longest time I would just fill them in with out much thought but now, after learning this simple trick my brow game is strong; and your’s can be too!
ave more control over the sharpness and line than other products. Try out a few different ones until you find the one you like. Secondly, if you want more of a softer look go a shade lighter than your natural brow color. I personally go a shader darker than my natural brow color (I like the boldness of it). The next four steps are all about examining your brows on their natural point as well as determining the thickness you want them at. I have included a handy instruction list complete with diagrams to help guide you. I refer to this quite a bit when I am filling in my brows. It can be quite helpful!
hether you prefer to trim and pluck or wax or all three, keeping up on the maintance will make it easier to fill in since your brows will already be shaped so all you need to do it fill in. For more tips and tricks of the trade ask your esthetician or a brow expert. They are full of great knowledge and helpful ways to always make sure your brows look on point!
So now that you have the back story to the amazing photoshoot Babydoll Weddings did with Strut Bridal at Chateau Luxe I can now dive even deeper into the process, the looks and the creativity that we all put into this shoot. Since I feel that every look deserves their own this post will be all about one look and one stylist. And I don’t think everyone wants to read a 15 page post which is what would happen if all four looks were in one post.
We will start with the Classic look which was given to Micky. Of course as you all know before the shoot I created inspiration boards for the stylists to use to gain some idea what I wanted the outcome to be. Thanks to Pinterest and past brides I gathered pictures of what I felt looked like the classic bride. Of course when this was handed to Micky I made sure to tell her this is inspiration but please do what you feel will make your model, Megan, look like a classic bride.
excited to be able to have this shoot there. With the glamorous chandelier when you first walk in, the beautiful and unique rooms and all of that wonderful furniture and decor that fills the halls; it seemed like the perfect fit for this shoot! It was such a success and I’m so excited to continue sharing photos and experiences from the other stylists and models from this shoot!
How did you and your groom meet?
ias became the theme since they took over our lives for a few months. Haha.
op for make. One of my favorite things was leaving the wedding in Mike’s 1955 Chevy. He’d worked for a month to get her back in action so we could drive her home from the wedding. The other big thing was, the lead piper from our bagpipe band played me down the aisle. Mike chose the song. His sister walked down the aisle to it, when his dad passed they played it, and now he was welcoming me to the family with the same song. It was a big deal to me.
There are two moments. The first was the Best Man’s speech. Kyle was so funny and sweet, and he had the whole thing memorized. Apparently there’s a 12 minute version of the speech I’m dying to hear. The second was at the after party. One of our bagpiper friends dedicated a song to me before the boys started playing their set. He never plays this song in public, it’s only for very close friends and family special occasions. It was a great song, and I was so flattered he thought to gift me that way.
I cannot say enough great stuff about Sabrina (and her staff)!! She’s amazing! My bridal trial was great. I had no idea how to explain what I wanted. I showed Sabrina some pics and she took it from there. She talked me into my first salon hair coloring ever and killed it! My hair and makeup day of was perfect. My curls lasted all day, which is unheard of, and I felt beautiful.
