Weddings in the Wineries - Hunter Valley Wedding Expo

Wrapped up my second wedding expo.

With so many other expos on the same day, and a soggy cloudy sky outside, I can tell you now I appreciated my booth being inside! and directly under the heater ;)  my gold sequin backdrop finally arrived so I finally got see my booth complete as I had imagined, which was a huge stress reliever!

Doubling up my model, Natasha's duties on the day, I had Bec from Azure Mysterious come and shoot her in the nearby gardens for some cute mini styled shots during the expos quiet times. knowing the area had a rustic feel I decided to dress Natasha in golden Boho jewelry  with a tassled braided high bun with a head piece from Frankly My Dear and a vintage off the shoulder gown I'd won on ebay.  The look went over a hit, having several people come up to either myself or Natasha commenting on how lovely she looked, which is always reaffirming and full of good feels.

Also booked a bride on the spot, who I have previously spoken to on facebook for she 2016 wedding which is exciting! 

all in all it was a smaller ,quieter expo. but hopefully I'll be hearing from some of the brides I met on the day soon to book in their big days! 

Wedding Expo - Central Coast March 8th Wrap up

So I wrapped up my first ever wedding expo, and goodness what a big day. I had prepared 50 care packages or " give away bags" for potential brides thinking that I'd have a bunch left over, but that wasn't the  case at all! having them all gone within the first few hours felt fantastic.

Luckily for me, I was the only Hair/Makeup/Beauty catagory vendor there so I had so many girls stop by to chat about their weddings. which was great. So many people stopped even just to comment on how lovely my model Kirstie looked. which was lovely to hear as well.

We were going to do a mini photoshoot on the day, but the sun is awful at 10am in the morning so the shots were over exposed and not flattering unfortunately.

My gold sequin backdrop did not arrive in time ( BOO!) but luckily the gorgeous girls at EVENTHAUS in Newcastle were able to rent me one in similar colours so that was one less thing to worry about. 

I made sure I had magazines that have featured my work on display as well rather then a boring photo album or frames. That was I could talk about real past brides and photos shoots I'd done, which made the whole experience less scary as I had these gorgeous books to pack up my business.

As a whole I feel lucky that my first expo has been such a great experience and I've already received such a big response from bride I met on the day.

Wedding Expo Preparation - Central Coast March 8th

This year I've decided to throw myself in the deep and an start participating in wedding expos! this is something I've been terribly nervous about but, I'm now getting excited with the prospect of meeting new wedding businesses and future brides!

for the last month or so I've been collecting up bits and pieces for my booth and I must say it's starting to really come together. I have my sparkly new backdrop, beautiful new business cards care of where things happen printing studio, flyers, goodie bags, a pre loved desk, and some  nick nacky decorations as well! The main colours of my booth with be black, white and gold + a pop of colour depending what colour flowers I buy!, I decided to keep things minimal and classic, but still youthful and fun.

 Wanting to keep with trends to create a warm and welcoming booth I'm aiming to create a slightly rustic vintage influenced booth with an edge of glam! A friend of mine is helping DYI a vintage inspired chalkboard in colours to match by business cards and that will hopefully be finished in a few days. ( I saw a sneak peek today and I'm very excited!). My boyfriend and I spent the afternoon giving my new desk I bought on gumtree, a lick of paint just to freshen it up and it looks lovely now. I've also booked a model to come and hand out goodie bags and be a live demo of my makeup artistry ( rather then doing demos on expo visitors on the day and not have time to talk to any potential brides!) so that the focus is on visitors.

I'm looking forward to the networking opportunities and putting my best face forward! should be a fantastic day!

I now have Paypal Here!

I finally bought myself a little mobile card reader! meaning I can now take bookings at expos and events, AND you'll now be able to pay via card in person for your trial or on the big day for any last minute bookings so you no longer need to dash out and get cash.

I'm super excited to be able to offer more payment options for you guys! 

How to prepare for your Bridal makeup trial or preview

I thought I'd better compile a short list of things that will help you prepare for your first meeting with your bridal makeup artist, so here it is.

While I try and avoid the word " trial" as best I can as it often has an almost negative connotation to it like a trial period for a job. Where as a "preview" tells you exactly what it is, a preview of what you'll be having on your big day! Either way here's how to make sure you get the most out of your first meeting with your MUA;

• Reference images / inspiration 
  as your preparing and planning your wedding take into account what sort of makeup you like and collect images of styles similar to what you'd like to achieve. that way your artist can advise you as to what will work best for your features and use of makeup ( looking good in real life / in photography), this will ensure you and your makeup artist are on the same page when it comes to what you want everyone has a different perception to what a smokey eye is or what natural makeup looks like this step will allow you to avoid being dissapointed. some great places to find your style of makeup include;
  • interest
  • google images
  • tumblr
  • wedding blogs
  • celebrities who's style you admire
• Time allowance
  personally I like to book 2 hours for my initial meeting with potential bridal clients, this gives me to opportunity to sit down, discuss what we will be doing, and getting to know each, so you feel comfortable and safe on the big day. with this time I'm also able to have clients sign their contract so when they're ready to book the paper work is already completed. Budgeting enough time also means your trial / preview is not rushed and won't leave you feeling unfinished.
•  Makeup free face
  when your makeup artist arrives, have a clean, fresh makeup free face, with preferably hair tied back off the face. allowing us to see our canvas and get straight to work
• Natural light
   choose somewhere in the house that has ample natural light, this will ensure your artist can do the best job possible when it comes to colour matching and blending.
• Hairstylist
  booking your hair and makeup artist previews on the same day means you'll know how you're going to look on your big day. That security of mind will allow you to rest easy knowing what you're completed look will be.
• Tan
  if you're considering having a spray tan on the big day now is the time to try it out, that way your makeup artist can match your foundation to your tan colour, rather then your natural shade. making it easier on the big day.
• Get the most out of your makeup
  I mean why not? you're going to be all done up, may as well go out and enjoy it. I love it when my clients get the actually wear their makeup out, be it for their hens night, a pre wedding photo shoot, dinner with husband to be anything! that way you're able to give feedback and decide if there are any changes you'd like on the big day.