Our Wedding – makeup, the halo braid & my special perfume

Wedding photography by Katherine Ashdown

Once my dress was decided upon my thoughts turned to the next most important thing in any bride’s wedding checklist – the hair, the makeup and those other crucial aspects in the beautifying regime. I have to be honest here and say that I was far too laid back about my hair and makeup and due to the sheer amount of preparation work we were doing for our big day in the final couple of weeks, the beauty side of things which should have been such a big part of my planning, were seriously put on the back burner.

Regarding my makeup I knew that I wanted a very soft, natural look – I wanted Rob to recognise me as the girl he sees and loves everyday so there was no point heavily lining my eyes, slicking on a red lipstick or trialling out a smoky eyeshadow. I wanted to look like me and I certainly knew I had accumulated enough products throughout my years of beauty blogging to know that I didn’t need to buy any last minute purchases, bar Illamasqua’s skin base foundation which is amazing. I wanted to do my makeup myself on the day (the control freak within me would not have felt comfortable having anyone else doing it) and I personally find the whole process quite calming. My main concerns for my makeup on my day was the fact that it was a hot, hot day so it needed to last, photograph nicely and fit with my dress and hair. I wanted to focus on peachy-gold tones with highlighted, radiant skin and peachy-pink lips. So here are the products I used…

Face – Benefit POREfessional primer, Illamasqua skin base foundation, NARS creamy radiant concealer, YSL Touche Eclat, MAC mineralise skin finish natural powder, Benefit Hoola bronzer, Benefit gimme brow gel, MAC Soft & Gentle highlighter, Benefit Coralista blush, MAC Well Dressed blush, Bobbi Brown Pink Quartz Shimmer Brick

Eyes – MAC Soft Ochre Paint Pot to prime, Urban Decay Naked 3 palette, Clarins taupe crayon kohl, YSL Babydoll mascara, Rimmel Scandaleyes nude eye liner

Lips – Maybelline baby lips to prep, MAC Fleur d’coral (also used MAC Creme Cup throughout the day) Bobbi Brown Bare Sparkle lip gloss

I was going to wear MAC’s false lashes as I was so scared of crying all my mascara off and looking like a panda for the rest of the day but I was having a bit of a mare on the morning with trying to put them on so opted for waterproof mascara and hoped for the best. As it happened I didn’t shed one tear all day despite being the girl that sobs at Don’t Tell the Bride every week! I think I was just so happy all day my emotions were overcome with beaming smiles rather than happy tears.

For my hair I had toyed with many ideas in the run up to my wedding. I thought I was going to be the boho bride in a floral crown from the very start but once I had picked my dress and thought more about it, I realised that it wasn’t really the look I wanted for our day. I knew I had to have my hair up a) because I wanted to accentuate the low back of my dress and b) my hair can suffer quite a lot from any sign of rain or humidity (hello Monica in Barbados) so with thunderstorms and humidity predicted on our wedding day, I didn’t want to risk a frizzy disaster. In actual fact we had bright sunshine and clear skies all day which was the most wonderful blessing but I still was so thankful to have all my hair off my face. I enlisted my friend and freelance wedding hair specialist Emily to do my and the bridesmaids’ hair on the morning and she was a superstar. After softly waving the bridesmaids’ hair and pinning it to the side she neatly plaited my hair into a halo braid, pulling a few strands loose around my face to soften the look. I always love the fun, relaxed look of braids and plaits and knew that style would fit in perfectly with our wedding theme. I really just need to learn to do this style on myself now!

For my wedding perfume I was treated to a special wedding consultation with Jo Malone at their boutique store on Sloane Street where I was taken through their scents and given the chance to experience how you can develop a bespoke fragrance by layering two or more of your favourites together. I fell in love with the sparkling floral scent of Orange Blossom layered with the prettiness of Peony & Blush Suede. It was lovely to have a unique scent to wear on my day and one that will always provoke the happy memories from our wedding every time I spritz it. As a sweet gesture I also gifted my bridesmaids with the Jo Malone Orange Blossom cologne so they too could have a scent to remember the occasion by and it also meant they could mirror my perfume throughout the day. It will forever be my wedding scent now and it makes me so happy every time I go to use Orange Blossom or Peony & Blush Suede and automatically transports me back to the morning of our wedding.

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