Want to Know the 5 Key Steps to Plan the Best, Stress-Free, and FUN Wedding?

Your wedding day. No doubt you’ve thought about this day from the time you were young. Perhaps you never thought you’d go down this road but by fate or happenstance, Mr. or Mrs. Right found you and suddenly your world and your future was transformed. I can count on one hand the days or moments that literally change our lives. Weddings, graduations, the birth of child, death. We’re not going to focus on the latter here but Weddings, now that is our wheelhouse.

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Tyler and Melissa. Photo by Eric Barry. Makeup by Alexandra, Hair by Gina.

We are a young company… but we’re not new. Between the 8 (and soon to be 9 ) of us, we have a combined 40 years in the industry. We’ve done HUNDREDS of weddings and we’ve learned SO much over that time. There are so many details that go into the planning of a wedding. We know it takes months of work, thousands of dollars, and it can be VERY stressful. Through all of the weddings we have worked on, been in, and experienced… we’ve learned 5 important lessons that hold true to make your wedding enjoyable, relaxed, and run smoothly. They are:

1. The Little Details Matter…But at the same time they don’t.

   • Yes, there are a million and one details that go into a wedding and that’s why it’s important to hire experienced, competent, proficient, and detail-oriented vendors who will worry about ALL of those details. They shouldn’t be your concern.

     • At the end of the day, it is important to remember that your wedding day is about you and your love celebrating your love in front of all of those you love and who love you.

   • It is impossible for every single little detail to go exactly as planned and when that happens, remember the point in Italics above.

2. Don’t Stress Over What you Cannot Control.

   • The weather, your second cousin’s outfit, someone’s kid is sick. It happens. And it’s going to be okay. Because, again, please refer to the pretty italicized quote above.

3. For the things that matter to you: if you want it done right, hire a professional.

   • We understand budgets are a real thing (we all live on one and trust us, we understand the struggle). But we also know there are things in our life that we truly NEED and VALUE to be done in a certain way and in those cases, we need to hire a professional. I like nice kitchens. I VALUE nice countertops. I LOVE good, quality workmanship. I’m not about to trust my cousin to do the work: he’s not a professional carpenter, plumber, electrician, etc. Sure, he’s handy and even pretty crafty, but there’s a lot of variables in play that he won’t know how to fix or work together so in that case, I NEED to hire a professional to do the job RIGHT and to MY LIKING. Replace my kitchen with your wedding makeup and hair and you’ll see my point.

     • There are times when it’s totally understandable and respectable to give someone young and newer in their career a chance understanding that their services will cost a lot less than someone who is established and experienced and you MAY get a pretty makeup but there are SOO many variables. Just to name a few:

       • Is the makeup long-lasting?

       • Does this artist carry professional products that are safe and reliable?

       • Sure this makeup and/or hairstyle looks good in person but will it photograph well and look good in video? (This involves knowledge of ingredients, skincare, skin prep, hair prep, photography, lighting, and videography resolution).

       • I have a limited time to get ready the morning of my wedding: Will this artist be able to get my makeup and/or hair done in time? (When first starting out in the industry, it takes one a lot longer typically to deliver good, quality results. Now, if you have 10 people in your party needing to get ready and a limited time, coupled with a photographer and a videographer needing to get you in your dress, take pictures, get you to first looks, will this artist know how to manage their time and understand their limits correctly to get you all ready in time?

       • Is the artist going TOO fast? Sure, speed can be a great thing. But speed typically comes with experience and there are certain steps that really do take a certain amount of time so are they too speedy and potentially skipping over important foundational steps to build a long-lasting makeup and/or hair?

4. Choose your bridal party wisely.

   • You don’t need to have EVERY friend and EVERY family member in your bridal party. Keep your bridal party to your supporting, easy-going, reliable, and FUN friends. Invite every one to the wedding, for sure, but your bridal party is there to help support you and help you get ready, and help keep you calm. If you have a suspicion that someone you are considering as a bridesmaid MAY be difficult to you, to others, and will cause undue stress on you, just simply invite them to the wedding and choose someone else for your bridal party. Trust us when we tell you, it’s not worth your headache and it can torpedo your schedule on the morning of the wedding.

5. Don’t Let others dictate how you celebrate YOUR wedding.

   • This wedding is for you and your new husband or wife to celebrate your love and how you choose to become one is completely up to you both. Lots of people have opinions and maybe mom or dad want you to do things in a certain way, and by all means, take their opinions into heart but at the end of the day, follow your own heart and your own instincts. It is YOUR wedding, not theirs. Celebrate how YOU want. Wear your hair and your makeup how YOU want, choose whichever dress YOU want, etc.

     • This all connects back to a simple life principle: Live the life you want to live and don’t let others dictate your happiness or sadness. You are the only one who can live your life and it’s important for you to maintain autonomy over that.

Charlotte and Michael. Makeup by Alexandra. Photo by Corinna Raznikov. Flowers and Planning by Amy McLaughlin Lifestyles.

Chelsea and her gorgeous bridal party. Makeup by Alexandra and Leanne. Photo by Susan Sancomb. View Point Hotel in York, Maine.

Meghan. Hair by Gina. Makeup by Erica Martell. Photo by Undressed Moments. Flowers by Boston and Burke.

Matt and Steph. Makeup by Alexandra and Neysa. Hair by Gina and Ashley on the entire party. Photo by Jeremy Salapek.

I really want you to experience the joy and the happiness and the love expressed in the pictures above. I’ve loved working with brides since my first wedding when someone took a chance on me. I’m forever grateful. More importantly, all of us here at Alexandra Angelone Bridal Beauty WANT to help give that experience to you. A lot of hands went into the building of those days and we’d be honored if you would trust us with part of that for you.

Want to share your wedding experience and what you’ve learned? Share in the comments below!

All the best,

Alexandra

Allow Me To Introduce Myself...

Welcome Every One!

My name is Alexandra Angelone. I am a Boston-area freelance makeup artist and esthetician. I have been in the beauty industry for 9 years and have worked with hundreds of bridal parties. Some days I feel like I’ve heard and seen it all (but then I hear from another makeup artist or hairstylist what they’ve experienced and I realize I’ve just barely scratched the tip of the iceberg. Maybe it’s just because my clients are awesome, but I’ve been pretty damn lucky). I’ve been blessed to work with some amazing people over the years and have a wonderful network of fellow artists I can rely on and vice versa.

Artistically, I have a pretty ecclectic esthetic (try saying that 5 times fast!). My inspiration is derived from a mix of the icons of the Golden Age of Hollywood like Grace Kelly and Veronica Lake to the glowing complexions and watercolor tinted cheeks and lips represented in the current K Beauty trends. At heart, I am a forever student of the history of beauty. I often wish I could exist in the 40s, 50s and 60s for just a little while (or at least just be an extra on the set of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel because their styling, hair, and makeup is DIVINE) just to take in the style, class, and beauty each era brought.

When I think of my perfect makeup I envision perfect skin, softly, sculpted features, and a precise, perfected eyeliner. Think of the greats like Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, and Marilyn Monroe and chances are the sentence above describes them all. Seamless, blended makeup, perfectly placed hair, and a natural (or at least the appearance of natural) timeless grace. Modern examples include Meghan Markle, Natalie Portman, Janelle Monae, Lily Collins… Place any of these ladies into the 1950s or pull any of those 50s icons into todays world and each one would be relevant and stunning in either time and place.

My approach to any makeup application is that it, most importantly, is timeless. My clients should be able to look back at their wedding portraits 50 years from now and their makeup and their hair should still be relevant. We see it every single award season…we see Hollywood starlets with their Veronica Lake waves and their classic red lips. It’s because those looks never goes out of style. They are the epitome of timeless. As to how I go about achieving a timeless look on my brides, well, that will be in another post.

For the last 7 years I have been building a steady bridal clientele and refining my business and my process. This new website and this blog is the latest entry to my business. When prospective and past clients see this website I want them to note the attention to detail, elegance, and be taken by the beautiful moments captured in the images. That’s exactly how I want my clients to view their experience with me. This is what Alexandra Angelone Bridal brings and I cannot wait for you to see all that we can do.

This blog is going to feature makeup, skincare, and hair tips and helpful information as well wedding planning tips, highligted venues, and of course, pictures and stories of some of our beautiful brides. I invite you to comment, share, and ask any questions you have and I’ll be happy to answer them.

Until next time,

Alexandra