The first wedding of the season always brings a mixture of excitement and nervousness to me. I organize, reorganize and count the number of lashes and supplies that my makeup kit can hold. I run through different makeup looks and scenarios trying to troubleshoot anything prior to the big day. I think these feelings arise due to a small superstition that the first wedding is going to set the precedent for the season. Kelsey Cheda’s wedding was our kickoff to Wedding Season 2017 and it was the smoothest wedding I have ever worked. The day started off beautiful, all of our stylists were on point and well caffeinated and the bridal party was a group of beautiful, sweet women.

Jenny, Lindsey and myself arrived at Kelsey’s family ranch, Cheda Hills Ranch, in the early morning and were able to observe the hard work and thought that transformed a working ranch into a country chic wedding venue. Jenny’s parents and Kelsey’s parents have been friends for years, so Jenny was especially excited to see the transformation. Growing up in a small town everyone knows everyone, especially within the dairy industry. Jenny’s parents and Kelsey’s parents went to high school together and both are involved with the dairy industry. Kelsey’s aunt was even Jenny’s 4-H Leader! Even though Kelsey and Jenny are different ages they grew up knowing each other due to their parents friendship. We were all honored when Kelsey asked EB Elite Artistry to do the hair and makeup for her special day.

Kelsey creatively wove many traditional and nontraditional elements into her wedding day. However, she chose a traditional approach to her hair and makeup. Jenny chose a neutral makeup palette to highlight Kelsey’s natural beauty. Her hair was swept away from her face in a low loose bun. The overall look was simple elegance and was perfect for her outdoor wedding.  Kelsey’s bridesmaids chose a variety of makeup looks and hairstyles based on their personal style and the variety of Show Me Your Mumu bridesmaid dresses. I think its great when the bride gives her bridal party the freedom to choose their own style of hair and makeup because they exude confidence when they precede the bride down the aisle. The mother of the bride looked beautiful with soft brown makeup colors and her hair styled to perfection.

Santa Cruz Mountain Photography captured amazing photos of this fun-filled gorgeous wedding. Olive branches decorated the venue, food trucks, Del Popolo and Country Kitchen, catered her dinner and s’mores and a dessert bar replaced a traditional cake. Kelsey truly blended the best of the traditional and nontraditional to create her best day ever

So I have to do a huge shout out of gratitude to the company Show Me Your Mumu. The bestie had our bridesmaid dresses picked out as soon as she was engaged and began planning. They are perfect for a beach wedding in Mexico. We each picked a different style dress in the chosen color. My dress arrived and fit great, well except for the length but I'm 5'1 so that's to be expected. However, the color was much brighter than expected. I called the company to see if they would do a return. The woman was friendly, helpful and very informed. I sent them photos side-by-side of my actual dress and the website photo. They agreed to a return even though I exceeded the time line. I sent the dress back on April 27, but should have waited. As we began searching for other dresses nothing was quite right. Even though the Show Me Your Mumu dress was bright it would work, be pretty and

was a perfect fit for all of us bridesmaids. So... I needed to reorder my original dress. This week arrived and I decided to get some things settled for the wedding. I began looking through my statements and realized I never received a refund for my dress. I called customer service but they were closed and on top of that I couldn't find my receipt for mailing back the dress. My stomach instantly dropped and I was worried for the rest of the evening. The next morning I called customer service and was greeted for the second time by the friendliest customer service representative. She apologized instantly for the discrepancy and was about to issue me a refund. I asked if I could reorder the same dress and she immediately processed the order herself. She applied my refund, did not charge me shipping for the return and even refunded me 10% off for being a first time customer. I understand that there were discrepancies on both sides. The Show Me Your Mumu website colors did not match the actual dress and they did not immediately refund my money. However, they allowed me to return outside of the time frame, took the time to pleasantly do every transaction and applied a discount that I was not aware existed. Overall, this has been a great experience that could have turned out much differently. Thank you Show Me Your Mumu!!!

Finding the perfect Hair and Makeup Team for your wedding can be daunting, especially if you haven’t had a family member, friend or even an acquaintance refer you to someone directly. At Ethereal Beauty Elite Artistry we keep the lines of communication open and try to answer all of your questions thoroughly and quickly.

We receive new client inquiries through several sources such as our personal website (etherealbeautyeliteartistry.com), current clients, personal referrals, websites such as Wedding Wire, social media, websites that have client reviews and phone calls to Mockingbird Heights A Salon (707) 775-3355. A lot of clients prefer the ease of emailing (ebeliteartistry@yahoo.com) to discuss their needs while others enjoy the personal connection of a phone call. We try to accommodate your preferred way of communication. However, email is a wonderful way for our clients to refer back to any communications they had with us. Brides can open their email and see all of their questions answered, appointment times and wedding day timelines.

Most inquiries are communicated via email and we make every attempt to answer as quickly as possible. Most brides include their wedding date, venue and number of women receiving makeup and hair in their initial inquiry. Some brides are unsure on the exact numbers for hair and makeup, but estimate the number. This information is valuable to EB Elite Artistry because we are able to determine our availability for your wedding.  If we are able to accommodate your needs we communicate our availability and direct you to our website for our pricing and contract. I also like to stress in the initial email that we are open to any questions and encourage brides to stay in touch regarding personal needs and questions. Our website is extensive, but there are always individual questions that can arise. Ethereal Beauty Elite Artistry has over 25 years of combined experience and knowledge within the wedding industry. Our focus is hair and makeup, however, we also can also recommend excellent vendors to assist you with other elements of your wedding.

Once a client decides we are fit for their wedding they return a completed contract to us with deposit. The deposit holds your wedding date and is applied to your wedding day services. The next step is booking your bridal preview and setting a timeline for your wedding. We are here for you throughout the whole process.

My kit for hair styling at weddings is very large like our makeup kits. I have to ensure that I pack everything I may need in the kit for the day. I hold myself to a higher standard than any client could ever hold me to. Perfection is key! When you work weddings as long as I have, you realize on every wedding day, something will go wrong. I make it my goal, to assure that if something goes wrong it never involves my tools or myself, where it is in my control.

Before every wedding I organize and clean every brush comb and clip. I have to organize, buy and refill all my bobby pins and hairpins in every color, which include blonde, a few shades of brown, red, black and silver. Not only do I carry all these colors, but I also have small, medium and large in each color for the bobby pins. I make sure my curling irons, flat irons and blow dryers and different size attachments are all at optimum working order.

When we arrive on location for a wedding we are meticulous in regard to our set-up. We look over our area, get our black towels down and get irons plugged in and heating up. I have every size curling iron I can find, which includes three sizes of flat irons and a curling wand. In my favorite size curling irons I carry two, so if my assistant and I need the same size at the same time we are covered and also in case one stops working I have a replacement. After the irons are heating up I like to get everything out, so I’m ready to grab and go, while keeping things as neat as possible. Trust me, you wouldn't even believe some of the locations I have been for hair and makeup. The key is to be organized and keep things together as best as possible.

My next priority is the product. I am a product junkie to say the least and Oribe is my favorite. I have every Oribe product I can get my hands on, and I bring it all with me. You never know what is going to come your way, and I feel confident that I can attack anything with all my products. The products also help me achieve the styles people would like me to create and the finished look is polished and complete. It helps transform an every day look into a special event look.

Once the product is organized I like to make sure all my combs and clips are out and ready. One thing people notice about my kit is that everything is black. I purposely chose this because it makes everything look uniform and it fades into the back of pictures, so that it is not distracting in your photos. I might also be a touch OCD!

Once the irons are hot, everything is organized and our area looks like a personal salon… We are ready to go!

Once we start, we are off, we go for hours upon hours without stopping, sitting, eating drinking or even going to the bathroom. The first priority and step of a wedding hair is to set the bride’s hair. I like to set the bride first because I want her hair to sit in the curl position for the longest. This ensures that the desired hairstyle will last the bride all night. I curl the whole head, roll each curl up and pin the hair. Once the desired look is determined I can choose the appropriate tool for those curls whether it is a flat iron or curling iron and which size to use. When everyone is set, they all look the same, but once the hair comes down, it all looks different. When I am setting the hair, I’m thinking the whole time about the end look. Not only do I determine the type of tool, but I’m also thinking about the direction I will need each piece of hair to lay. Every hairstylist is different, the finished look may be a similar result, but how we created it may be completely different. This is what makes us artists! I find beauty in the endless options and I love to have fun and be creative.  This is definitely where I am most conformable!

One thing that is very important to remember when giving your stylist a photo of your desired look is to stay realistic.  Ask yourself some questions: Does that picture have the same type of hair as me? Look at the thickness, texture, color and length of the hair to determine if it would be a good match for you.  Are the models wearing hairpieces, wigs or extensions? Is that style something that will look good on me? How do you normally wear your hair? We are usually the most comfortable in the way we normally wear our hair, so take that into consideration when picking a style. I love when clients bring me pictures, it helps us get on the same page and start a conversation on their desired outcome. But, I like to use those pictures as inspiration to create a customized style for my clients that will look best on them. When I am given this freedom some of my best work is created allowing me to truly feel like my puzzle is complete.
 
Once I have everyone set I will either do any makeup that has been agreed upon or I begin finishing my art. I take the hair down, add more product, a little back combing and the magic begins. This is the part that amazes people because the hair comes together and sometimes it only takes minutes. The biggest secret… while everyone thought I was simply curling hair I was setting the groundwork for my creation. Once I reach this point the hair goes where it’s needed, I pin and the hair is complete. I truly love what I do and I love creating.

Once everyone’s hair is done, I will finish everyone off with hairspray and place the veil on the bride. We then give our hugs and wish them the most amazing day. I always tell my brides to truly try and enjoy each special moment in the day. To be really present in the moment because it goes by so quick, and in a blink of an eye, one of your best days in your life is a memory. Watching the bride walk out the door toward her future is always beautiful.

Then we return to our work and clean up our kits.  At this point the exhaustion finally hits us. It is the first moment we realized how many hours we just worked without breaks, the bathroom, water or food. We are in survival mode and our organization goes right out the window and we start throwing everything in our bags. We quickly load the car and get moving to the closest restaurant for food and a nice glass of wine. We reflect on the day, consider things we can improve and simply breathe. Then we go home and start planning for the next weekend when we get up to do it all again. After all these years of working weddings we realize that it takes more than being good at your art to survive wedding season. You truly have to have a love and passion for this type of work and our team at EB Elite Artistry truly possesses the passion for this industry.

Makeup Kits

Imagine a makeup counter arriving to any location you choose. It has countless eyeshadows, blushes, lip products and all the items we dream of as little girls playing in their mommy’s makeup. Imagine this makeup counter is not just one brand, but many high end researched products all deeply pigmented and waiting to be applied. Brides have literally giggled with delight when they see all the products we bring on location to ensure a happy client. The one question we are asked a lot is: Why do we charge a travel fee? Essentially we charge this fee because we are bringing an entire salon to your desired location. We have spent countless hours investing our knowledge, time and money to ensure that our makeup kits and hair kit is to the highest standard. One of our favorite mottos is: Supply is never a problem!

Speaking for both Jenny and myself we began building our makeup kits over twelve years ago. Jenny began collecting her favorite makeup brands and asked for MAC brushes as her high school graduation gift. Her parents had offered a computer to assist her in college, but Jenny preferred her makeup even then. I began building my kit in 2000 when I attended Redwood Empire Beauty College and really started to attain a lot of products when I started working for MAC Cosmetics in 2006. MAC has quality makeup and both Jenny and I have a large supply in our kits. Some of our other favorite brands include Urban Decay, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Kylie Cosmetics, Benefit, Kat Von D, Tarte and Youngblood Cosmetics just to name a few.

I began collecting my makeup in a simple black train case, which protects the makeup from extreme hot and cold weather. I already had some MAC brushes before gaining employment with the company but once I started working there full-time I was definitely able to pick out brushes with knowledge and confidence.  Some of my favorite brushes are the 217 and 224 for my crease, the 266 for my brows and eyeliner and the 219 for placing shadow below my lower lash line and defining lines. I use the 187 for powder and the 188 for my highlight. I am also branching out and researching the Morphe Brushes as well. Jenny has purchased a set in rose gold and has been extremely happy with this brand as well.

My kit includes two different foundation brands, MAC and Youngblood, and I will be expanding to a third brand this year. Using different types of foundation is key to being able to work with all skin types. We keep expanding and growing our supply with new trends, new brands and by stocking up on all of our staples. I now travel with my original train case, a rolling Zuca Bag, a makeup chair and a bag full of towels to protect my work area from makeup spillage. This year we may be adding lighting to our kits as well. I can’t even begin to explain the amount of items Jenny carries when we do both hair and makeup in the same day.

The night before a big makeup event I go over all my supplies especially items that need frequent replenishing such as eyelashes, mascara, disposable mascara wands and lipstick wands. I meticulously clean my brushes and store them in a specific order for easy accessibility. I look through all my notes and makeup photos from the bride and bridal party and mentally go through a checklist. The preparations for a long day of makeup start long before the actual applications takes place.

Before the sun rises the next morning I am usually finished with my beauty preparations and sneaking out of my house so I don’t wake my children. I load the supplies and am ready for a day of creating ethereal beauties!