The Last Wedding Day Makeup Tips You Will Ever Need
Hey girl! You’re engaged, planning your wedding, and feeling great! That’s aaaaammmmmaaazzing. You probably stumbled upon this little corner of the internet expecting to see a make up artist gushing over their favorite shade of lipstick and best skincare routine. Alas, you’ve stumbled upon MY corner of the internet and I’m the photographer. Let me tell ya a secret. I am not a girly girl. I rarely wear make up and in fact, I had to have someone give me a rundown on how to apply it just a few weeks ago.
So instead of hearing me gush over how complicated it all is, I asked my good friend Rachel Cail of Prati Beauti to give us her top makeup tips for your wedding day.
Rachel Cail of Prati Beauti
Ya game? Okay, let’s see what she has to say!
You NEED a Skincare Routine
I always recommend an excellent skincare routine (if you don’t already have one) beginning as soon as you can. Also you want to see an esthetician for a skin evaluation so that you know you’re using the right products for your skin type/conditions. Healthy skin makes for the best makeup application - of course just about anything can be covered, so don’t worry if you have redness or sun damage, that’s what I’m here for!
2. Don’t Forget Your Favorite Lipstick
Bring your favorite shade of lipstick with you to the trial run and also the day of wedding! Lipstick often needs touched up in between getting ready for the ceremony and photos, etc. Eating and drinking after your makeup application is often needed, yet makes the lipstick wear off! I use a product that helps the lipstick last longer, and offer straws to all my clients to help as well - but it’s always nice to have your exact shade tucked away just in case.
3. Extend Your Lashes
If you have sensitive eyes or you tear up at weddings, or feel you might at tear up at your own, get lash extensions at least one month before wedding. This way you have time to get a fill before the wedding date! Lash extensions are fabulous, they look wonderful, last weeks, and in my opinion remove the need for mascara!
4. Choose Your Look Ahead of Time
Choose your makeup look ahead of time! Match it with your theme! Is it whispy and natural, or glam like the roaring 20’s? Either way if you know what you’re looking for in advance it helps to practice the look before you see your makeup artist! Take some selfies of the makeup you like on yourself!
BONUS TIP:
If you don’t regularly wear makeup, maybe get it done at a couple different makeup counters at department stores! It’s often complementary and you can experiment with color!
Looking for more Wedding Planning Tips?
Check out these amazing ideas:
3 Reasons To Consider An Elopement
Chelsi is a destination wedding and portrait photographer based in Fort Bragg, California. She loves to travel and will go anywhere to capture your life's sweet moments. She lives for seeing the world, capturing authentic love, and making people feel fabulous. Her style is authentic, real, and emotional. She believes in laughing too much, singing too loud, and most importantly living life to the fullest and prefers capturing every single authentic beautiful moment that evoke emotion over perfectly posed photos. 
Brianna + Marc
“Chelsi was beyond our expectations. Not only was she the witness at our elopement but she was professional, fun and made us feel gorgeous! We received timeless beautiful pictures that our grandchildren will want hanging up in their homes. Chelsi was my first choice to take our photos and I am forever grateful that she was there to capture our day. You will love her and the beautiful pictures that she takes of you. You will feel beautiful while taking your pose and want to smile for your pictures with her.”
Yanez Wedding
“Chelsi is a beautifully strong, slightly crazy, talented photographer who is the biggest sucker for a love story. She truly loves and supports your love and makes it come across in photographs. She’s brilliant, and goes above and beyond to get the shot. If you want to take your wedding or engagement photos under a waterfall, or in the ocean, or in a forest, or rolling around on the ground, she is right there encouraging you to do what feels right. I cannot give her higher regards.”
“Chelsi is a beautifully strong, slightly crazy, talented photographer who is the biggest sucker for a love story. She truly loves and supports your love and makes it come across in photographs. She’s brilliant, and goes above and beyond to get the shot. If you want to take your wedding or engagement photos under a waterfall, or in the ocean, or in a forest, or rolling around on the ground, she is right there encouraging you to do what feels right. I cannot give her higher regards.”
Considering an Elopement or Intimate Wedding? 3 Reasons Why You Should.
In the last few years, it seems that more couples are choosing a more intimate and wild option for their wedding day. They’re eloping. You may have noticed the trend amongst your friends and colleagues and wonder, “what makes eloping so dang popular? I’ve been growing this photo business for a while now which has afforded me the opportunity to photograph both larger weddings and more intimate affairs such as elopements. As I have experienced both, I have discovered that I am curiously drawn to untraditional intimate weddings rather than more classically large and elaborate weddings.
So today, I want to share about my obsession, why my husband and I opted to elope, and give you some perspective on why a more intimate wedding, may just be the thing for you.
All That Matters On Your Wedding Day Is Your Love Story
I’m going to spill some truth here. The moment he/she puts a ring on it, your mind goes straight to that secret pinterest board (oh don’t pretend like you didn’t make one long before you ever met each other, I see you) with ALL the beautiful wedding ideas that you have been dreaming about since you were 17. I know from experience how overwhelming it can be to make all the decisions for your wedding day (I ultimately decided to forgo the decision making, and let my MIL take over). Instead of focusing on the fact that you have found the love of your life and you are about to spend the rest of your lives together, you find yourself trying to be a wedding coordinator, master chef, and florist. Before that shiny new best friend was on your finger, you probably never even thought about coordinating a wedding or putting together a flower arrangement. It’s easy for your wedding planning to turn from being all about you and your husband/wife to be into making a perfect day that entertains everyone else. Elopements take the spotlight off the perfectly planned event and points it right on you and your love story. Eloping transforms the day from a bunch of moving parts and things that won’t matter after it’s over anyway, to what really matters anyway, the commitment that you are making to your person, the love that you share, and the beginning of your happily ever after. If after reading that sentence, you paused and were able to sigh in relief, an elopement or intimate wedding might just be for you!
2. You Can Get Married Wherever The Heck You Want
Back up Chelsi, what did you just say? I can get married wherever I want? Yup. You can get married on a beach in Hawaii, a glacier in alaska, on a boat in the middle of a lake in Italy. I know I’m not the only one who has daydreamed about such things. Eloping makes it easier to make that dream a reality. When you choose an elopement, you don’t have to worry about which location or venue is in the closest proximity to your family and friends. Instead you can choose a place that means something to the two fo you, perhaps a place that you vacationed or camped together for the first time, or somewhere you both have always wanted to go. If you are anything like me and have the wanderlust bug, a wild destination elopement might be right up your alley. Bonus, if you elope in a destination location, you can just stay there for a while for your honeymoon!
3. You Can Invest Your Money In What Matters Most
Let’s face it, throwing a traditional wedding is expensive. We’re not all millionaires, so throwing a wedding, no matter how big or small, budgeting is uber important. When planning a traditional wedding things can start adding quick. Invites, Photography, Venues, Flowers, Food, DJ, etc etc. The list goes on and on, but you get my point. It’s expensive, that’s all. It’s hard to plan the wedding of your dreams when you are on a budget and the money has to be spread through many vendors. An elopement is shorter, requires less vendors, and ultimate SAVES you money. There’s no need for food, a dj or an expensive venue. You can spend the money on the things that matter most to you. Perhaps it’s a gorgeous dream wedding dress, beautiful photos of you and your love on your wedding day, or even a video of you exchanging vows that you will show your family and friends for generations to come. The point is, when you don’t have to spend money on things that won’t matter years from now, the money can be prioritized to the things that matter most to you.
BONUS TIP:
You Can Still Celebrate With Your Family + Friends
If you have stuck with me this far, you are probably thinking “ all of this sounds amazing, but what about my family and friends?!? “. Look I get it, family and friends are a priority too. There are some options to include your family and friends on your wedding day.
Option 1: Choose a location that is still special to you close and affordable enough for your intimate family & friends to get to if they choose to come. Design it to be an intimate wedding without the expenses of a traditional wedding AND have your family there.
Option 2: Elope wherever you want, bring your family or don’t, then when you return home, throw a party for all your friends and family to come and celebrate too. You can plan a much more casual post-elopement party that is less expensive than a wedding reception. You won’t need fancy food or table arrangements. No need for favors or a live band. When you get home from your adventurous elopement, throwing a casual backyard party will allow you to make your family and friends feel included and welcome in your celebration. It is possible to exchange your vows in your dream location and still party like a rockstar with your friends. Plus, you’ll get to wear your wedding dress again. I’d say that’s a check in the yes column!
Whichever option you choose, everyone wins!
After reading this, if you are saying “heck ya” to any of these points, an elopement may be right for you. If you felt discouraged in anyway by these points, then an elopement probably isn’t your style and that’s okay too. Every single couple deserves to have an elopement or wedding that is perfectly designed to represent their love for eachother.
Ok what would you choose? Destination Elopement, Wedding, or something entirely different? Tell me what you would choose, and WHY, in the comments below!
Navarro River Redwoods Engagement Session || Danielle + Morgan
Like most modern day couples, they met online. After a few weeks of talking on the phone until the wee hours of the morning, they decided to go on their first date. Ya’ll, it last 16 hours because they just couldn’t say goodbye. They didn’t live near each other for the first year but then decided it was time to move in together.
Every day feels like a slumber party with your best friend and we get through life's ups and downs with our ridiculous silliness and constant laughter. Even the average grocery run is an adventure when we are together.
In just a few short weeks, these two will tye the knot and continue their adventure to infinity and beyond. I can’t wait to celebrate with you both Danielle & Morgan, it’s going to be so much fun!
Is A Bridal Session Right For You?
I am always shocked when clients don’t know what a bridal session is, because my humble opinion is that they are the best way to make time for photos of the beautiful couple without being stressed out on wedding day. Oh wait, a bridal session doesn’t happen on my wedding day?!? Say what?
Don’t worry, I’m gonna tell ya all about what a bridal session is and why I believe that every couple needs to have one. Ya ready, let’s go!
What is a Bridal Session anyway?
A Bridal Session is a photo session with the bride and groom that happens a day, week, or even months after the wedding day. It doesn’t really matter when it happens, the point is that the bride and groom get dressed back up in their wedding attire, go on an epic adventure somewhere gorgeous(it doesn’t have to be the wedding venue) and take the wildest most romantic photos they will ever have together.
I know you have so many questions running through your mind right now, don’t worry, I’m going to try my best to answer them all, but mostly, WHY?
Why Should I Schedule a Bridal Session?
I’m gonna shoot it to ya straight, you don’t have time for photos of the two of you on your wedding day. The wedding day timeline is so crammed with events, you need to get to your family and friends that came there to love on you, and of course there’s yummy food and cake to enjoy.
Most couples who I work with want beautiful photos in an epic location that is usually too far away from the venue to even consider. (sometimes it’s even in a completely different town or state!) And let me tell you how many times I have had to let them down lightly that they won’t have enough time for those beach shots or those epic bluff views. Gaaaahh, it is heartbreaking.
This is where the bridal session comes in. No need for broken hearts because if you choose a bridal session, you can have epic photos
and have a more relaxed wedding day.and enjoy your family and friends on your wedding day.and an epic location you’d love to get dressed up and explore together.and take the time to connect with and enjoy your new spouse without worrying about your timeline.
Ok, I’m Sold. What’s Next?
The first thing you have to do is talk to your photographer. They will be able to give you the next steps. They will likely want to determine your preferred session: A day after, week (this is likely during the honeymoon), or a month or two later.
For my couples, whether I am photographing their wedding or just their bridal session we start by determining their dream location and the time of their session. And then, we plan out the rest of their epic adventure from there.
As a wedding photographer with a few years of experience and who has photographed dozens of weddings and bridal sessions, I gotta tell you that the bridal session is the best way to go! It’s unreal how much more laid back a wedding day is when the couple knows they have scheduled a bridal session. There’s more time for photos with the bridal party and their family. They don’t have to disappear for an hour or two for photos with their photographer, leaving their guests to fend for themselves. When they choose a bridal session, they have the peace of mind that they are going to have an epic adventure post-wedding so they get to relax and enjoy their loved ones on their actual day.
The other perk, and probably my favorite, is that brides don’t have to worry about keeping their dress in pristine condition during their photos. They can frolic and play unencumbered by the thought of getting dirty. In my opinion, there is nothing better than a dirty wedding dress and messy hair in photos of newly married couples!
By no means am I trying to sell anything here. I truly and passionately believe that the couples who make their love story a priority during their wedding day, are the couples that have the most fun. I am an advocate for stress free planning, and a laid day. A bridal session can provide the peace of mind that you need to make your day easy and stress free. I would tell any of my friends or family these same things if they were planning a wedding.
If you have questions about bridal sessions or any other part of your wedding day timeline, I would love to answer anything. I’m here for ya and hope that your wedding day is exactly everything you have dreamed it will be. Before I sign off, I will leave you with some photos that were taken during bridal sessions with me. Not to try and sell you anything, but perhaps to encourage you to consider this time and stress saving experience for your wedding day.
Speaking of Stress-Free Weddings, I wrote a how-to guide on wedding planning, if you’re interested you can read it here.
Now it’s your turn, if you or someone you know had a bridal session, do you think it was worth it? Did it alleviate stress on your wedding day? If you had it to do over again, would you schedule another one? Leave me a comment and let us know!
Interested in planning your own bridal session, want to bounce some ideas around?
Navarro River Redwoods State Park Engagement Session| Albion, California| Amy & Jimmy
One of the first things I ask my couples to do before we head out for a photo session is to tell me their love story. Amy and Jimmy’s response started like this: “We met in prison”.
Whhhhhuuuuuutttt?!? Were you as worried reading that as I was? I bet you were, but not to worry. They work there. So their love story began like many others, at work. Amy is a pretty reserved girl and doesn’t like a lot of attention drawn to herself, so Jimmy proposed to her by their fireplace in their home.
We began our adventure beneath the redwoods in Navarro River Redwoods State Park and then took a drive back towards Mendocino to finish up at Spring Ranch in Van Damme State Park. On our way back, I had a tire blow out. Without skipping a beat, Jimmy was out of his truck and putting my spare on for me.
These two could be any sweeter and I can not wait for their wedding day. I could tell you why, but I will let you see for ourself. Enjoy Amy & Jimmy’s engagement session in the Navarro Redwoods State Park!
CHELSI IS A DESTINATION WEDDING AND PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER BASED IN FORT BRAGG, CALIFORNIA. SHE LOVES TO TRAVEL AND WILL GO ANYWHERE TO CAPTURE YOUR LIFE'S SWEET MOMENTS. SHE LIVES FOR SEEING THE WORLD, CAPTURING AUTHENTIC LOVE, AND MAKING PEOPLE FEEL FABULOUS. HER STYLE IS AUTHENTIC, REAL, AND EMOTIONAL. SHE BELIEVES IN LAUGHING TOO MUCH, SINGING TOO LOUD, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY LIVING LIFE TO THE FULLEST AND PREFERS CAPTURING EVERY SINGLE AUTHENTIC BEAUTIFUL MOMENT THAT EVOKE EMOTION OVER PERFECTLY POSED PHOTOS.
Interested in booking a session?
Best Wedding Venues In Mendocino, California| Mendocino Wedding Photographer
Hey friends! I am often asked for my favorite wedding venues on the Mendocino Coast. Honestly, that’s a loaded question because I love them all, but like anyone, I definitely have my favorites. I decided to give you a little glimpse into a few of my favorites. So here they are in no particular order:
The Inn at Newport Ranch
Driving up to this property, you will instantly feel like you have stepped onto a movie set. You may be greeted by a cow in the driveway, but most definitely by your hosts who will likely offer you a water or glass of wine. With breathtaking ocean views, gorgeous architecture, stunning interior design, and love in every corner, this is the perfect location for an intimate wedding. As if that wasn’t enough, let’s not forget the redwood lined ridge-top and coastal views. We can explore the redwoods together for your bridal session and then you can be married overlooking the breathtaking pacific ocean. This is also a perfect place for a Mendocino Honeymoon or even a quick lovers getaway. We’ve had our own staycation there and can not say better things about it!
photo courtesy of theinnatnewportranch.com
Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens
Although it has been an incredibly long time since I have photographed a wedding there, I spend a lot of time with my family and friends at Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens. I had the honor of photographing a proposal there over the summer (oops a little behind on blogging, coming soon!) and wowza, look at those colors! This place is a treasure trove of color, texture, and most importantly will save you a boat load in decorating costs. Home to the Dahlia Garden and best known for their Rhododendrons, the garden is beautifully fragrant and will entertain all the senses. Oh and did I mention the ocean views? Yes, this is your all inclusive choice on the coast. Mendocino Coast Botanical has it all!
Switzer Farm
Located 20 miles north of Fort Bragg, California, this venue boasts breathtaking ocean views, a beautifully manicured garden, and a centuries old victorian farmhouse. The farmhouse home can accommodates 20 plus guests, and for those not staying with you, there are several Bead and Breakfast’s to choose from just up the road in Westport. This is the perfect place for the couple who wants to bring their family along for their big day!
Ellie’s Farmhouse
A country home is nestled among 40 acres with meadows & majestic redwoods, Ellie’s Farmhouse is a perfect place for your intimate wedding or gathering. The most unique and possibly my favorite feature of this property is the old fashioned Fire Engine from Mendocino Fire District that sits on the lawn. It’s a perfect prop for photos. The house can accommodate up to 7 overnight guests, and there is a bonus Glamping Tent that could serve as your place to snuggle up after your wedding day! There is a beautiful kitchen that is perfect for your caterer or family to prepare a meal. Every nook and cranny is full of perfect details for your wedding day!
A Few additional Venues on the coast for your consideration:
(click the words below to be taken to the venue website!)
Macculum House (I am excited to be working with Elope Mendocino on a wedding here this summer)
Mendocino Headlands State Park
Philo Apple Farm (discounts apply for anyone booking a wedding with me here)
Yokayo Ranch (I am excited to be working with his venue this summer, keep a lookout for a blog post sometime in June)
Some of my favorite Wedding Planners:
Elope Mendocino (Elopements are my jam, and I love working with Vanna, let’s make magic together!)
No matter where you decided to exchange nuptials on The Mendocino Coast, you are sure to have beautiful views and unforgettable memories!
Brides, what do you look for when you are considering from a venue? Tell us in the comments below! and for all my Wedding Professional Friends out there, What are your favorite venues here on the coast? Drop a comment and give us your best tips!