Hello and welcome to my Cape Cod wedding photographer’s blog!
It’s time to feature two artists, who’re working on the weddings in Massachusetts – Maricruz Polito – the wedding hairstylist and Garineh Ashjian – the founder of Glamour Cosmetics and an amazing makeup artist. We used to work together at weddings, they are a great team and pros, who know a lot about hairstyles, makeup, and cosmetics. Working together and having no time to talk brought me to the idea of creating this article. I asked them several questions which are important and could help our brides to know more about the wedding beauty industry and some important nuances. Let’s talk about wedding hair and makeup in Cape Cod, Boston, and beyond.
Maricruz Polito – Bridal Hair Designer.
1. Tell me about yourself and your Philosophy.
Maricruz Hairstyles is a business 100% geared and dedicated to bridal hairstyling. Our boutique-style business offers personalized service while providing exceptional quality work. We serve brides from different walks of life, nationalities, and tastes as we are fully skilled and well rounded with the various hair styling needs clients expect from us: Classic, Vintage, Modern, Bohemian, etc. These styles are all part of our portfolio.
2. Choosing the hair artist – what’s important.
Every bride has different priorities… the quality of work, personality, reliability, skill, experience, etc.
I think the most important to me is the quality of work and personality combined. Having the quality of work you are looking for and loving your look, it is a must, but if you also like the personality of the hairstylist, you will be working with your big day will be pleasant and run smoothly. Beauty teams are the first vendors the bride sees on her wedding day and spends several hours getting ready with her friends, having a professional with a calming presence can make the difference.
3. The trial – is this necessary?
I think it is. The trial run is an excellent opportunity for the client to see our work first hand, experience our customer service skills, and see that we can be a good fit for the day. The client has the opportunity to explore different hairstyles and see them on themselves rather than looking at the styles on pictures, in consequence, make better decisions on what they would love to wear walking down the aisle, feel confident and comfortable with their choice. Clients can ask questions, express concerns, try accessories, etc. Having a trial before the actual day will save everyone lots of time, it will bring peace of mind through the booking process.
4. How large is your team, and how many hair services maximum can be offered per event?
As an owner of the business, I like to service each bride that chooses to work with us personally. My team at the moment has three members, Lead Bridal Hairstylist, Bridal Hairstylist, and a reserve Bridal hairstylist for emergency cases in which the second hairstylist is not available to attend an event. We cap services at 14 persons for one single event.
5. How to achieve longer-lasting hairstyles during the day and look gorgeous for the duration of the event.
Once the hairstylist is done working on the hairdo, try to not touch it. Let the hair be, the softness of a hairstyle will naturally happen with normal movement and other factors like climate and weather conditions. If the client inadvertently plays and touches the hair constantly, it will create flyaway strands, it will disrupt the shape it was intended to have, and it will have an impact on the lasting factor.
6. Must have for the bride during a day (A brush, hair-spray, etc.)
The bride should have fun! That is the only must. The hairstyle should last all day without having to retouch it constantly. There are too many things to do and think about on a wedding day, the bride should only enjoy the style and not have to worry about carrying anything.
7. The style: how to choose it, and should brides rely on the artistic view?
The bride is the one that has the last word and final decision about what it will make her feel radiant and confident walking down the aisle, but as bridal hair professionals, it is our job to offer advice and guidance in finding the right fit for each bride according to their comfort zone, taste, etc. I usually ask my brides to look for inspiration by choosing a couple of pictures to have a starting point in common, see what they like and what they taste is like, as the process goes on we offer advice and guidance to achieve a custom look that the client will love and feel comfortable with.
8. Travelling and fees. Are you working in Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard or somewhere else?
Yes, we travel nationally and internationally. Services are available worldwide anywhere the bride would like to fly us!
Cape Cod, The Islands, NH, RI are the places we most frequently go to. We also are available for international travel, last year we serviced an event in Turks and Caicos. Travel fees apply for cities with a distance of more than one hour round trip ride from our studio located in the city of Waltham. Boston and adjacent cities like Cambridge, Watertown, Somerville do not incur travel fees.
9. Hairstyle and photography. How the camera affects it.
As a hairstylist, I try to be very careful about giving great shape to a style so that any angle the bride is photographed from it will look optimal. Give the right amount of volume because hair translates differently on photographs, it can’t have too much volume that it can look exaggerated or too little that will look uninteresting or blunt.
10. Additional tips.
Always be honest with your vendors. If you, as a bride, are not happy with a small detail just mentioned it, any true professional will appreciate it and fix it until the desired result is achieved.
Do not fix details on your own because it might not look as optimal as it should.
If being on time is important to you, listen to the advice your vendors give you and have fun, be present but aware of time.
Let me introduce Garineh Ashjian – Glamour Cosmetics Makeup Artistry.
1. Tell me about yourself and whats your manifesto.
Glamour Cosmetics is one of Boston’s leading makeup artistry businesses, which has the honor of serving over 100 weddings a year! We have proudly earned the Wedding Wire Couples’ Choice Award from 2017-2020 and The Knot’s Best of Weddings 2020 Award as well. Each wedding and each client holds a special place in our hearts. We love what we do, but more importantly, we love seeing the gorgeous smile on each client’s face when they look in the mirror and feel their most confident and beautiful!
2. Choosing the MUA artist – what’s important.
It’s important to find a makeup artist that you feel comfortable with and one who can make you feel confident on your wedding day. A good makeup artist should be able to be versatile in their work so they can tweak your makeup to exactly what you want on your wedding day- whether it be soft and minimal or bold and vibrant or somewhere in between! Further, it’s very important to find a makeup artist who genuinely cares, listens to your desires, and will bring positive energy to your wedding day!
3. The trial makeup – is this necessary?
A trial is necessary for the artist and client to understand the bride’s vision fully. Every individual has a different idea of what they will look like on their wedding day. A makeup artist needs to understand the client’s skin tone, skin type, texture, etc. before the wedding day, so they can choose the correct products that work with each individual client’s skin. The trial is also an opportunity for the bride and the makeup artist to get to know each other better and ensure that they will be a good fit together.
4. How large is your team, and how many hair services maximum can be offered per event?
Our team can proudly accommodate any size wedding! The number of makeup artists assigned to a wedding depends on how many people need our service and what time they need to be done with makeup. Our largest bridal party was 16 people and we had three makeup artists to accommodate that wedding!
5. How to save makeup during the day and look gorgeous.
Our professional application technique, combined with the highest quality products, will ensure that the bride’s makeup lasts all day and all night through sweat and tears! It’s my responsibility to ensure that the bride looks just as good at 2 pm as she does at 2 am after a long, fun night of dancing!
6. Must have for the bride during a day (Cosmetics, napkins, etc.).
As a professional makeup artist, it is my job and my duty to ensure that the bride absolutely does not have to worry about her makeup so that she can fully enjoy her beautiful day!
7. The style: how to choose it, and should the bride rely on the artistic view?
A bride’s makeup look on her wedding day is very personal. It’s truly how she defines herself as “beautiful.” During the trial is when the bride and I can discuss her vision. It’s helpful if the bride has an idea or photos of what she wants her wedding day makeup to look like, but it’s also my responsibility to guide the bride in ensuring that the final look is what she will love on her own self!
8. Travelling and fees. Are you working on Cape Cod, Nantucket and Marthas Vineyard?
Glamour Cosmetics proudly serves the New England area and is available for travel internationally as well! Aside from Boston, we frequently work in Cape Cod, NH, RI, and parts of Maine as well! Our services in the city of Boston are always complimentary, and travel fees apply for further distances. We are also available for international events and had the honor of doing a wedding in Turks and Caicos last year.
9. Makeup and photography. How the camera affects. Are you agree that makeup looked paler on the photos?
I always tell my clients that on her wedding day, her makeup will be about finding what looks flawless in person, but also what reflects well on the camera. There is a very sweet spot that only a professional makeup artist can truly nail. The style of photography and lighting will also alter the style of the makeup, so it important for the artist to take all that into consideration when finalizing the brides’ look.
10. Additional tips:
You can see from our gallery and our work that we are really good at what we do, but more importantly, we care a lot. Your wedding day is not just another job for us. We will listen to your every desire and every hesitation in getting your makeup done. We understand that “beauty” is different for everyone, so our goal is to make sure you feel absolutely confident with whatever the definition of “beauty” is for YOU.
We also feel strongly that our job goes beyond just applying your makeup. We are there for you in all aspects of your wedding day. We will remind you when your hair elastic is on your wrist during photos, we will hold your grandmother’s hand as she walks down the stairs, we will sew your bridesmaids back into her dress if it breaks, and we will even drive you to venue in full ball gown should your limo go missing. Yes, these are all proud examples of how we’ve stepped up in the past. On your wedding day, you can consider us your second pair of hands and eyes. It just kind of sort of works out really well that we also know how to apply your makeup!
Thank you for staying with us and for reading my blog. I hope you enjoyed the article and important information by the top stylists in Massachusetts and beyond.
Your Cape Cod wedding and family photographer – Alex Gordias.
Contact information:
Maricruz Polito – Bridal Hair Designer
681 Main St Suite 3-24, Waltham, MA 02451
617 938 7523
www.facebook.com/maricruzhairstyles
www.instagram.com/maricruzhairstyles
Garineh Ashjian – Glamour Cosmetics Makeup Artistry
10 Muzzey Street Lexington, Massachusetts
(617) 852-9824
www.Instagram.com/GlamourCosmeticsOfficial
www.Facebook.com/GlamourCosmeticsOfficial
