Bridal Hair Tips

Posted by Unknown at 10:18 AM - 0 comments

A DESTINATION WEDDING

When my client (and friend), Leah, asked if I would do her hair for her destination wedding in St Martin, I couldn’t help but yell yes before she was finished asking. Not only was I fond of Leah, I was so happy that she found her match and honored to be included in celebrating their special day in the Caribbean. I had never visited the island of St. Martin but I had been to other Caribbean islands to work for other weddings (St. Johns, St Thomas and St Kitts). Coming from Trinidad and Tobago, I'm always excited to see how my West Indian brothers and sisters live.
With bags packed and bridal kit in tow I was off to the airport. As the plane landed in St Martin, I was amazed by the crystal clear blue waters and the amazing landscape. I rushed off the plane to be greeted by smiling faces and a very courteous taxi driver. For a second, I thought it was a bit early for these people to be hitting the cocktails, but these were genuinely happy people. No rum needed (not at least until later anyway). As we drove through the Dutch side of the island to get to the French side, everything seemed very familiar. The architecture, hills and people waving at the taxi was all like scenes I had experienced before. As we approached the hotel, I was happy to see that it looked just as the images did on the website. It was beautiful indeed.
The greeting from the reception was slow and sweet. You had no choice but to slow down and embrace the smiling faces and sip a Rum Punch (fruit punch in my case). From the first night, I knew this was certainly worth writing about and wanted to share with all of you future brides-to-be this magical place and all the people who made it possible.

THE HAIR
The bride was very clear on what she wanted and it was important that she looked like who she is today, not an idea that she had when she was 10 years old. In other words, there would be no Cinderella hair.
WEDDING PLANNER
Engel Baron Events totally pulled this important day together with out a single problem. They arranged the flowers and even went to the flower shop when the flowers arrived by boat to make certain that it was exactly what the bride wanted. They also sent us off on a boat trip to a small island and took care of all of the details from pulling the entire wedding party together at 9am and getting us all on our designated boats.

It even seemed like they made a deal with the rain gods to stop the previous two days of rain providing us perfect weather for the day of the wedding.
Great job guys!

PHOTOGRAPHER
Talk about a talented hard working team. I've had my full share of destination weddings and these guys were amazing with beautiful images to show for it. Rain or shine they loved capturing images of Leah's special day and it showed.

RADISSON HOTEL ST MARTIN
I was then sent the information for the Hotel where the wedding would be held and where we stayed and instantly started doing my research. The Hotel was the Radisson in the French side of St Martin and online it looked beautiful. Whoever designed this hotel deserves a pat on the shoulder. Talk about a job well done. The rooms were spacious and modern with colors that were easy on the eye.
The grounds were full of flowers that were well pruned and the staff was as warm as my island people could get. I visited the beautiful hotel spa and spoke to Estelle Germain who was in charge. She gave me a tour and we discussed all the services they offered. From Indian to Thai massages and a full manicure and pedicure salon, they even brought in hairstylists to help with the family of the bride and groom. In a nut shell (or sea shell) the hotel was fully equipped and if they did not have something, they made it happen without a hassle.



I LOVE ST MARTIN!!

Posted by Unknown at 9:13 AM - 1 comments

DESTINATION WEDDINGS

How lucky are we to have the ability to splurge and actually travel to celebrate our special day? Although I have not had the opportunity to celebrate mine, I have been lucky to have been asked to do the hair and join in on the fun. From spectacular St. Johns to breathtaking Telluride and even in our own backyard Florida (no shoes and all). They were all so enjoyable and well planned. Speaking of well planned see, James Abel Events for a detailed, tasteful wedding planner and for flowers to die for.

back to hair baby! The idea of finding a hair stylist to do you hair for your wedding is hard enough much less in a strange City or a strange Country like Timbuktu. Yes there are great hair dressers all over the world.

If your wedding is in a major U.S. city, chances are you can find someone that can do a great job. Smaller cities are a challenge. Some "cultures" have different tastes. So, depending on where your wedding is in the U.S., you can end up with, well how can I say it, a hair style influenced by that city's flavor. Have you ever heard, "The bigger the hair, the closer to God?" You catch my drift.

You may ask, how do I even begin the process of choosing a hairdresser when
I'm planning a destination wedding? Here are some helpful tips on getting you going in the right direction. More and more, couples will visit several vacation spots before their big day looking for the right space that can accommodate their wedding. If the venue is chosen from a recommendation made by a friend or family member, it may be that most of the work is done. But if it's not, your first option will be to research a hairstylist in the chosen location.

So how do I do that?

Start by getting recommendations from your wedding planner. Then have your hair blow dried by he or she. This may sound extreme for just a blow dry but it will be the best test as to how much talent you are dealing with and if they can handle your hair texture. Take my advice: honey, desperate times calls for desperate measures.

If you end up looking like a "cockatoo on crack" well you know to grab your fanny pack and run!! If you like it, well you are one step closer to your "desired do" for the big day. The next step is to have the stylist do an actual trial of the hairstyle you want. Tthen take a picture of a style that you like to the consultation. If you are not too pleased with the outcome but can see a resemblance of what you wanted, don't stress. There is hope. We have a plan.

When you return home have your existing stylist do a trial of the style you want. Take photographs of it and get some helpful tips from your stylist to take back to your "destination hairdresser" to try and duplicate. This actually works!! I always do step-by-step photos as I style the hair so the other stylist has a guideline to follow. My tips will include products, tools and techniques with notes and recommendations. Trust me on this one, it happens all the time.






How lucky are we to have the ability to splurge and actually travel to celebrate our special day? Although I have not had the opportunity to celebrate mine, I have been lucky to have been asked to do the hair and join in on the fun. From spectacular St. Johns to breathtaking Telluride and even in our own backyard Florida (no shoes and all). They were all so enjoyable and well planned. Speaking of well planned see, James Abel Events for a detailed, tasteful wedding planner and for flowers to die for.

back to hair baby! The idea of finding a hair stylist to do you hair for your wedding is hard enough much less in a strange City or a strange Country like Timbuktu. Yes there are great hair dressers all over the world.

If your wedding is in a major U.S. city, chances are you can find someone that can do a great job. Smaller cities are a challenge. Some "cultures" have different tastes. So, depending on where your wedding is in the U.S., you can end up with, well how can I say it, a hair style influenced by that city's flavor. Have you ever heard, "The bigger the hair, the closer to God?" You catch my drift.

You may ask, how do I even begin the process of choosing a hairdresser when
I'm planning a destination wedding? Here are some helpful tips on getting you going in the right direction. More and more, couples will visit several vacation spots before their big day looking for the right space that can accommodate their wedding. If the venue is chosen from a recommendation made by a friend or family member, it may be that most of the work is done. But if it's not, your first option will be to research a hairstylist in the chosen location.

So how do I do that?

Start by getting recommendations from your wedding planner. Then have your hair blow dried by he or she. This may sound extreme for just a blow dry but it will be the best test as to how much talent you are dealing with and if they can handle your hair texture. Take my advice: honey, desperate times calls for desperate measures.

If you end up looking like a "cockatoo on crack" well you know to grab your fanny pack and run!! If you like it, well you are one step closer to your "desired do" for the big day. The next step is to have the stylist do an actual trial of the hairstyle you want. Tthen take a picture of a style that you like to the consultation. If you are not too pleased with the outcome but can see a resemblance of what you wanted, don't stress. There is hope. We have a plan.

When you return home have your existing stylist do a trial of the style you want. Take photographs of it and get some helpful tips from your stylist to take back to your "destination hairdresser" to try and duplicate. This actually works!! I always do step-by-step photos as I style the hair so the other stylist has a guideline to follow. My tips will include products, tools and techniques with notes and recommendations. Trust me on this one, it happens all the time.






Together with your hairstylist, you have created the style you like. You have photos, styling tips, and suggestions on the products and tools used. All of this information will be a huge help for the stylist in "destination land,” because they will have valuable guidelines to follow. So, it's time to hand over the information and recreate that look. As the new stylist creates your ‘do, don't be afraid to jump in and put in your two (or three) cents. Remember: it’s your hair on your day, so, “you run tings" (as we say in Tobago)!”

The other option to getting the right look for your destination wedding is to hire your existing hairstylist to go with you and do your hair. It will be wonderful if your stylist does makeup as well, so you can kill 2 birds with one stone. You may think that it’s too expensive, but there is no price tag on the comfort in knowing that you and your bridesmaids will look flawless. Think about it: you are offering a hairstylist the opportunity to go to a fabulous location, have a free hotel room, attend a wedding, and get paid too! Honey, if it was my wedding, I would chain that sucker to the bed post and have him do hair everyday!

The advantages of taking your own stylist:

A) He or she will know you and your hair like no one else

B) The trial would have been done at home so there will be no stressing whether it will be perfect or not… and no surprises.

C) You will have all the tools and products you are used to. Especially in very humid locations, you want to have the best.
Products to keep those frizzes at bay:

I remember doing a wedding in St Johns and the bridesmaids were looking for blond hair pins, and there were none to be found anywhere on the island. Antonio to the rescue!

I wish you great wedding hair!

Copyright © 2008 Antonio Gonzales, All Rights Reserved

Posted by Unknown at 7:39 AM - 0 comments

DESTINATION WEDDINGS PART THREE

Destination Weddings, continued…


Together with your hairstylist, you have created the style you like. You have photos, styling tips, and suggestions on the products and tools used. All of this information will be a huge help for the stylist in "destination land,” because they will have valuable guidelines to follow. So, it's time to hand over the information and recreate that look. As the new stylist creates your ‘do, don't be afraid to jump in and put in your two (or three) cents. Remember: it’s your hair on your day, so, “you run tings (as we say inTobago)!”

The other option to getting the right look for your destination wedding is to hire your existing hairstylist to go with you and do your hair. It will be wonderful if your stylist does makeup as well, so you can kill 2 birds with one stone. You may think that it’s too expensive, but there is no price tag on the comfort in knowing that you and your bridesmaids will look flawless. Think about it: you are offering a hairstylist the opportunity to go to a fabulous location, have a free hotel room, attend a wedding, and get paid too! Honey, if it was my wedding, I would
chain that sucker to a post and have him do hair everyday!

The advantages of taking your own stylist:

A) He or she will know you and your hair like no one else

B) The trial would have been done at home so there will be no stressing whether it will be perfect or not… and no surprises.

C) You will have all the tools and products you are used to. Especially in very humid locations, you want to have the best.
Products to keep those frizzes at bay:

I remember doing a wedding in St Johns and the bridesmaids were looking for blond hair pins, and there were none to be found anywhere
on the island. Antonio to the rescue!

(The end)

Posted by Unknown at 6:09 PM - 0 comments