weddings Archives

Have you ever wondered how celebrities always look so amazing on their wedding day? How their dress is not only the perfect cut, style and shape for their body but also stays looking immaculate all day? Or how all those pictures in wedding magazines always look so perfect? How the jewelry is the perfect accompaniment to that particular dress, every element is just right?

I am going to let you in on a bridal secret. On every wedding magazine I shoot and every celebrity wedding I work on there is a wardrobe stylist pulling everything together, taking care of every tiny detail. This is not just for the rich and famous though – regular brides can take advantage of this type of service too!

Ristyle Consulting photographed by Marisa Belle Photography

My friend Risa Kostis of RiStyle Consulting not only works with me on magazine shoots and campaigns, but also on weddings. She provides the coolest service for brides, and although she does have a high powered celebrity clientele, she also works with non-celebrity brides, A.K.A. regular girls.

Should You Hire A Wardrobe Stylist For Your Wedding?

I know this is somewhat of a new concept for many brides, but after everything I have seen from working on more than 500 weddings I have to say yes, if you can do it hiring a stylist is a fantastic idea! When I first started doing weddings I had to explain to brides why they should invest in a makeup artist for their big day. For most it was a really new concept.

When I started airbrushing I was the only airbrush makeup artist in my state (Arizona), and although it was required for most makeup jobs I was doing in Los Angeles, here in Phoenix I would have to show brides in order for them to be willing to try it. Of course they LOVED it. If you haven’t thought about working with a bridal wardrobe stylist, either for styling your entire bridal party from start to finish, or for day of wedding assistance, read on, because this is bridal fabulous!

What Exactly Does A Wedding Stylist Do?

For RiStyle Consulting’s Bride’s Best Friend services there are different layers and levels of help available.

From helping choose the dress to co-ordinating bridesmaids dresses, to day of help – there is a lot.

Choosing The Dress.

One of Risa’s Bride’s Best Friend options is helping brides choose the right dress for their body size and shape, for the climate they will be getting married in and for the style of their wedding.

Risa Kostis with bride courtesy of Round Lens Photography

There are so many little details to think of, from the cut of the dress to the fabric choice to how it frames your derriere. Face it, the world will be seeing you from behind on this big day, so you want a dress that makes your bottom look beautiful and that doesn’t allow any back fat to roll over the top or under your arms. Celebrities are so aware of these types of details, be it for red carpet events or weddings, so they have stylists on speed dial to make sure they get it right!

After years of working in fashion around the United States and around the world (Risa used to live in Florence!) styling photoshoots and events, Risa knows how to help you get the best dress for your body (and budget!) and which shapes are going to flatter you most.

Grooming The Groom

Guy’s need help too, or maybe the bride needs help figuring out the details of what the guys are going to wear. Pocket squares or not? Bow ties or regular ties? What type of knot should they be tying? Cumberbunds? Vests? Suspenders? What about the style of tux or the complimentary colors to tie in the bridesmaids dresses?

These details can be overwhelming to a bride, but are quite easy for Risa and her team.

The Bridesmaids Dresses

Risa helps choose bridesmaids’ dresses too, from helping you to coordinate color palettes to understanding the shapes, fabrics and cuts of dresses and how they will work on your bridesmaids’ bodies.

image courtesy of Round Lens Photography

In magazine shoots everyone has a perfect model body, in real life we come in all shapes and sizes, so having someone who understands that working with you can save you no end of problems down the road! I can’t even count how many times I’ve had a traumatized bridesmaid in my makeup chair, dreading getting into the dress that makes her look fat/shows too much leg/shows every dimple even through spanx.

For those of you who don’t have a perfect team of professional models for your bridesmaids, a wedding wardrobe stylist prevents these types of problems from occurring. For those weddings who do have a bridal party full of professional models there is normally a stylist involved in the dress selection anyway!

Mother Of The Bride

Finding the right dress can be stressful for the mothers too. A bridal wardrobe stylist works with mothers who need or want their help and finds them fabulous dresses for the big day.

Wedding Day Styling

I am not around for all the pre wedding work, most of my job with a bride and her girls happens on the day of the wedding (I do the makeup). After working on more than 500 weddings I have to say I have pretty much seen it all! From exploding wedding dresses, to rips and tears in bridesmaids dresses, to alterations that have gone wrong – so much can happen on the wedding day!

image courtesy of Marisa Belle Photography

Risa (or your stylist) arrives during the makeup and hair schedule and starts steaming dresses, making sure the alterations are correct, and generally getting all the wardrobing ready for the photographers and then ready for the bride and her ladies.

Until you get married or have been in several weddings you don’t realize just how many wardrobe issues show up on a wedding day! From having to fashion tape girls into dresses to sewing on buttons, fixing hems, fixing ripped straps, helping the guys get their ties correct – a wedding day stylist takes care of so many things!

She also goes with you for your pictures, making sure the dress is sitting right, hasn’t bunched up or become lopsided, the train is fanned out right, the veil is sitting perfectly. She also keeps an eye on the bridesmaids and groomsmen, keeping their wardrobe and the overall look of the shoot just right.

image courtesy of Marisa Belle Photography

Photographers love it because they can just concentrate on the photography and not be adjusting ties and dresses. Brides love it because they know they are going to look fabulous, so they can relax and just enjoy themselves.

image courtesy of Marisa Belle Photography

Wedding planners love it because they can be focusing on all the other details they need to take care of with the wedding, knowing that the bridal party is being taken care of with an extra set of very well trained eyes.

image courtesy of Michaela Magnum Photography

Where is RiStyle Consulting?

Risa is based in Phoenix but she flies to work with clients around the country and around the world. Risa also has a team of wedding pro’s who work with her.

Find out more about Risa’s RiStyle Consulting wedding stylist services here.

Contact Risa with any questions here.

Your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life.
It is also one of the most photographed days of your life. Make sure that you can enjoy those pictures forever by avoiding the following 8 Bridal Beauty Blunders.

1. Getting Caught Up In Trends.
Trends and fads come and go. The biggest look of the moment will be out of fashion in 3 months. Your wedding look should be timeless and beautiful, and not look dated next year, or in 10 years time.

2. Contouring And Highlighting Like A You Tuber.
Following on from avoiding trends, understand that the excessive highlight and contour you see on you tube is perfect for drag queens, but can be an absolute nightmare for brides.
Most wedding photography happens outdoors in natural light, which is the absolute worst light possible for an over-contoured face. Rather than making you look beautiful, heavy contour and highlight can make you look like a caricature of yourself.
Save your big contour for nightclubs, where it’s perpetually dark, and everyone is drunk anyway!

3. Trying Something New.
Your wedding day isn’t the day to try something new. Don’t break out a big red lip for the first time ever, or suddenly convert to an intense smokey eye or giant strip lash.
Your groom needs to recognize you as you walk down the aisle. You need to look like your very best version of you, not like a stranger to him.

4. Skipping The Makeup Trial.
The trial is not only important for setting up the look for the day, but it gives you a chance to observe the makeup artist, their skills, products, hygiene. It also gives you a chance to see if their energy matches yours. Some artists are technically brilliant but their energy is just toxic. You need to make sure the vendors who will be around you on your big day bring good energy and a pleasant vibe.

Bring pictures to your trial, both of makeup you love and makeup you hate. It’s the best way to make sure you are both on the same page.

5. Shimmer And Shine In The Wrong Places.
I always advise scaling way back on the shimmer, or even skipping it altogether. Shimmer can translate to sparkle in sunlight, and look terribly wrong, especially high on the cheeks and under the brows.
Glowing, dewy skin is lovely, but can make you look oily/sweaty in the wrong light, so don’t go overboard on the shine. Adding shine to the center forehead and along the bridge of the nose can be fabulous on a fashion shoot, where everything is controlled, but on a bride can often look like greasy skin.
Avoid glitter completely.

6. Too Much Dark Drama On The Eyes.
Black liner and black shadow are a no-no for brides. Black liner grabs the light and makes you look like you are squinting in all your pictures. If it doesn’t shut your eye down in the outdoor light it becomes the main focus on your face, and you see the liner before you see the girl. Opt for dark expresso browns and deep moody purples instead. They will give you the accent you are looking for without closing your eye down.
Even if you can make black shadow look fabulous in the makeup chair, wedding makeup has to last 10 to 12 hours at least, and black shadow as it wears in can make you look heavy and tired under the eye, and can make your eyes look like they have sucked in to the back of your skull.

7. Lashes That Are Too Big.
Back to the outdoor light – lashes can act like awnings hanging over your under eye, creating big shadows that make you look tired and haunted. They can also be too dense at the lash line, making you look squinty in your pictures. Be careful with strip lashes if you are not used to wearing them. Tears can weaken the glue in the inner corners of the lash, making them lift away and look crazy.

8. Foundation Mis-match.
Your foundation needs to match your skin, not only in depth of color, but also in undertone. Your makeup artist needs to know if you are a cool tone or a warm tone, and needs to have a solid grasp on color theory, so that they can build you a perfect color. Once your perfect shade is created it needs to be applied in a sheer and even veil. Thick, chunky foundation looks awful, especially in the daylight. It should look like perfect flawless skin, not thick, opaque makeup.
I just read on a Facebook pro makeup artist community page a post from someone bragging that they do 10 faces in 4 hours for weddings. That is only 24 minutes per person, which tells me some major steps are being missed, and my guess is the first missed step is going to be the creation of the perfect complexion.

How To Be A Good Bridesmaid.

At this point in my career I don’t even know how many hundred weddings I have done.

Hundreds and hundreds of them.

In the midst of all the fun I always see what’s going on, and I’ve learned a lot about what makes a good bridesmaid.
Here are 10 tips for how to be a good bridesmaid

1. It’s not your show.

A really good bridesmaid knows that today she is absolutely NOT the star of the show!

You need to defer to the bride, don’t be an attention vampire, don’t be the loudest girl in the room.

No matter what goes down, be chill.

2. Say Yes To The Dress.

Who cares what it looks like on you? Tomorrow you can wear something different. As for today, don’t complain, don’t make snippy comments about how it’s not your style. Just roll with it.

3. Be Makeup Cool.

Hopefully a good makeup artist has been hired for the big day, and is keeping all the bridesmaids looking beautiful. If you change out your lip color, draw on some big contour, or do something wacky with your eyebrows (ahem – Instagram) you will draw attention to yourself and take it away from the bride (and the other bridesmaids) and no doubt ruin every picture that you are in. Most of the time you will look stupid and vain.

Do your big makeup look tomorrow, but today just be chill.

4. Help Where You Can.

A good bridesmaid will be unobtrusively helpful. You can easily fix things, take care of potential problems, do simple things like get the bride a drink, make sure she has something to eat – essentially help her day flow smoothly. Just don’t do it in a way that makes you look like you’re seeking a pat on the back, or trying to outdo another bridesmaid.

5. Keep The Mood Light And Fun.

A really great bridesmaid will keep the mood in the room light and fun, diffusing any girl-drama that is threatening to break through. The bride needs to remember this as her best day ever, and feel the love and support of her closest friends rather than remember the getting ready portion of her wedding day as being a mean gossip-fest.

6. Bring An Emergency Kit.

If there is no wedding planner onsite then bring a few bits and pieces in case something goes wrong. Tampax, safety pins, bobby pins, bandaids, Excedrin, Fashion Tape, Altoids – little things that can make a huge difference.

7. Only Be Positive.

Don’t tell her her hair looks wrong or that her dress doesn’t fit quite right. Even if they do.
She is probably already feeling vulnerable and this is not the time for some passive aggressive “I’m only telling you because I love you” nonsense.

Tell her she looks beautiful, draw attention away from anything that isn’t quite right.

The biggest component of looking beautiful is feeling beautiful. If she feels gorgeous she will radiate gorgeous. No matter how amazing she looks, if she feels like she’s not looking her best, then that is what she will project.

8. Don’t Get Drunk.

You know your limit. Don’t go past it.

The drunk bridesmaid lowers the tone of the event. And she gets immortalized in the wedding album with her half falling down up-do, bleary runny eyes and smeared lips.