Makeup for Guys...

Believe it or not Guys sometimes need a little touch up, cover up for their stressful days on their wedding time. In fact people who are ill sometimes need touchup's. This saves your photographer time and you money when it comes to portraits. It also should not be limited to just grooms. Leslie Moore (The Moore Makeup Experience ) has been touching up Guys at weddings for a long time. She says that she has added radiance to many men who have been ill or had too late a night on someone's wedding day.

It can be a confidence booster for Guys as well as women. No one has to tell so no ego's are put on the chopping block.
Note:the guy in this photo was not wearing make up/or was he?
Leslie Moore contact: http://www.mooremakeup.com

Make Up

One would think that a bride not dare walk out of the house without makeup. If one thinks this then one is dead wrong!

One of the great things about being an experienced photographer is that I get the opportunity to work with brides of all ages, types and personalities. How much or how little makeup they wear has nothing to do with age but sometimes it must. There is a short window in our lives that we can go "bare" when it comes to makeup. Unfortunately that time rarely ever coincides with our wedding day.

Years ago I had a bride who was older and not a naturally radiant bride. She was a very stressed individual and it showed. On her wedding day, I walked into the room where she was getting ready. Assuming that she was just running behind I said "when you get your makeup on we can do your portrait." She, to my amazement said "I am not going to wear makeup." I was shocked to say the least. She was in her late thirties with a very blotchy skin and a very red nose. Yes a red nose! Had I had the guts then that I have now I would have said over my dead body am I taking pictures of you with no makeup as nicely as possible. Instead the only words that I could stutter out were "Are you sure?" You can imagine her blotchy face and her zit in her otherwise beautiful photographs.

After that, I was bound and determined never to let a bride so that to me again. You may be asking why should you care it is her wedding?. It maybe her wedding but they are my pictures with my name on it. I would have to retouch every picture. After that I realized I could not let that happen ever again.

Years later I got a phone call from a bride who described herself as the Anti-Bride who was having a winter wedding. As I do with all by brides, said "make sure that you get your makeup done first because our light will be falling and we need to make sure that we have light to do your portrait". To my horror she said "Oh I am not wearing makeup, that is just who I am I just don't wear makeup." I stopped speaking so long that the bride asked if I was okay. I explained that yes I was okay and she should consider wearing makeup because everyone needed something to even out skin tones. She said no she was confident that she would be okay with out. She had olive skin and she was really confident in her appearance. All I could do was try to politely convince her in other telephone meetings. To my relief on the day of her wedding she came running in wearing makeup. This was the first time that I had ever seen her face to face. Her first words to me were "Hi Tara so nice to meet you...LOOK I am wearing makeup! Aren't you glad?" I was so glad she had listened.

I also need to give you all a bit of info about me. I NEVER wear makeup, like never. I realize though that there are times in our lives that we need to step outside our usual boundaries because we do not always know best. Something as small as foundation and a little lipstick makes us look alive in photos.

You maybe asking what is the big deal who cares if a bride chooses to wear makeup or not.

What does a bride win or loose by not wearing makeup?

Well a bride really only wins on a hot day. They do not experience the pleasure of makeup sweating off their face.
Anything else? no not really

A bride looses in many ways.

1. She may not look as fresh or energetic.
2. All of her flaws will be out in the open for friend and family to see.
3. Oh my God if her groom never saw her first thing in the morning the wedding is not the time to plant that picture in his head.
4. Don't blame your photographer for those bags underneath your eyes...most of that is not his/her fault.
5. By wearing makeup you will save photo-retouching which equals money.

On the same note a bride can wear too much. From a professional photographer's paper to your ears if anyone tells you you need to wear extra think eyeliner so you look like a heroine addict they are wrong. The truth is that you need to wear a little more makeup than usual. You still want to look like yourself.

I have come across many brides who did not like their make up. Some have even started over from scratch when the makeup artist leaves. I have also had brides that were forced to wear make up that they were not comfortable in for their entire wedding. There is something wrong with that. The point of makeup is to help add to your confidence emotionally, make you more radiant than you already are and to hide a few minor flaws. I must admit I have even told minor fibs to brides running late who ask "Do I have too much eyeliner on?"


What most brides do not know is that they should receive a complementary dry run with their make up. The time to test how you like your hair and makeup is before the wedding not the day of when everyone is running late. Honestly you are just wasting money by running late. If your ceremony is 30 min late you have lost money on your photographer, musicians, minister or person performing the ceremony and gelato guy-the gelato is forming ice crystals (not good). Keep in mind that some vendors do more than one wedding a day and they may not be able to stay the extra time. While I say don't worry the wedding will not start without you, you are paying people good money. So while 30 min should be in every vendors fudge time they may not be able to wait 45 min to an hour. If your ordained minister is doing another ceremony an hour can be the difference between you getting married or not.

On another note, if you are someone who always wears a lot of makeup, keep in mind make up is a comfort zone issue. I have had brides who only feel comfortable wearing a thick layer. If that is your comfort okay, but if you are trying to hide flaws sometimes too much can make it worse. Sometimes with makeup less is more. So when hiring a makeup artist hire one who has experience and one whom you are confident in. Tell then what you see as wrong with your face ask them how they plain to cope with it. Also all makeup products are not the same. Realizing this now will save you a lot of time and money in the future. No all good ones do not cost an arm and leg.

Some of my tips to make sure all is well with make up are... These are also tips from Leslie Moore who can be contacted at http://www.mooremakeup.com
1. Do a trial run well before.
2. Make sure your makeup is done first, your makeup person can leave stuff for touch up later.
3. If you have a large wedding party, you need to have more than one makeup artist.
4. Figure out ahead of time who is getting made up to insure that you are giving your makeup vendor enough time-tell them as soon as possible so they can book clients appropriately. Include both the mother of the bride and the mother of the groom.
5. Don't use makeup with sun screen on your wedding day. Sun screen is reflective and when combined with a flash from a camera can cause you to look pale or whiter than usual.

Good business and Vendor Tips

What do you do when you hear horror stories about the vendor you have hired from other vendors? As a personal and business rule I never bad mouth other vendors. I don’t say bad things about people unless I am willing to say it to them face to face. Unfortunately weddings are a big business, especially in Charleston. That creates a competitive environment-it’s good and bad. A lot of competition creates competitive pricing amongst vendors but it also can create bad attitudes. As with any industry the event business is full of talkers. I have had run-ins with certain vendors myself. Once reason is because of Kick Backs that I would not be apart of and the other is just plain personality conflicts, but vendors are a bunch of talkers, especially in an industry that is full of women. I had a bride who had decided to go with a wedding coordinator that was going through some really tough emotional problems. At a wedding, they showed it and were removed. The bride was understandably upset and in a small town like Charleston rumors started flying. My bride chose to leave her coordinator and go with someone else but only after talking to a friend who was actually at the wedding. She asked me later if she had done the right thing, I said she had to do what she was comfortable with. The bride did this only after having a heart to heart with the vendor and only after they neglected to return multiple calls or emails. She did what she felt was right because she had just started a business and needed someone that she could really depend on. This vendor did all the right things to try to make her feel better about the situation even after they lost the bride as a client. The vendor also learned a lesson and began to fix his personal issues-something that only takes time.
As a small business owner we all have things in our lives that affect our performance, that is something that can not help but not being able to perform on a wedding day is unacceptable. As a small business owner you do what ever it takes. One fall Friday I got a telephone call from the wife of a good photographer friend in D.C., he had been admitted into the hospital with what they thought was a heart attack. He was in the ambulance and she was on her way. Could I come tomorrow for an afternoon wedding? We were on the plane the next morning-from Charleston. Even though they had a personal issue they were not going to let that destroy their clients day, that is just good business.
Don’t feel like you are stuck with a vendor that you are not confident in but be prepared to loose some deposits. I always do favors for my favorite vendors so if they have a client that needs a little extra care I do my best to work in it. One February we had a young couple that believe it or not photographed weddings and they were going to fire their photographer. They had good reason though, the bridal portraits were not up to the bride’s standard, she was really unhappy and then the photographer wanted to charge her a lot of extra money for her portrait. In addition the bride (a photographer) also was referring the photographer on dates that she was unavailable. First of all while I don’t believe in kick backs I do believe in thanking people for business, sometimes that’s lunch or a discount on your profit. Second if there is something that you are unhappy with—that is with in my control, I am going to do my best to make you happy. That is customer service. This Bride felt that it was important enough for her to risk loosing that money. Was it worth it in the end to loose money? Well at the end of the day, she has great pictures to show her grandchildren and ones that she is proud of.
As a client you have a responsibility to your vendors. You have to tell them when you have a problem. If they are not returning your email call and ask why, voice your concerns and ask for explanations. If they are not living up your expectations tell them what your expectations are and put them in writing. Clarity can be a problem in this information age, why I don’t know. Sometimes vendors speak in industry terms that other vendors and clients may not understand. I know sometimes I have no idea what some of my commercial clients are explaining to me about their products. If it is required for me to know so that I can properly present their product, it is my responsibility to ask. The same with my clients, if they want me to take a photograph of something that may be technologically impossible I have to let them know. Sometimes with new clients I really have to explain what I am doing and why in order to get them to trust me. At a wedding, I do not always have the time to explain why I pose them a certain way that they may think feels really stupid and uncomfortable, but I need them to trust me. They have every right to ask why. If you tasted a funny flavor in your chicken dish wouldn’t you ask what that funky flavor is? If you wouldn’t you ought to.
People aren’t mind readers and sometimes they get clients confused. So don’t expect a vendor to remember everything that you tell them. One year we had three brides all named Margo, I got so confused with who I was talking to because they would all call and say hey Tara its Margo then go into discuss their wedding bridal therapy needs because my first question was hey what’s going on. Then half way into the discussion I would finally figure out which Margo I was talking to. So with important things follow up with an email.
You are going to be dealing with a lot of small businesses so their hours may be weird, leave a message and request a call back. I always get frustrated with people who tell me I am hard to get in touch with because they never catch me in the office. They also never leave a message or email. I am not mind reader and sometimes forget to forward my phone to my cell. If you don’t leave messages don’t expect people to call you back.
Tips on finding the right vendors:
1. Make sure your personality clicks with that of your vendors, you need to get along. Chemistry is important.
2. Make sure that you have a contract and specific contract information.
3. Referrals are good, but kick back referrals are not always good. As a rule, I would not recommend someone who I would not have work for me.
4. When choosing a vendor that is art related choose one that has a style that clicks with yours.
5. See some of their actual work-A lot of their actual work.
6. If they return your phone calls in a reasonable amount of time that is a good thing.
7. Put your expectations out on the table from the get go. If your expectations are beyond what your vendor is willing to do then a good one will tell you that ahead of time. If your vendor makes funny faces when you say you want a 500 desert soufflés for guests at exactly the same time you may want to take that as a sign. Either that your request is too large or that you need to find a larger caterer.
8. Certain vendors need to have insurance; all good vendors would have liability insurance. Make sure Vendors like the one dealing with the Bar has insurance. The last thing that a new marriage needs is a lawsuit from one of their guests.
9. Know the right questions to ask (I am going to give you some) and a few answers so you can see that vendors know their trade.
10. I think that asking for references is both good and bad, of course vendors are only going to give you references of people that love them—they all do. So ask for referrals from friends, look on chat room like The Knot, ask other vendors that you really like and trust, last search on the internet and call don’t email.

Vendors requesting too much

The vendor client relationship
The nature of a wedding is intimate so keeping relationships strictly business
can be a difficult task. It can be difficult not only for the bride but also for the vendors. One of the key aspects that a bride looks for when hiring a wedding
designer or coordinator, videographer or photographer is a personal connection. After all, she is going to share the most intimate moments with them but she needs to remember that she must keep the relationship professional. If a vendor does something less to be professional the bride does have the right to release the vendor from their contract. Also if the bride has expectations outside that contract that needs to be addressed early on. Remember you have the right to demand contract obligations but not the right to expect your vendor to turn coal into diamonds-unless it is specified in the contract.

What is a bride to do if she finds out that her vendor was not who they claimed they were or the vendor neglects to live up to said expectations?
Address that with the vendor. We all make mistakes and some vendors have really small shops (this is not a bad thing, it means a stronger personal connection). Even vendors have life altering issues that may interfere with day-to-day operations. That being said if your vendor fails to return multiple phone calls in a row you have the right to be concerned about their performance on a bride’s wedding day.

One month before her wedding a potential bride called me seeking our availability for her Charleston, SC wedding. I always ask why the quick planning because for a vendor what seems to be a really unorganized bride could mean a very needy bride. I have to make sure that I have the extra time that she will need. She told me that she fired her wedding coordinator in Chicago-who worked with her photographer husband. The coordinator became pregnant and expected the bride to pay airfare for the coordinator’s 65 year old parents to come help with the wedding. This was not in the contract that the bride signed and it is unreasonable for the coordinator to make this request. The bride had many reservations about firing her coordinator and photographer.
She felt bad but the vendor expected way too much and was out of line. No vendor should expect any bride to pay for this. With so many coordinators in the area of Charleston she could have hired help for the day. It really sounded like vendor was trying to get a family vacation out of it. That was unethical and out of line. All worked out she found a photographer and her florist was a talented wedding designer. Her wedding was beautiful and featured in a wedding magazine.
When dealing with a vendor that you have problems with put everything in writing and refer directly to the contract.
Keeping a paper trail will help to protect you if things end up going to court. Request that your vendor put everything in writing as well as your responses to it. Honesty is a huge attribute in a vendor or anyone for that matter. We have clients who have been less than honest thus know that can be a frustrating experience. Contracts are there to protect you and the vendor. Thus if you feel that a vendor is being less than honest you need to let your vendors know that you are unhappy when you are unhappy-don’t let it build up. On the other side a vendor should not be as aggressive with you. They are working with you and should be as accommodating as possible.