Let’s take a trip down memory lane shall we?
Hi everyone! Well, here it is- our long awaited first entry so thanks for coming along for the ride! So who is the face behind Sapphire? My name is Julie (or Jules as most would refer to me as) and I have been a hairdresser for 15 years and professional makeup/ special effects artist for 13 years. So yes, for all of you doing your maths in your head right now- I’m in my 30’s, “old and cruddy” as my awesome little four year old would without hesitation tell you! Thankfully my little boy who’s nearing two, see’s past any wrinkles and is more interested in tugging at my earrings to worry about my age! As for my husband… well he’s much closer to 40 than me so doesn’t dare comment!!
After being in the makeup and hair industries for many years now I still find there is one thought provoking question that arises on a weekly basis interestingly enough….
“Have you ever had any real bridezilla’s”? Well, believe it or not the honest answer is …. ‘No, not really’…. (Boring you say? Not at all… read on).
I do however have millions of ‘memorable moments’ which is where we begin our journey by tapping into my hair and makeup memory bank- part one.
We certainly have our fair share of extremely stressed, anxious, teary or angry brides-Category 1.
Then on the opposite end of this spectrum are our very relaxed, cruisey, sometimes to the point of numb (valium can do that apparently), shy, reserved, giggling, jumping-on- the-bed excited and squealing brides (yes, you know who you are!)-Category 2.
But these types of clients are what we would class as ‘the norm’ whereby frazzled mums, jealous sister- in-laws are also not so uncommon. Our stories generally derive from the brides who can have all those emotions within an hour and who openly share their deepest darkest secrets during hair/ makeup preparations. Even some of our high end and professional corporate clients enjoy sharing some of their juicy ‘love’ secrets with us (you’ll have to wait until part 2 for that one)!
We’ve heard of relatives that were forgotten to be picked up from the airport, those who wished they’d left some family at the airport, cake disasters, missed flights (oh that’s right… that was my wedding!), forgotten suits, grooms losing track of time out fishing or on the golf course, shaved eyebrows, black eyes… not to mention many hens night shenanigans!
Recently we had a wonderfully dedicated bridesmaid who was less than 2 days from having her first baby supporting her best friend through the maze of last minute bridal preps- with zero fuss. That’s a top effort I certainly think!
We had a lovely middle aged bride a few years back- glowing and so excited to be walking down the aisle to the man of her dreams. Through her incredibly long lashes and sparkling eyes she proceeded to tell us of her 2 previous weddings and the pain of losing both former husbands to cancer. Even after enduring such sadness throughout her lifetime, she was such a positive person with a brilliant outlook on life. She is someone who has certainly lodged herself in my memory after all these years.
We had a fun last weekend hearing stories from our witty bride and her mum residing over her inheritance from Grandma- being some 1920’s lead nipple protectors! Imaginations ran wild, then exaggerating them to become…tasselled…sequined… and so on!
Finally in this chapter, one of my all-time favourite moments has to be with a gorgeous Grandma of the bride sharing with us all her hilarious and very ‘naughty’ wedding night procedures in detail including the imaginative use of feather boas! She then continued to reminisce with tears in her eyes of her 58 years of married bliss with her late husband. Taking us all on her own beautiful journey, sharing secrets of her long and happy married life was very inspirational to say the least.
I love this job! The knowledge we gain through other people’s experience’s is invaluable and most of the time SO uplifting.
So make sure you stay tuned for chapter 2 with more unforgettable moments revealed!
Until then, take care
Jules ?
