Tuesday Shoe Love!

In this new collection Posen has embraced a softer silhouette and uses ruffles, peplums, halters, overlays and structured construction to highlight a woman’s figure to dramatic perfection. P E R F E C T I O N!

Weddings are joyous family celebrations, and we could not help but wonder what touching stories or observations our Creative Partners have to share, particularly about fathers of the bride. Well, dear friends, we got to hear some interesting reflections and seriously endearing tales this week and thought we would share just a few of our favorites with you:

“In weddings, the most touching father moments for me are the ones that tug on the heart-strings. The father who tears up at the sight of his little girl in her wedding gown, the ones who are strong but can’t hold it together for the father-daughter dance or even more so, the memorials to the ones that are no longer with us. Currently, we have a bride marrying on Father’s Day whose dad passed away this year. The memorial includes a plaque on a tree stump covered in moss, under two over-arching floral trees, a dried rose from his casket and a view of the dance floor where he can watch his little girl’s every spin around the room. It’s got me teary-eyed already! “  Crystal Adair-Benning, Distinct Occasions

“The father of one of our dearest brides gave an incredible toast at the reception in which he recounted writing his daughter a letter about marriage after her birth listing all the qualities and attributes he would hope her husband to have (be kind, smart, an eagle scout, dog lover…) all of which were the groom’s life story and as the speech went on it became evident that the letter to the daughter was not written after her birth, but rather specifically as a testament to how happy the father was with his son in law.”  Emilie Dulles, Dulles Designs

“The most touching Father/Daughter moment I have ever seen at a wedding was when the father of the bride was aging, and confined to a wheelchair.  We hadn’t planned on a father/daughter dance, of course, given the situation.  Toward the end of the evening, the band began to play a particularly sentimental song, and the father stood up, and with a very unsteady gate walked a few steps towards his daughter and they danced.  It lasted only a half minute or so, but there was not a dry eye in the house.  Apparently it was a moment he was not willing to miss!”  Debbie Geller, Geller Events

“After literally hundreds of trips down the aisle, father-daughter dances and father of the bride speeches I have seen so much unconditional and overwhelming love and sincere moments that I could write a novel.  Last fall though, I had a family that was completely in love with the celebration of marriage. The father of the bride threatened for months that when he got to the end of the aisle with his daughter that he was going to walk right out the side door with her and walk her down again, just so that he could have that walk one more time.  Of course, he didn’t when it came down to that day.  But I confess, I did actually wonder if he would because he joked about it so many times over the year and perhaps I was even a little disappointed that he didn’t.  Later that evening, after they danced to Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy, he said it, that he wished that he had walked her down again.  It was that moment that I realized how truly amazing those few moments were for him and all dads.  I’ll never watch a walk down the aisle the same way again.”  Kelly McWilliams, Weddings by Socialites

“I love to watch father’s and daughter’s dance together at weddings.  The way they hold themselves, touch and look at each other tells volumes of their relationship.   The bond between a father and daughter is very special, being chosen to capture those emotions and freeze them in time is one of the biggest honors I get to have every weekend.”  Andy Marcus, Fred Marcus Photography

“It’s always touching to see a seemingly tough gentleman break into tears (and into pieces) when he first glances at his daughter dressed as a bride and walks her down the aisle. It is by far my favorite part; I just love to see the look on the father’s face. It’s all about the meaning of that special moment when his baby is taking her own path. I am not a parent but I can definitely relate to that feeling.” Sarai Flores, Signature Event Consulting & Design 

“One thing I love to encourage my brides is to do a Father/Daughter first look.  It is so unbelievably special to see a father seeing his daughter in her wedding gown for the first time before he gives his daughter away.  This private moment can be done in the bridal suite after the bride gets ready, but before she goes to see her groom for their first look.  It’s a moment to remember for a lifetime.”  Heather Lowenthal, Posh Parties

{Photo by DFW Events and Edmonson Weddings}

Mark Ingram, Mark Ingram Atelier: “There was a time, shortly before I opened the Atelier and just post 9/11, when I was anxiety ridden and a nervous wreck.  The mood in New York City was dark, sad, and unsure.  I was second (and third, and fourth) guessing my decision to move forward with my plan….to go out on my own and start my own business.  Fear and insecurity were creeping in and winning. I was spending way too much time in isolation and contemplation. One day my father showed up to my apartment, unannounced and alone, wanting to talk.  Although he was always present, loving and supporting, my father, like most men of his generation, was never very emotionally expressive.  We had an amazing conversation that day.  He talked about his childhood and my childhood, about how much he respected me and appreciated my talents, and his belief in my abilities.  He encouraged me to move forward and not to abandon my dream because of fear. His faith restored my confidence and helped guide me through the difficult days of starting a new, small business during a dark and difficult period. He continues to inspire me each and every day.”

Saraí Flores, Signature Event Consulting & Design, “Do what makes you happy, don’t spend more than what you earn and be careful with power: it’s not easy to handle and it can blind the most honest of people.”

Andrea Liss, Hannah Handmade: ”My family is in its third generation in the oriental rug business on my father’s side. I grew up in the business and my childhood is filled with stories of time spent at the store and the office. The knowledge I gained there is immeasurable, but what stands out is something I learned from my grandfather, who died in his 50s and by that time had been gone for more than 15 years. Even after all that time, many customers, suppliers and employees went out of their way to tell me what a wonderful person he was – how kind and genuine and how much he cared.  No matter the situation, he always took care of his customers and everyone who crossed his path.  When interacting with the business, all these years later, they were still thinking of Milton Liss and how he made them feel. This legacy has stuck with me all my life. The business my grandparents started is now celebrating its 75th anniversary, and as long as there were people left who knew my grandfather, they were eager to talk about him and to share how he treated them in business. I have made this level of service and caring a cornerstone of my own business for the past 22 years and it is the foundation of all we do at Hannah Handmade.”

Amy Zaroff, Amy Zaroff Events + Design: “The greatest words of wisdom I received from my father: ‘All you have is your name, so use it wisely.’ Enough said.”

Colin Cowie, Colin Cowie Enterprises: “Best advice from my Dad – to live a full and passionate life with integrity and honesty. Do everything well, to be elegant and always with impeccable manners.   He installed a competitive spirit in me and a set of great manners.”

Zainab Alsalih, Carousel Girls:  ”The best advice my father gave me was that single most important decision I will make in my life is who I marry.  Being happily married for 15 years now, I understand how profound and true his advice was.”

Emilie Dulles, Dulles Designs: “Shoot for the moon, you’ll either make it or reach a star.”

Andy Marcus, Fred Marcus Photography: “The best advice my dad gave me was to treat people the same way that I would want to be treated.   My dad was one of the most respected people in New York’s wedding industry.  He always treated people with the utmost respected and they always returned that respect towards him.”

Larissa Banting, Weddings Costa Rica: “My father marched to the beat of his own drum and was never one to back down from a challenge – he once got a job selling cars during the Depression to make good on a dare from his friend (turned out he was brilliant at sales). Air force pilot, politician, band leader, store owner, event producer, committed family man – Digby Banting was truly one of a kind. I learned so much just be being around my father, watching how he interacted with people. He made everyone he spoke with feel special and that they truly mattered. No wonder everyone thought he was incredibly charming! His advice to me was to not let anyone tell you ‘you can’t do that’. Dream big, be smart about your choices and forge your own path to find success.”

It all started with “the dress”…a stunning back view of a beautiful ice blue grey gown with cascading delicate ruffles. I took one look and instantly fell in love!  I knew I had to find out more about the genius behind the dress that captivated me.  The designer Hamda AL Fahim is an Emirati who grew up in Abu Dhabi and graduated from Zayed University as an interior designer.

Hamda AL Fahim is new into the fashion world and is making big waves in the industry.  Her designs are a fusion of pure elegance, with a slight dramatic edge that creates a true wow factor! We can’t help but fall hopelessly in love the embroidered detail and embellishments on the bodice and hemlines on some of the gowns that are truly made to fit the curves of a woman.

We leave you with some of our favorites that we are totally fascinated with!

“There’s a yin and a yang in relationships. It’s about learning what nourishes your partner.  Stop trying to love your partner the way you want to be loved and learn the way they want to be loved. Then share the way you want to be loved.”

— Laura Berman

I will spare you the in depth details of the ill effects the sun and tanning have on the skin,  for only if you have been living under a rock without television, internet or human contact over the last decade, would you be unaware of how prolonged and excessive sun exposure can wreak havoc on your skin. Havoc in the form of age spots, wrinkles, hyper pigmentation and the most harmful, and in some cases lethal, skin cancer.  I will however, share the effects that tanning and sunburns have on how your makeup looks for your walk down the aisle.  The worst nightmare for any makeup artist, besides having their makeup kit run over by a Mack truck, or lost on a flight, on the day of a wedding, is discovering the bride has some stage of sunburn on her face and/or tan lines on her shoulders and back.  Now don’t get me wrong, I love a sun kissed glow, and am happiest when my winter sallow mocha skin turns into a beautiful rosy, chocolate brown. But I always achieve it by wearing a high SPF on my face and body and slowly build on the color over a period of time.  As should you. Below I have listed the most common problems that arise when any form of tanning goes terribly awry.

SEEING RED

This is when you walk in the door and mistake the bride for “Hell Boy” right off the movie screen. The bride’s face literally resembles a large ripe tomato with hair and puffy tired eyes that are swollen due to the lack of sleep from the excruciating pain she was in the night before.  Trying to put on makeup to cover lobster red sunburned skin can be a bit tricky, to say the least.  Not only can it be painful when applied but will often have to be applied heavier than if skin was in its normal state.  And, to compound things, because of the heat radiating from the skin, the makeup tends not to last as long.  Yup, that’s correct, it can actually melt off, which in turn, which means it will have to be reapplied thus irritating the skin further… Do you see where this is going? Nothing good comes out of a severe sunburn.

THE CANDY STRIPER

This is when your bride and/or her bridesmaids skin has what looks like laser cut bands cross their shoulders, arms and at times across the bridge of their noses from sun glasses.  This is probably the most problematic to camouflage because the variation in colors are usually more than 2 shades apart.  Again, it can be covered but with dancing and sweating, more times than not the strap lines will bleed through.  It’s never a good look for anyone, and will most certainly be seen in all your photos later.

SKIN LIKE LEATHER

Sunburns deplete the skin of moisture thus making it appear dry and crapey.  And because the skin is damaged and ready to peel, moisturizers have a hard time penetrating the tanned layer of skin.  Although you can do your best to moisturize  and try to even out the tone with foundation, the skin will still appear dry and  “aged” no matter what you do. Again, definitely not the look that most brides are going for on their wedding day.

THE SHEDDER

Peeling  skin is never an attractive look and it looks even worse in an bridal or evening gown.  It is especially unattractive for the makeup artist that is trying to apply makeup as dead skin is coming off on her hands, brushes and sponges. It is just unfair as, for some reason, makeup foundation does not sit well on new skin.  It is similar to the effect of trying to paint marble; the foundation seems to separate on the skin taking a longer time to apply.

Here are my suggestions for achieving a SUN KISSED GLOW without suffering from any of these over exposures:

SPRAY TANNING

• Do a trial run about 2 months before the wedding.
• Always exfoliate before application.
• Allot enough time to let the spray fully dry.
• My preference is having it done by a trained sprayer and not by a machine.
• Do not go more than two shades above your natural coloring.

SUN BATHING

• Always wear a sunscreen of at least 30 SPF.
• For your face, tan gradually.  Start about 2 weeks before the wedding and only sit out for about 15-20 minutes every other day.  This can be done on a lunch hour.
• For tanning the face and body always remember to:  A. Wear something strapless or B. go topless and C. remember take off your accessories (watches , bracelets and glasses).  Also beware of earphone and headset straps.  And ALWAYS wear your sun screen, reapplying it often.
• Upgrade your moisturizers to a creamier formulation, tanned skin needs lots of moisture it will look better and will help to prevent peeling.
• Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day, water keeps the skin looking and feeling hydrated.

***PLEASE NOTE: If your skin is has been describes by any of these adjectives: milky, porcelain, alabaster, or ginger, tread lightly on the sun bathing.  See  Seeing Red (accept for upgrading your moisturizer and drinking water).

A few of my favorite DIY tanning products:

1. Lancome Flash Bronzer

2.Kate Somerville 360 Body Tanning Towelettes

3. Guerlain Terracotta Spray Tan SPF 10

4. Dinair Airbrush Tanning System

5. Sisley Paris Self Tanning Hydrating Body Skin Care

6. Clarins Delectable Self Tanning Mousse

7. St. Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Mousse