There’s something rather special about getting ready for a wedding in one of London’s beautiful hotels – and Valentina’s wedding back in 2016 at The Sheraton Park Lane was no exception.
For Valentina, the brief was elegant but relaxed. She wanted to look polished and beautiful without feeling overly made-up, so we kept both the hair and makeup soft and natural.
Soft, natural bridal makeup
For Valentina’s makeup, I focused on creating fresh, glowing skin and defining her features without making the makeup itself the first thing you noticed.
That’s something I’ve always believed about bridal makeup.
It doesn’t necessarily need to transform you into somebody else. Done well, it should photograph beautifully, last throughout the celebrations and still feel like you when you look in the mirror.
We kept Valentina’s eyes softly defined, her complexion fresh and luminous, and the overall finish understated and elegant.
Relaxed bridal hair
For her hair, we continued that softer feeling with a relaxed style rather than anything too structured.
The finished look worked beautifully with her dress and had that lovely balance we’re often looking for with bridal hair: special enough for a wedding, but not so formal that it feels completely removed from how you normally wear your hair.
Hair and makeup for the mother of the bride
We also looked after Valentina’s mum, Jacqueline.
Hair and makeup for mums is something we regularly provide alongside the bridal party, and the approach is much the same: it isn’t about covering somebody up or making them look dramatically different.
It’s about understanding how they normally like to look, what they’re wearing, and what will make them feel confident in photographs and throughout a very important day.
The best compliment? Being asked back
One of my favourite things about this particular wedding actually happened afterwards.
Valentina and Jacqueline went on to book me again for other events.
For me, that’s one of the loveliest compliments we can receive. Wedding mornings are incredibly personal. You’re inviting somebody into the room while you’re getting ready for one of the biggest days of your life, so being trusted again afterwards means an enormous amount.
And it’s something that has happened many times over the years — brides returning for other occasions, mums coming back to us, and CJC becoming the number they keep for the next time they want to feel particularly fabulous.
Bridal hair and makeup in London
CJC Hair & Makeup has been looking after brides and their families in London and beyond since 2010, from intimate ceremonies to large multi-day celebrations.
Whether you know exactly how you’d like to look or haven’t got the faintest idea where to begin, we’ll help you create hair and makeup that works with your features, your dress, your wedding and — most importantly — still feels like you.
Planning your wedding hair and makeup in London? Tell us your date, where you’ll be getting ready and who would like hair and/or makeup, and we’ll help you plan the rest.
All images were taken by the wonderful photographer, Paul Toeman, who was on hand to capture all the beautiful moments of the day.
