My wedding was on 3/30/13 at the Bridges Golf Course in San Ramon. I started looking for a make up artist around October of 2012 (the recommended 6 months time frame to secure a make up artist on most wedding websites). After doing some intense research for a couple of weeks, I love Penney's work the most and her prices are very reasonable for what I'm looking for. She was very responsive to all my questions (I believe there were over 60 emails exchanged between us), and she's just a great person overall. Super easy going, and she really cares about her clients and what they want. My fiance and I went to the trial at her house, and we just loved her! It felt more like hanging out at a friends place, and the warmth of her personality just shines. (Her dogs are super friendly, too!!!) The trial went very well. I don't typically wear a lot of make up, so it took a bit getting used to. But like everyone says, make up helps the photos look better!
We decided on the indulgent bride package with some modification to it. That's another fantastic thing about Penney, she's sooooo flexible! I made some changes to the hair/make up leading up to the wedding. Penney was always very understanding and did everything she could to make sure I'm happy. She also updated our contract and detailed out the changes to make sure we are all on the same page. I wanted to have different make up/hair styles for the ceremony, tea ceremony and reception, and also wanted my make up touched up throughout the day because our day started at 6 am. (Her airbrush skill is so good, in the end, I think I'd be totally fine without any touch up. But because she was there, I didn't have to hold in my tears during the emotional/touching moments of the day, cuz she could just touch it up! =p)
Looks on Wedding day:
Bridal pictures: natural make up with up-do hair with pearl studs in hair
Tea Ceremony: touch up make up with up-do hair with Chinese gold accessories
Ceremony: natural make up with up-do hair with fresh orchids in hair and 10 ft cathedral veil
Reception: smoky look with side do hair with extensions and crystal hairband
6 am - Penney arrived a couple minutes before this to set up. Most of the bridal party were still asleep, and I was super sleepy, too. Penney showed up all professional and ready to get the day started! Pictures speak a thousand words, I will post some pictures when I get them. Penney did a fantastic job with my make up and hair, I received endless compliments throughout the day, but most importantly, I still feel like myself! Her airbrushing technique is superb, and she really concentrated on the little details(such as making sure my own lashes goes well with the fake ones). One side note, I broke my right elbow (yes...that's the side where everyone will see during the ceremony) a month before the wedding and had surgery on it , so I had a scar about 5 inches long. It was a fresh scar, but after a couple minutes of airbrush, it's completely gone!
9:00 am - We were done with hair and make up around now. And it's almost time for bridal pictures! We had a lot of ppls running around in the bridal suite at this point, and it's amazing how Penney can concentrate on her work while talking to ppls. All my bridal party and photographers loved her! We had to check out of the bridal suite to go take pictures, Penney stayed to help clean and made sure we got everything! Thank you thank you thank you!!!
12 pm - Penney met us at my in-laws up to touch up my make up and hair for the tradition tea ceremony. Again, there must've been 50 ppls in the house. Penney got to work right away. With just a few touches, and different accessories, my tea ceremony look was completed. Again, lots of compliments. =)
3 pm - The ceremony starts at 4 pm. Penney came to the venue to do my touch up. I could tell I was getting super nervous at this point already, and Penney definitely helped to keep me relaxed. I had a 10 ft long cathedral veil and fresh orchids for my hair. Our wedding was on a grass lawn at the first hole, and it got pretty windy when the ceremony first started. I could feel my hair was getting pulled my the wind and was soooo scared that it might the flowers or the veil would fall off...but Penney did such a great job that they stayed in one place (as evidenced by how great the photos looked later). So if you are thinking about having a super long veil for an outdoor wedding, you can definitely do it with Penney's amazing skills!
5 pm - Like all Asian weddings, our photo session took longer than expected. So Penney was only left with half an hour to change my hair do and touch up on my make up. Again, super fantastic job while under lots of pressure from the event coordinator and ppls coming in and out of the bridal room
Wow, that was a long review. Words cannot describe how happy I am to have Penney be my make up artist. I will definitely recommend her to all my friends and family. =) read more