Fitness Class for Brides by a Bride

Check out this fitness class that I found, designed for Nashville brides2be who want to shed a few pounds before their big day. Visit Bella Fitness Training for more info and tell her that AshleysBrideGuide.com sent you! She’ll take care of ya.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

I couldn’t wait to share Belle Bride’s blog on wedding day makeup. She’s obviously a cutie w/o makeup but her trial wedding makeup session (which I highly recommend) is simply breathtaking. Her makeup artist might be a good option for you too. Plus, Belle is so funny…enjoy!

A few weeks ago, I had my makeup trial run with the sweet Angelisa Farmer of Bridal Artistry (615-426-9713 or [email protected]). She has been a most excellent vendor. She returns phone calls and emails promptly - in fact, she will email me whenever she has new pics of a bride, or she’ll just check in to see how plans are going. She has a wonderful personality to boot.

I don’t have a certain look I’m going for, unless my request of “Do whatever to make me pretty” is considered a specific look. I completely trust Angelisa to know what colors are going to best complement my skin. We decided to do the trial run at my photographer’s studio because I was doing a bridal shoot. Here’s the prerequisite au natural shot.

Now you know why this girl rarely leaves the house without a little Maybelline Great Lash black mascara. Angelisa decided this wasn’t somber enough, so we had to give it another go. This time with ruffled hair.

Is it me, or does anybody else think that I’m quite possibly Tom Petty’s love child?

Angelisa worked on me for about 40 minutes, carefully smoothing out my skin tone, applying pretty neutral shades to bring out my eye color, and using a pink gloss for the lips. My favorite part was when she added eyelashes for that extra drama. Check it out.

What do you think? I actually took this picture after the shoot, so Angelisa had applied heavier color. My makeup won’t be quite this powerful for the wedding. She may end up using shades of purple for my eyes rather than browns for the big day, also.

I really like how she made the blue in my eyes pop. I was ready to go out on the town, flashing my eyelashes and what not. Then I remembered I have an amazing fiance….

So there you have it. I enjoyed having my face done professionally for the first time. A girl could get used to that! Thanks for the lovely work, Angelisa!

Friday, February 1, 2008

There were just so many great aspects of the party that one post just wasn’t enough. If you missed the event, relive the moments virtually…more highlights from the Nashville bridal break.

The Party - Party Patrol

What’s a party without a real jam session? Well, my 27 Dresses was no different. I left the music to Party Patrol, who I’d met at Weddings, The Bridal Show. They were the DJs responsible for the “Shuffle” stampede that I captured on video. If you missed it, you’ve got to check out this post.

When I walked into the event on Sunday, I heard Maxwell! Maxwell? I haven’t heard Maxwell in forever. I knew then I was dealing with a real music connoisseur. It was such a refreshing blast from the past. And the surprises didn’t stop there. Over the course of the afternoon, I was amazed by the hot tunes Party Patrol kept delivering. Of course, I danced to the Cupid Shuffle and the Electric Slide. I’m actually in the dance line pictured below in hot pink. I must admit that I am getting a bit rusty ‘cuz I nearly broke my ankle trying to “act” like I could dance.

The good thing is - I never had a single conversation with Party Patrol about what to play. They sensed the ambiance, the guests and took it from there. That’s a great DJ. Thanks Kelly!

The Pampering - Tina’s Salon for Nails and Hair

The folks at Tina’s Salon came out and treated my guests to wonderful manicures, hand massages and back massages. I was a bit jealous that I couldn’t partake. Tina’s offers specializes in nail, skin and hair services but they were kind enough to come out and pamper Nashville brides, bridesmaids and moms - giving them a great break from wedding planning. If you need a place for your bridal luncheon or are in need of great stylists for your wedding hair, they would be a great place to start your search.

Tina’s Salon gave each bride a gift certificate for hair and nail services. Thanks Tina!

Getting jealous just thinking about how you need a massage? Yeah - me too:)

The Pampering - Lesia Mitchell, Independent Mary Kay consultant

Lesia was available for facials and skin consultations. She also gave away some super sweet products to a few lucky brides.

It was really a lot of fun…more details on Saturday.

Friday, November 30, 2007

Looking for a great local hairstylist to make your wedding hair gorgeous? Check out my girl Shana at Harlow Salon. I got a quick run down on her bridal services when we chatted at 12:30am on myspace. (We’re both addicted!) You can contact her to ask her more questions. But this should get you started…

Ashley: Hey Shana - I know that wedding hairstyles are your specialty. What are your rates and do you travel on site?

Shana: Okay….pricing….Specialty Upstyle (wedding hair lol) starts at $65. Wedding makeup starts at $50.

If I go on location it’s a $350 appearance fee (since I’ll have to shut the salon down) and $100 per hour after that. I have a partner that I work with, so if it’s a large party, that’s not a problem. We also come as a pair on location if it’s a bigger wedding party but the fee jumps to $500 appearance fee and $200 per hour. (Why not just come to the salon?? We serve brunch, wine, mimosas, coffee, sodas etc…we even have a photographer that comes in and captures the girls getting ready and mails it to them on a CD! What a deal!) We offer bridal package deals, too….depending on the number of girls in the party.

Ashley: Great to know. I knew you had something hot for brides. I’m loving the mimosas / brunch offered at the salon. You guys have fun. I can tell.

Shana: You should come to our party next Friday!! We can meet and you can hear some awesome music, see our salon and enjoy some yummy desserts!

Ashley: I am heading to Hawaii for a quasi-anniversary trip so I wont be able to attend. But, I will come to the next event:)

Thanks Shana!

Check out Shana’s pics for some hairstyle ideas and visit her website to learn more.

Monday, October 29, 2007

Lisa is a talented makeup artist serving Nashville brides. She sent me the following makeup tips (yeah!) and I am sharing them with you. Of course, these tips are for non-wedding days. For your big day, you really should hire an expert, like Lisa, who knows how to enhance “you” for the camera. Here are her tips…

:: BROW ESSENTIALS and TIPS ::
by Lisa Johnson MUA & Stylist www.lisajohnsonmua.com

I’m huge fan of brow pencils and powders…I use them both for various needs. Essentials: A great angled brow brush, and mascara/spooly brush, small brow scissors, steel duo end sharpener..and I like the Revlon slanted tweezers. Clear brow/mascara. I even have a magifying glass I use for expert get in your face work. Wish I could hook it up to my head like a miner!

If you’re going to use a pencil…make sure it’s extremely sharp..each time. I tend to use L’Oreal blonde pencils a lot…they come in a 2 pack of 2 colors to blend.

I also love NYC brow kits in blonde/taupe and brown colors..cheap and pretty good. They come with a wax in the kits…do watch for fallout with the brown, but that is to be expected with some powders I do the brows first on most all faces. Sometimes this freaks people out…but to me it sculpts the face.

My favorite pencil powder of all time (so far) is Lancome’s Le Crayon Poudre. They come in 5 amazing colors…I use the natural blonde religiously. If I have to use it on a BRONDE (brunette/blonde) I just push a bit harder for darker tone. I like to use this on most everyone but the palest blondes or darkest hair. You can always use your slanted brush with a matte shadow for red, black hair, etc. Experiment with MATTE (no shimmer) powders.

:: COMMON BROW PROBLEMS ::
Waxing to Excess ~ Waxing is great to remove excess hair, but I always fine-tune the arch with tweezers. You can’t do the arch with wax because it could slip out of place and remove something you don’t want it to. It’s better to remove a few hairs at a time than too many at once.Mind The Gap ~ No one wants a uni-brow, but don’t go overboard when separating your eyebrows. Don’t go more than an inch apart; an inch and a half at most. A finger width is perfect. Otherwise your nose looks wider and your eyes look smaller.Beware of Tadpoles ~ The brows need gradual ascension. If you shape them too thick at one end, and too skinny at the other, you might end up with eyebrows that look more like comets or tadpoles. Keep it natural.

If you want even MORE in-depth information :: www.eyebrowz.com

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Advanced Skin & Laser Center
10 Cadillac Drive Ste 120, Brentwood, TN 37027

Admission: Free
More Info: Visit them online or call 615-425-3223

Want to discover ways to look your best on your big day? Check out the “Fall Affair” at Advanced Skin & Laser to see on-site demos of the hottest beauty trends - from botox to fillers to microderm peels. As you know, I love the staff at Advanced Skin (see my post on the topic) and rumor has it - if you attend, you will receive a discount on services you schedule that night. So, if you have been toying with the idea, stop by and save some money! Botox is awesome but pricey. Shoot me an email if you plan to attend:)