I love a destination wedding – obviously. Especially when it is a destination wedding to one of the places that I have really wanted to go. The Isle of Skye. You can imagine how happy I was when Steph asked me to join her to be her destination wedding hair and makeup artist on the Isle of Skye last week.
Steph found me on my Instagram – which really does make all the posting worthwhile doesn’t it? We had a little chat about some of her options. Perhaps I would give her a makeup and hair tutorial, or maybe help her find someone suitable in Scotland. Ultimately, and luckily for me, Steph liked me enough to ask me to fly up to help her and her family get ready. YAY!
Steph is one of the sweetest people that I have met since becoming a wedding hair and makeup artist and I really loved spending time with her. It felt like I had known her years which definitely helps to make trials and wedding days run much smoother.
The day before, we were unsure as to what time Steph and Nick would be getting married. There was an option of a sunrise wedding – meaning a wake up call of 2am for me. Or also a much later 1pm wedding – a 6am call for me. Luckily, both their photographer Andrew and celebrant Rona were seasoned professionals. They knew the area and were happy to make last minute decisions based on the weather. The afternoon wedding was the winner which gave us much more time to make any tweaks to the hair and makeup that we might need.
Steph and Nick got ready at The Three Chimneys in Colbost. It was so beautiful and overlooked one of the Isle of Skye’s many lakes.
The Hair
Steph and I went through a variety of options for the big day. Steph’s hair is a little past her chin and so our options had the potential to be limited. However, Steph wanted to get hair extensions so that expanded our potential a little. Originally, we had planned to have one of my signature messy up-do styles. However, once the idea of hair extensions came in, we thought that perhaps a halo braid could be a good option.
We trialed both of these styles and decided on the halo braid. However, if you’ve worked with me, you know that I am not ‘wedded’ to any style. I am more than happy to adjust to last minute changes. On the wedding morning, Steph decided that she would like her hair down – after all, Steph’s hair is rarely long so it might be nice to have it down and flowy. Spoiler – we made the right decision and it looked beautiful!
Steph’s sisters and her mum all opted for up-do’s to contrast Steph’s long mermaid hair which, in my opinion, worked perfectly.
The Makeup
Originally, we thought that something natural might be a good idea, so to sort of match the aesthetic. However, once we finished our trial we compared the look to Steph’s insane wedding gown. Noting that it’s going to be fairly cold on the mountain, we realised that perhaps going a little heavier would be PERFECT! We decided on a heavy (ish) smokey eye, added some warmth to Steph’s skin and cheeks and kept the lips fairly neutral.
Steph had her hair dyed from her natural light brown to an ice blonde which looked INSANELY beautiful on her. It really completed the look so it was important to reflect this with the makeup. Adding extra bronzer and a little deeper colour on the cheeks is a great idea to stop any bride from looking washed out.
As a destination wedding hair and makeup artist, working in the Isle of Skye for the day meant adapting to changing weather and predicting what might look good depending on the temperature. Luckily, Steph is also super cool and chilled which was perfect for my laid back nature.
I am so grateful to Steph and Nick for asking me to be part of their special day. I love being a destination wedding hair and makeup artist. After having so many postponed destination wedding’s this year, it was so lovely to not only get to fly up with them, but experience an area of the UK that I had never been.
Thank you so much to both of you for allowing me to be there. I had the best time!
Photography: Andrew Rae
Celebrant: Rona the humanist celebrant
Hotel : The Three Chimney plus the casual side of a mountain 😉
See more of my bridal hair and makeup.
