We all know my hair and makeup vibe is fairly natural, but…Astra asked me a few weeks ago if I would consider taking on her gothic-themed wedding at Tintern Old Station next to Tintern Abbey. My answer was obviously YES!
As summer fades away, I, quite frankly, get miserable! I’m not one of those who lives for a pumpkin-spiced latte, or winter knits. I want sunshine and dresses and sunglasses. So, in the autumn I need to get out, do fun things and work with people who feel like sunshine. Astra was just that. Sunshine. An encapsulated light bringer.
Astra was working in Canada in the lead-up to her wedding on a writers’ retreat (she is an accomplished poet/artist and writer. You can see her work here) so Astra and I couldn’t meet in person for a trial. Instead, we had a video call a few days before her wedding to ensure we were on the same page about everything.
Astra and Scott wanted to get married in Autumn to coincide with their love of all things autumnal and gothic. They chose 5th November – close to Halloween and on bonfire night (always great to get a light display on your wedding day!).
Wedding hair
For the gothic theme of Astra and Scott’s wedding, Astra wanted ‘big hair’. Astra already has pretty much the coolest hair I’ve seen. It’s got such beautiful curls and is fairly dark – she is Greek and looks as beautiful as you would imagine. Astra knew she wanted braids of some sort so via Zoom, we decided to go for a half-up/half-down halo braid. Astra had an autumnal flower crown which we wanted to fix on top but still allow for the braid to be on display. For this, we decided on a Dutch braid, where the braid sits atop the head instead of integrated into the hair as you would do for a traditional braid. Think – the first braid you ever learnt to do and then reverse the hand movements.
Wedding makeup
You already know what’s coming. The wedding makeup vibe was…gothic! But, of course, as it’s me doing the makeup, you know we aren’t going for Halloween vibes. For the makeup, we went for a mix of reds and purples that were blended together for softness. As a final touch to add depth, I added a dark brown eyeshadow on the outer corners and finished off with a thick black gel liner with a wing.
To keep the look modern, we opted for a nude lipstick. I find that going for a dark lip and dark eyes can sometimes be a little too overpowering and can easily date a look.
We were so happy with the outcome and I can’t wait to get the images back to show you all.
You can see some of my other weddings here.
