Inspriation: Get Organzied

One Halloween night later, half of my makeup brushes were chewed. Yes, chewed. I did several makeup applications for trick or treaters and once my candy bowl emptied,  I realized I left my makeup brushes on the table. My sweet little Yorkie jumped up on the table and enjoyed the non-bristle ends. Anyone who shares a home with a four legged friend knows how easily this can happen. Well,  the perfect solution to keep the brushes standing, not touching each other, not rolling onto the floor, into the bathroom sink or near the hands (or paws) of little ones is to stand the brushes in a container filled with coffee beans, rice, marbles or even mini beads.  Hope this inspires you with a little "to-do" project over the weekend! Happy Friday! :) Ashley

All images pulled from Pinterest

Feature: The Knot Magazine 2012

We love to see new magazine issues on stands. We love to see our work featured. We love to see our favorite vendor friends featured as well. We really LOVE when we get to see it all at one time! 

Earlier this year Up-Do's For I Do's had the pleasure of working with The Knot for their vendor networking party ~ Cocktails and Connections which was held in Baltimore at the 1840's Ballroom.  You can see more photos from that evening  here. The incredible elleDesigns' version is here! 

...and below you can see it in print! Congrats to all the fine artists that contributed to this event.  

The Venting Bride: Pinterest

Ok... (take a deep breath here), these days being a bride and having Pinterest is either a blessing or a curse.

Look at all the categories that you can choose from....

With all these choices, you are bound to find a minimum of twenty hair styles, ten makeup looks, and a ton of do-it-yourself wedding favors, center pieces, and invitations. Even certain shots can be found for your photographer to take. 

 

After taking another deep breath, try to create one board with a max of 4 hairstyles and makeup looks that you want to try out at your trial. After that you can narrow down to exactly what you want on your day.

 Be sure to check out Up Do's For I Do's Page and boards for some great current looks, that can help you narrow down your choices. Don't get overwhelmed, and don't take on too much DIY projects. As your day gets closer, you will get busier :-)

 xoxo, Lindsay 

Real Wedding: Brenna

Even though the temps are warm, I couldn't resist posting this wintery wedding. Brenna had a gorgeous December wedding and her stunning photos from D.Bryant  are to die for. Stay cool! 

:) Ashley

Mondays with Mindy: Shows and Expos

A wedding day can take several months to years to plan. These life altering events are becoming more and more elaborate as the years pass. How does a bride (and hopefully groom too) avoid or at least lessen the stress of planning a wedding? Stay organized. Write out a check list of all the details needed for your day and stick to it. Crossing off each item one by one is not only very satisfying, but will keep you organized and less stressed.

Don’t know where to start? Bridal Shows. Bridal shows have come a long way. Since weddings have become more and more extreme, it only makes sense that bridal shows would follow in those footsteps. Bridal shows are a great tool to find amazing vendors local to your area. Not only is it a place to meet these vendors, but it’s an opportunity to see what the best of the best in the industry have to offer.  All the latest and greatest trends are laid out for the brides-to-be to see.  Even if certain vendors are crossed off your list, the expos are wonderful places to get ideas. Say you already have a photographer lined up for your wedding day. That shouldn’t stop you from seeing other photographers work. You may spot a nontraditional photo of the bridal party that sparks your imagination for your own bridal party to try out on your special day. Since most vendors bring examples and samples of their work, you will get a firsthand view of what each business can do. I am neither married nor engaged but love when I get a second to sneak away from our booth to walk around and check out the newest trends! Plus, I have two words for you…CAKE SAMPLES!

Below is a list of upcoming events where you can visit Up-Do’s For I Do’s!!

Hope to see you there!

XOXO Mindy



September 9  Alexandria- Mark Center


September 16 DC Convention Center


October 2 & 3   Wedding 411 Fashion Show


January 5            Chesapeake Bay Beach Club Show


January 13 What’s Up? Bridal Showcase in Annapolis


January 20           Washington Bridal Showcase at the Patriot Center


February 2 & 3     Baltimore Bridal Show


April 7th               Historic Inns of Annapolis

Behind the Scenes: Baltimore Bride 2013 Editorial Shoot

Yesterday we had the pleasure of helping Stephanie Bradshaw and team with a photo shoot in the Woodberry area of Baltimore. The stellar images from Jennifer Hughes will grace the pages of Baltimore Bride Magazine in 2013. With dresses pulled from Bella Bridesmaid and Garnish, our groomsman dressed by Christopher Schafer, the models were flawless. 

Lindsay and I prepped the models for their close-ups. Lindsay used gold as her main eye color. Their skin was left with a dewy yet natural look.  I kept the hair voluminous and textured while pinning 2 models into updos and leaving our blonde's long locks half-up.

To see a sneak peek of the overall color palette, take look at the SB blog. 

 

 We couldn't stop swooning over this gorgeous vintage piece. I was so thrilled I was able to pin it carefully into one of our updos. Check out the contest we had going on facebook. The person who guessed the retail value won a custom Up-Do's For I Do's lipgloss!

Super happy to meet Chelsea. She did the models' nails and WOW is she spectacular. Her nail art is definitely a fine tuned practice. Can't wait to work with her more often! 

I've been dying to get my hands on Christina's locks. We played with a few ideas for an up swept bun. You'll have to wait until the issue is printed to see what we settled on.

 See the cutie-patootie in the hot pink shorts? Super excited to welcome back (you might remember her from this shoot) Eleanor into the hot seat. I was even more excited to play with her amazing blonde hair.

...we may or may not have been standing on our tippy toes....

details...details...details...

 Ha! Can't show you the whole design but that is one gorgeous tiered cake from Charm City Cakes walking in the door. 

Yeah....there it is again..that oh.so.perfect brooch.....

 Fleur de Lis brought magic and sweet smells to the room when these pretty petals were delivered... 

 Paper! Who can forget the paper??? Just Ink On Paper was in the house pulling together those small but equally important details. Can't wait to show what they designed!

 ....and that is all until the big reveal of the print version of our day yesterday! We will be sure to post in 2013 with the images that make the cut! Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend :) Ashley

Inspiration: Social Media

With Pinterest and Instagram all over the web and so easily accessible with today's smart phones, we can't seem to get enough of all the creativity that the internet has to offer.  We are out of the office today and on-site using our creativity for a fun photoshoot that will be published later this year! Be sure to follow us on facebook, twitter and instagram so you can see behind the scenes images as we work with our favorite designers, models and photographers! Happy Thursday!  :) Ashley

Feature: Martin Parsons

Here at Up Do's For I Do's we pride ourselves at being one of the best for your bridal up do. It is important to us that we continue education and keep learning. This allows us to keep hairstyles current and not outdated. Who wants a beehive hairdo these days??

 

Although we all love Audrey Hepburn and her style, it may not be your wedding day style. Martin Parsons one of the best, uses his animated sense of humor to teach us new styles, and keep us current.  Ashley and I recently attended a class with the hair guru at
 The Temple, Paul Mitchell School.

With multiple participants from the class, Mr. Parsons showed us a number of styles and also showed us how to complete the styles in a very small amount of time! Allowing us, the artist's, to give a great style in no time at all!

 This was an incredible class to attend, and we were very lucky to be under his tutelage. As a bride you can be rest assured that when you hire an Up Do's For I Do's artist they are competent and well trained!


xoxo, Lindsay

Giveaway: Washington Convention Center Tickets

We've got them and we are giving them away to you! Email info@updosforidos.com for a pair of tickets to the Bridal Showcase at the Washington Convention Center on Sunday September 16th.   Also, be sure to follow us on Instagram! We first revealed our giveaway there yesterday!

Mondays with Mindy: A Salty Treat

After the conclusion of my favorite week of the summer (aka Shark Week), thoughts of the beach and ocean occupied my brain. And I thought to myself, “what does everyone want?” No, not a cage dive with great whites. Beach sexy hair!

My favorite product? Davines Sea Salt Primer. This product not only gives volume, but creates nice, beachy hair without the buildup. Another great thing, you won’t achieve the “crunchy” look by using this spray. It can be used in wet or dry hair for different styles. My favorite way to use it? Say I curl my hair in big waves for a night out. In the morning, my hair still has the curls but it could use a little help. All I do is spray Davines Sea Salt Primer into my locks. I take big sections to softly scrunch and magically my curls come back from the day prior! Added bonus? It smells like cake!

Feature: Pin. Hairspray. Gloss. Shoot!

We pin. We hairspray. We apply lipgloss. We make pretty faces prettier. We finalize a hairstyle for a polished look and it all comes together when the photographer captures our work. Completely honored to have our name grace these fine blogs. Thank you to those who share our work with your clients. Thank you to the brides who trust us for your big day. Thank you to the other industry pros who refer us, blog about us and support us. Enjoy some of our latest features on a few other blogs. A smile is always brought to my face when I see how happy our brides are!  :) Ashley

 Taryn's June 9th wedding. Photo by Erin J Photography

Amanda's July wedding with awesome coordinator Jenny Bartkus running the show while Jackson Photography captured the very hot summer day!

 TPoz documented Randi's Baltimore wedding. More images from the big day here!

After one rained out session, we were thrilled to be back at it with Elizabeth Ryan Photography! Engagement shoots are so much fun! See more of Katie and Dan here!

 Another engagement session (behind the scenes photos included) on Stephanie Bradshaw's blog!

 Lindsay's beach club wedding can be drooled over on D.Bryant's blog! Yum! Love the color combination! 

Ah! Sneak peeks are always such a tease! Love how Wendy Hickok dangles this gorgeousness in our face!

No power? No problem! Check out Felicia Gwen's blog with this incredible wedding and all of the vendors that make dreams come true. This was the weekend of the derecho drama!