ASK A VENDOR!

 Hair & Make-Up | Colour By Candace

Who: Candace Monteleone, Colour By Candace
Where: Hanover, NH & Charlotte, NC
What: Hair & Make-Up Artist

Candace was one of the first people that I met in the Dartmouth graduate housing community that my husband & I moved into last June. She is a WONDERFUL hair & makeup artist from North Carolina who moved to the Hanover area while her husband attended graduate school here. She’s done wonderful hair & makeup for several of my sessions and even got to do MY hair & makeup for a Gatsby themed ball this spring. I always knew that getting your hair & makeup professional done was beneficial for photos, but to be honest I didn’t realize the extent of it until I met Candace. She works wonders and makes transforms people’s visions into a reality! I will definitely miss her when she moves back to warmer weather in North Carolina this June, but I’m so thankful we got to sit down together to  before she leaves so that she could answer some questions for my “Ask a Vendor” series! {In case you missed the first one, you can see that HERE} Here you’ll find so many great tips for hair & makeup, specifically for brides on their wedding day! Enjoy!

Tell me a little bit about your business! How long have you been in business? Any favorite moments from being a hair & makeup artist?

I love what I do, I’m extremely passionate about it. I love that I can do what I love, while at the same time stay at home and raise my boys… I don’t just do it to make money. I started doing hair & makeup professionally in 2004, then I started my own business in 2009. Once, I got to do Halloween inspired hair & makeup for band OAR. Also, I just did a runway show for a high-fashion bridal boutique in Charlotte. I’ve met some really great people doing weddings– there have been so many sweet girls I’ve been able to stay in contact with in a lot of different places & I’ve gotten to see lots of great venues.  Here at Dartmouth, I got to do the wedding of the dean of admissions at Tuck, where my husband is attending business school.

Why is it important for brides & their bridesmaids to have their hair & makeup professionally done for their wedding?

For the bride, it’s the most important day of your life. You want to feel as stress-free as possible and part of that is looking your best. Not having to worry about that is huge. Getting your hair & makeup done also gives you an opportunity to have a fun bonding experience with your bridal party. You’ll remember having a fun time getting ready & relaxing. For the bridesmaids, it’s important for everyone to look uniform. Getting everyone’s hair & makeup professionally done is good for portraits, good for the brides expectations, and doesn’t exclude anyone. Again, it’s time you’ll all get to spend together.

How much time to recommend brides leave to get their hair & makeup done?

I always try to give extra time for a relaxed experience. For both hair & makeup, it usually takes about an hour to an hour and a half for just the bride. For a whole bridal party of 4-6 girls, I usually plan for about 4-5 hours total… If I bring an assistant it can take closer to only 3 hours. Again, you always want to leave plenty of time to make it a relaxed experience so you’re not rushed.

What beauty tips do you have for brides in the few days before their wedding?

Makeup: Don’t do anything out of ordinary – no facials within 2 weeks of your wedding, no waxing or tanning within 3-4 days. Don’t try any new creams or makeup… you do not want to risk it. You’d be surprised how many people go out to try something new right before their wedding!

Hair: Again, don’t try anything out of the ordinary… just get your typical hair treatment 2 weeks before your wedding. Don’t dye your hair right before your wedding, and if you’re getting extensions, do a trial run a few months before… Don’t do anything with cut or color that you can’t correct before the wedding. If you’re going to do something risky or different, try it a few months in advance where you have a chance to correct it.

Day of Tips: Never wash or dry your hair the morning of your wedding. You want your hair to be 100% completely dry when you’re getting your hair done. You should wash your hair the night before– the stylist will be putting product in it anyway so they can clean or dirty it up if need be.

In your professional opinion, what do you see as the #1 mistake brides make with hair & makeup?

I think that the #1 mistake is brides do something they would never normally do. For example, if you wear your hair down all the time, and you shouldn’t necessarily go for an up-do. If you do something completely different, you don’t feel like yourself. Pick a hairstyle that is a polished version of yourself. I never wear my hair up, so I would want to wear my hair in an elegant down style. A lot of times, brides see something that they think is good for a wedding, but isn’t necessarily you. As far as makeup goes, I get a lot of requests for “natural” makeup. Natural makeup does that mean no makeup. The camera will take off half of it, so you have to put on a decent amount of makeup to make you look your best in front of the camera. You really need to trust your HMU artist and trust that they know what they’re doing.

What advice do you have for brides for working with their hair & makeup stylist to get the look they envision?

Part of my brides’ homework prior to their trial with me is to e-mail me or come with a vision board (aka Pinterest!). I can’t give them what they want if I don’t know what they want. There also needs to be an understanding of “inspiration not duplication”… it is impossible to perfectly recreate a hair style, so brides just need to be aware of that. Also, don’t say “do whatever you want” unless you truly mean it. It’s hard when people say do whatever you want and then don’t really mean it because our visions don’t match. Even if you think you don’t know what you want, you usually have some sort of idea of things you like and don’t like.