Danber in December

I had to pleasure of traveling to New Orleans in December to celebrate the marriage of Amber and Dane!  Carrie and I had a BLAST on this trip as we do every time we are in New Orleans.  Danber's wedding gave us the great excuse of staying in New Orleans for New Years Eve as well!

Amber needed an impromptu make up artist for the rehearsal dinner, so I grabbed the ridiculous amount of make up I brought on the trip and headed to her house.  She was looking for a natural cat eye liner, which I was a bit nervous about at first.  I can whip up liquid liner on myself no problem, but had only practiced a few times on other people (Thanks Julia and Carrie!)  The practice runs had not gone so smoothly, but I was determined to get it right under pressure.  I (and Amber) was very pleased with the outcome!  The one (great) thing about doing make up on your friends is you can use your own products.  I don't recommend it if you are trying to go professional, but I've gotten away from the formal atmosphere of make up.  On a whim you gotta use what you have!

Seriously, could they be a better looking couple?!

The wedding was BEAUTIFUL at the historic Rosy's Jazz Hall.  Great food, great people, great drinks, great time!  The wedding and reception was followed by the most awesome bar I've ever been to called Bellocq.  Adding to the awesomeness was that the bar was directly next to our hotel, SCORE! 

Beautiful Photography: Emily Newman

Beautiful Hair: Nicole Schmitt

Beautiful Make Up: McKenzie Ziegler

I'm BAAAAAAAAACCKKK....for this post.

So, after an extremely long hiatus from the make up world, I was suddenly asked to do three weddings in one weekend!  I took this very obvious shove to jump on the first request...Michelle and Sarah's wedding in Austin, Texas!

Off I went to Austin October 4th to be taken in by the generous Mr. and Mrs. Fitch for the wedding weekend!  When I received Michelle's zealous wedding itinerary the day before THE DAY, I knew we might have some problems.  Let's just say the schedule went in 10 minute increments.......for several hours...........with no cushion time.  Now for anyone who has ever been behind the scenes at a wedding, you can pretty much guarantee this thing was going up in flames around 9:47am for a 6pm wedding. BUT, I was just there for support and make up when the time came!

So, I arrive at the beautiful Umlauf Sculpture Garden thirty minutes late due to heavy rush hour traffic (which luckily was right on time for the running-behind-schedule wedding party **INSERT LARGE SIGH OF RELIEF**).  I begin with the first beautiful bride, Sarah!  Unfortunately, we had not had time for a consult prior to the actual big day, so I show her some colors I plan on using and insert the general disclaimer of "We can always start over if you don't like it".  The beauty about make up is if you screw up, you can take it off and start again.  I'm not doling out tattoos here, people.  But, generally speaking, you don't want to be the cause of tears on someone's wedding day.  Well, Sarah cried alright but they were happy tears! WHEW! LARGER SIGH OF RELIEF!

Seriously, could she be any cuter!?  Alright, one bride down and one to go at this point.  But, where is Michelle?!  I finally track her down in the garden frantically getting things prepared.  After I drag her into the bridal room, we do a hands-over-eyes switcharoo to get Sarah out of the bathroom and Michelle in so I can start her make up.  Michelle wanted a simpler look and gave me a generous ten minutes (WHAT?!) do complete the make up she would wear for the biggest day of her life.  Profuse sweating has now begun.  After we finished in a jiffy while also trying to get Michelle to relax in the process, she rushed off to get this party started!! Second bride challenge a success! Now, where's my cocktail?

Their wedding was BEAUTIFUL and I cried more tears of joy than the wedding party combined.  Congratulations and I love you both!

Here are some photos of Rebecca Fitch and I galavanting around the beautiful city of Austin.  I also bought some authentic Texas boots, which I have not removed for months.  

Just cooking up lunch for wedding guests at the Salt Lick

So....many.....choices!

Afternoon hike with Rebecca

Yes, this is for adults too.  It was an awesome ride around Zilker Park!

Random fun with the brides on my last night!