“I really couldn’t have been happier with my makeup for the wedding. I was a bit nervous about having airbrush makeup applied because I was afraid it wouldn’t look natural- but Jennie Kay Beauty did such a great job. It lasted all night, and in fact I still looked pretty damn good when I got up the next morning. ;)My mom was even won over & she can be a tough critic. When I saw her after my trial she was stunned. When I met my husband Chris for dinner that night, he just couldn’t stop staring, and just kept saying “wow. you look SO beautiful” (and he doesnt really like when I wear makeup!)” -Alexis M. (photo credit to Meghan Sepe,and hair by Jen Gonzalez).
“Chris and I first met back in 1997…We’d both just graduated from college and were working in Washington DC. A girlfriend of mine told me that a friend of hers from college lived in DC too, and we should meet up. So we did, and through her I was introduced to a good group of people that ended up being my friends for the 2 years I was in DC. Chris was among that group. But after my two years in DC were up, I moved away for school, and we did not stay in touch. Fast forward ten years, and I was living in Buffalo NY, getting ready to move to Hartford CT, when Chris popped up on my facebook as “someone you may know”. I thought “gee, what a blast from the past! Wonder how he’s doing!” I looked at his page- and it turned out he too lived in Hartford! I sent him a message, under the guise of “just moving to town, don’t know anybody, what are fun things to do?”. It took him a while, but, eventually he answered. And eventually, we agreed to meet.
The rest, as they say, is history. We dated for a year while I was in Hartford, then we both moved to RI (where I grew up). In June of 2011, just before our two year anniversary, he proposed. It was a Sunday afternoon & I had been called into work. When I got home I noticed something on our dog’s collar. After taking a closer look, I realized it was a tiny box. I opened it up, and inside was the most beautiful ring! Come to find out, he’d been secretly working with my sister (a jewelry designer) designing a custom ring, for several months. I made my way into the house, and on the back porch were candles and a bottle of champagne.
We were engaged and married on June 16 of the next year (2012)… so we planned our wedding for about a year. The ceremony was at St. Columba’s church in Middletown, and the reception was at The Clambake Club. I tried on maybe 10-15 dresses before finding mine. I found it at my third appointment, which was at Kleinfeld in NY, however, I must say it was much less dramatic than on “Say Yes to the Dress”!!
Fortunately, there were really no mishaps on the wedding day! Our dance floor was a little smaller than we’d expected so we couldn’t do our first dance quite as we’d choreographed it so we had to “wing it” a bit- but that probably made it better as we just had fun and didn’t worry about getting it exactly right!
I honestly don’t think I would do anything differently. The day was perfect just as it was- and exactly what we wanted.
I think the best advice I have to offer is- don’t get yourself too wrapped up in and stressed out by the little details. I see girls get so overwhelmed by color scheme, favors, gifts for the wedding party, cake toppers, getting the bridesmaids’ bouquets EXACTLY right etc… No one will notice/remember those things at the end of the day, and it’s not worth blowing your budget and losing your sanity. I also tried to stay timeless and classic, and stay away from a lot of things that are so trendy in magazines right now. I didn’t want to look back and think “oh yes. She got married in the phase of “rustic vintage”” or whatever.
I wish I could get married all over again!”
-Alexis M.
Former Jennie Kay Beauty Bride, Makeup by Jennie Kay a Beauty Parlour
Thank you again Alexis for sharing your story with us. It was our pleasure “playing dress up” with you on your big day & you looked fantastic.
-JKBP