A little preview...

I took a trip to Austin this weekend to do some final pre-wedding prep work, which included meeting with both of the coordinators (day-of and on-site), the florist, and the hairstylist and makeup artist.  I had my fingers crossed that all my internet research had really paid off, particularly when it came to hair and makeup - no time for do-overs!

First up was a trip to the hairstylist, Mandy Silver of Propaganda Hair Group.   Mandy took a look at some of my inspiration photos and got right to work.  She kept up a steady stream of conversation throughout the appointment and I could just tell she was going to be awesome to have around on the day of the wedding.  Fun, friendly, and skilled - excellent combination.

Mandy working her magic to make my curls awesome.

The finished product was exactly what I was looking for - and I had brought my hair combs along, so we even got to try a few options out for those as well.

Pretty curls!

From the side.

Happy girl, but in need of some makeup.  

After my hair was prettified, it was on to makeup with Maris Malone Calderon, who just had a baby girl four weeks ago and was already back at work!  Given my own very minimal makeup had been applied at 4:45 that morning before my flight to Austin, I was in dire need of a makeup boost (see photos above).

Maris had won me over with photos of her previous brides I, so I knew this was going to be fun. I looked through her portfolio and pointed out things I thought were more "me" (natural blended application, rosy glow) than some of the other looks (darkly lined eyes, colored eyeshadow).   We decided on medium length falsies with a couple of longer ones on the corners, and airbrushed foundation for staying power in the Austin heat, and she got to work.

Maris was laid-back, professional, and relaxed, and again, I found myself thinking "what a great person to have hanging around with me on the day of!" She started me off with a Round One application of "lighter" eye and lip makeup, just to set the bar, and promised she'd pump it up in Round Two.

Round 1: the "lighter" version.

The airbrushed foundation was amazing - so light, smooth and comfortable!  I liked the false eyelashes, and the natural lip color, but the overall color palette and look felt a bit underwhelming (aside from the fact that it was a thousand times better than my own makeup application; hallelujah for professionals).

Round 1 from another angle.

Then it was back to the chair for Round Two - with a slightly darker eye and different lip.  First we actually went darker with the lip color, but immediately decided that came across a bit "old."  So then we went brighter with the lip, added some more blush...and I think we hit the nail on the head.  What do y'all think?

Glammed up even more in Round 2.  Woohoo!

I felt like I looked so much more special after Round 2, and the heavier eye makeup and brighter colors on my cheeks and lips really made my green eyes pop. I am definitely going to buy that lip color post-haste (it's MAC's Ultra Darling, if you are wondering).

At the risk of making you really tired of looking at photos of my striped cardigan, here are the final snaps we took out by the car, after hair and makeup were both complete:

Fancy, huh?  I'm so glad I scheduled these trials, as now I can cease worrying about whether or not I picked the right vendors from thousands of miles away - I have proof that they are in fact fabulous!  I can't wait to look this pretty again on the big day.

Did you do hair and makeup trials?  How did yours turn out?