I am so incredibly grateful to have had Christy Yoo as my makeup artist for my wedding! As someone…read morewho doesn't know how to do makeup, is overwhelmed by it, and struggles to visualize inspiration photos on my own face, finding the right person was daunting. It was incredibly important to me to find an artist who understood how to enhance Asian features. She came highly recommended by my wedding planner and a friend, and her team seamlessly handles larger bridal parties. I had also seen her in action at a friend's wedding before mine. Even then, I remember being so impressed by how attentive, thoughtful, and kind she was, consistently going above and beyond to support the bride.
Going into the process, I was really nervous because the most I ever do is curl my lashes and wear mascara. During the trial, Christy asked me if I had any concerns, and I was completely honest. Because I don't usually wear makeup, I was terrified that a bridal look would feel heavy and cakey. Christy was so reassuring. She looked at my skin and told me that I didn't need heavy full coverage, and instead gave me a gorgeous, soft-glam look with light-to-medium coverage. I appreciated this so much because her application felt completely comfortable all day.
Even with the lighter coverage, I was honestly a bit thrown off right after the trial simply because I wasn't used to seeing any makeup on my face. On my drive to the shoot, I remember looking in the mirror and analyzing how my skin texture looked compared to when I don't wear makeup. Every little texture detail felt a bit more prominent to me at first, even though everyone else thought it looked amazing. But once the photo shoot started, my biggest struggle was remembering not to touch my face! My natural reflex was to scratch or brush away stray hairs that touched my face, and I caught myself doing it quite a few times. By the time the shoot was over, though, I realized I was getting used to leaving my face alone and seeing myself with makeup on. The texture didn't feel prominent anymore, and I could finally see what everyone else was seeing. I am so glad I did the trial for that reason, it completely normalized everything for me. By the time the wedding day arrived, I looked in the mirror and just thought it looked absolutely amazing! Since I never wear makeup, it was just an incredible feeling to look at all of our photos and genuinely feel so pretty.
Our wedding day had a lot of moving parts and traveling. I had a traditional Chinese tea ceremony in the morning and a Western ceremony later. I had bought specific hair accessories for the tea ceremony that worked best with a bun, but since I don't love buns, I really wanted a half-up, half-down look for the Western ceremony. Christy happily changed my hairstyle between ceremonies so I could have both looks. She was so organized and made sure we had plenty of time for the change and touch-ups. I had also warned her ahead of time that I cry a lot, and I definitely teared up a ton, but despite the summer heat and the tears, absolutely nothing smudged all night.
I booked her concierge package, which was worth every penny. We started incredibly early, and Christy stayed with us to make sure everything was perfect. Since our venue was on a rooftop, it was quite windy that day. Christy noticed that my veil's comb was a bit shallower than usual and was worried it might get blown away. Instead of leaving just because her contracted hours were up, she stayed extra time to ensure my veil was completely secure with extra bobby pins so it wouldn't slip during the ceremony. Christy made me feel so beautiful and made the whole process incredibly easy. I cannot recommend her enough!
