I had my trial with Elena

I had my trial with Elena

I wanted to tell you all about my hair and makeup trial with Elena. My wedding is not until next Nov. but I wanted to make sure that I liked her before I booked. Also I wanted to make sure to give myself lots of time to find someone else if things did not work out well.
I have to say I am so happy that I found her. Thank you so much to all of the brides who posted information on her. I would never have been able to find her without you all.
I went to her home for my trial. But for the wedding day she comes to my home. The trial costs $40. That includes hair and makeup. She spent 3 hours with me and really fussed over the details. She also takes a polariod photo to put with her file. And of course, I can change my mind about how I want my hair between now and then. Since I really want a tiara headpiece she used one of hers to help me understand what my hair would look like. She listened to me, and worked with me to get the look just right.
I couldn't believe it but she has even done make up for Saturday Night Live and the Emmy Awards. She said that she just loves to help brides.
Elena stays with the bride on the day of the wedding until after the first dance. She makes sure that your hair and makeup are just right each step of the way, including your photos. Then after your first dance she bustles your dress and helps you remove your veil, if you want that. Her final cost is $275, which I think is really good. I have heard some MAC artists charge over $300, just for makeup. And a women in Fortunoffs told me that Maxim charges $150 just for the makeup trial alone.
I gave her a $50 deposit to hold my date.
Any questions, just ask.
Happy Planning!!!

Please post her phone#....Thanks! *NM*

I had my trial with Elena

She sounds great. Do other makeup/ hair people come to the site or is that something special she does? Please give us more information on how to contact her and how you know of her. Thanks.

More info on Elena

I got her name and contact information from this site. Some of the brides 'talked' about her. I am at work so when I get home I will post her #. She comes to your home (or where you are getting ready), then goes to the Church, or ceremony place, the photo location and your reception. She bascially follows the limo that you are in. She told me that she can handle up to 6 girls but I think that really depends on time issues. I have a 3:00pm ceremony and am taking my formal photos with my to-be-husband before the ceremony (because we will not have enough sunlight to do outdoors photos after the ceremony if we wait). Elena is coming to my house at 8:30am to start. I thought I could sleep late and relax most of the morning but boy was I wrong. It is going to be a really long day. Anyway I will get her number for all of you once I get home.

I used Elena & loved her...just one word of advice

I suggest booking Elena for you & you alone. That's what I did & it was the way to go. Otherwise, she is handling lots of other girls & each person does take some time. You don't want to feel rushed or crazed, so it's nice to have her all to yourself. Your choice, of course, just thought I'd share my experience. Good luck!

I'm using Pauline... I believe Elena used to work with her. *NM*

Phone number

Here is her number: 516-484-8473

Melissa...quick question

What do I do? I have 8 girls plus 3 Moms that need to have hair/make up that day. I was thinking of calling Elena and asking her if she could bring a second person. I was actually thinking of trying to hire Pauline too. They are very friendly and refer brides to each other. Elena also told me that they go to hair shows together. Any advise? I wanted to have Elena just do me, my sister's makeup and my mom's hair/makeup then have someone else help everyone else. Advise?

Melissa...quick question

Hi... That's a good idea. You should try to contact Pauline. I'm probably going to have that same amount of girls too. My wedding is next August. I was wondering how Pauline was going to be able to do that many heads at one time. They probably work really good together too! The only thing is that whether you get Pauline, or I get Elena too, they will most likely charge a brides fee on top of the extra girls. Only because they could be doing another wedding and making the same amount. What do you think? I would like to have a second person also. It is a good idea. I just don't know they would do it without a brides fee. Isn't it great that they stay with you until after your first dance??? I'm not a makeup and hair person to begin with, so I'll need all the help I can get. LOL! Let me know what you think?

Melissa...

With all of the other expenses I would hate to have to pay another $300.00 but if it is split 6 ways it comes out to $50.00 more per person. I will have to speak to Elena about it. Maybe she knows of someone who can assist her? Not sure what to do. Now that I have spoken to a few girls about her they all want to use her that day. I think I will call her next week and ask her what to do. But I agree, it is not a great idea to let her do everyone. There will not be enough time and we will all be late. Please let me know what Pauline says about your dilemna. I would love to compare advise on this.

Melissa...

No problem... I'll let you know! You let me know too! Good luck!

Just a suggestion for Michele31/Melissa (long)

I think that you both are taking on way too much responsibility to concern yourself with the hair/make-up needs of your entire bridal party and all of your different 'mothers.' If your weddings are local to where you live, than I suggest having BM's and Mom's going to local salons or having then arrange for their regular stylists to come to their homes.

Trust me when I say, that I thank the Lord I told my girls to go do their own thing w/hair and make-up the day of my wedding. Plus, it made them all happier b/c they could go to a stylist/salon that KNOWS them & their hair, and will do what they like.

The worst thing in the world would be if you force your BM's to get their hair done by your chosen stylist (that they didn't pay to have a trial with), and then they may be unhappy all day b/c they don't look like they wanted to.

Save yourselves the headache, confusion and trouble on your wedding days and only worry about yourself! You don't want all those people in your house for so many hours on the day of your wedding. Keep the crowd to a minimum, and let them arrive at a set time, so they can help you with YOUR final details, getting dressed and then pictures. BM's should arrive to your house fully made up & hair done. The only thing they should do at your house is slip into their dresses. It makes for a much happier, less stressful day for you!

to MiniBride

I appreicate your viewpoint and advice. I am not forcing my girls to have their hair/makeup done by Elena. My FI's 2 sisters and Mom are from Boston so I have to help them out with this. But most of the local women want her to do their hair/makeup because she is so good. That is the issue. I am trying to help everyone have a nice day. This is why I need to speak with Elena about getting a second person.
Plus I am very lucky that my Aunt has a huge house, with 4 bathrooms and 5 bedrooms. I am getting ready at her house and she invited all the girls to get ready there, especially since some are from out of town.

Just my opinion

No offense to minibride but when I (or my friends) have been in bridal parties, I am quite annoyed at the brides insistance on having my hair done in a certain way but not wanting to pay for it. In my opinion, it is the brides responsibility to arrange and pay for this service if she wants my hair professionaly set. This is especially true when I am coming from out of town. After paying for the dress, travel arrangements and gift who wants to pay another $50 or more to have my hair put in a twist?

As a result, I will be paying for my maids hair not only to elevate them of the cost but also the hassle.

How we are handling the cost

I am only offering the service to the girls. I have no problems with anyone who wants to do their own hair/makeup etc.. I agree, it is unfair to insist that they have their hair/makeup done. Not everyone even likes to fuss about hair/makeup. I am paying for my sister and best friend's plus my best friend's 13 year old's make-up. That is my way of helping them out with the cost. I just cannot afford to take on the entire bridal party costs or else I would. But again, this is only an option, nothing I insist upon.

Sonicstef - clarification

FYI - I did not insist that any of my BM's had their hair or make-up done professionally. In fact, all of my girls did their own make-up (as did I), and one of them even did her own hair. I told them to do whatever made them comfortable - that includes what their budget was for costs. I allowed them to wear whatever shoes they wanted, and even suggested that they dye a previously-used pair of shoes to match their dresses. I even paid for the balance of alterations for my MOH & SIL, since they both had to travel for the wedding.

For my out-of-towners, I did suggest a salon near to their hotel, and the result was, all of the women did their own hair/make-up anyway.

I have been in friends & family bridal parties that were very large, and it was mass confusion on the wedding day to have so many people trying to get ready in one house. Of course, it all depends on your personal style.

I, frankly, would have been far too nervous having all that chaos and confusion around me while I was getting ready.

All I was suggesting to michele & melissa is to be careful how much responsibility they take on for other people. It's their choice if they want to.

But, I still think it's a lot to ask a BM to use a stylist that the bride chooses, when the BM doesn't have the benefit of a 'trial' to see if she would even do a good job, or a certain style the BM may want.
Good luck!

Sonicstef - clarification

I didn't mean to imply that you did anything wrong but I figured it might be a good thing to mention for brides who make those demands.

Didn't mean to acuse you - sorry:(