Meet wedding makeup expert Veronica “RaRa” Pastoriza

“After many years as a makeup artist for television and magazines, I specialize in bridal makeup artistry. My focus is always to exceed my client’s expectations, and to make sure she looks and feels her best on her wedding day.”
Veronica “RaRa” Pastoriza

You may know our makeup artist Veronica Inez Pastoriza as “RaRa” from Bethenny Frankel’s TV shows. Along with Once Upon A Bride principal Stacey Weinstein, Veronica is part of Bethenny’s glam squad, on hand to style the star for her shows and media appearances.

An accomplished and creative makeup artist, Veronica is exceptional at bringing out brides’ natural beauty.

From a very young age, Veronica has had a passion for the fashion and beauty industries. She studied Fine Arts at New York’s High School of Fashion Industries, and then went on to study Fashion Styling at The Fashion Institute of Technology. During these years, she honed her makeup skills on friends and family. She launched her makeup career as an intern for MAC Cosmetics in 2004 and then worked for Trish McEvoy for five years.

In 2007, Veronica began doing Bethenny’s makeup, and she has appeared on Bethenny Ever After. She has also been on the show My Fair Wedding and has worked as a makeup artist on Inside Edition, Selling New York and LX New York.

“I was thrilled to be the makeup artist for the wedding of Julie Plake, formally Bethenny’s assistant,” says Veronica. “While I have many years’ experience as a makeup artist, I have never done bridal hair in my life. Unfortunately, Julie’s hairstylist had a family loss and had to cancel at the last minute. Because it was a destination wedding, there was no-one but me available to do her hair. Stacey emailed me step-by-step instructions, and I’m happy to say that her hair was a complete success!”

Cagney and Zack’s Southern style, Charleston, SC

This past weekend, I headed off with my stellar makeup artist Veronica – you may know her as RaRa from Bethenny Ever After — to that most elegant of wedding destinations, Charleston, South Carolina. (By the way, girls in the Charleston area: Once Upon a Bride has just opened a branch in your beautiful city!)

We were there to style Cagney for her wedding to Zack at the amazing Lowndes Grove Plantation, an historic estate on the banks of the river in downtown Charleston. I love that Cagney had two different hair looks for her wedding day: first I created a classic Southern belle look using long hair extensions with a wave. And when Cagney walked down the aisle we went with a side up-do that complemented her sheer white veil beautifully.

Veronica brought out the bride’s own glowing beauty with a couple of different makeup palettes, especially accentuating Cagney’s eyes with a dramatic look including luscious eyelash extensions.

My new friends at Southern Protocol wedding planners did an incredible job of making this a wedding to remember. The color scheme was exquisite — love the bride’s magenta Queen Anne sofa on the lawn and the flower girls’ tutus! And Paige Winn did a phenomenal job of capturing the whole event.

Thanks for making us a part of your day, Cagney and Zack — you are the sweetest couple. Congratulations!