Laura and John: Casual-chic summer style

How gorgeous is our bride Laura, pictured here on her wedding day to John? She just glows! When she came in for her trial, Laura told her hair stylist, Angela, that she was going for a summer casual, yet chic, wedding vibe. And Laura was thrilled with this half-up, half-down hairstyle with a braid in the back and beachy waves that Angela created. A jeweled hair accessory and veil added a touch of chic.

Every bride expects there to be some inevitable stresses on her wedding day — and for Laura it was the realization that it had slipped her mind to buy her hair extensions. Angela wasn’t fazed about changing styles on the day of the wedding, and the result was stunning. “Angela made me feel relaxed and took everything in stride,” says Laura.

When it came to makeup, Laura asked her artist, Nicole, for a very natural and glowing look. “That’s usually the hardest look to accomplish,” says Laura, “and it came out better than I could have imagined. My makeup was flawless. I didn’t touch up all day because I was too busy celebrating — and it turns out I didn’t need to!”

The couple tied the knot in Staten Island, where Laura grew up. Before they were married, they discussed the tradition of bride and groom buying each other gifts on the wedding day and decided that it wasn’t necessary.

But awaiting Laura when she woke to get ready was a bouquet of white peonies and roses from John. “These were the same flowers I picked for the wedding day, and I never knew he was paying attention to all of the details!” says Laura. “It made me feel so calm and happy that no matter what happened that day we would be getting married and that was all that mattered! It was such a sweet, small surprise that meant so much.”








Glen Allsop from Christian Oth Studio captured Laura and John’s day, and Laura wore a Reem Acra gown and Jimmy Choo shoes.

Introducing Sofia Beskasnova — Once Upon a Bride makeup artist

It’s so important to have a great relationship with your wedding hair stylist and makeup artist. You need artists you can trust to bring out the most beautiful you and make you feel fantastic on your wedding day. So you can get to know our artists a little better, I’ll be regularly featuring them here on the Inspiration page, so be sure to check back.

Sofia Beskasnova, wedding makeup artist, Once Upon a Bride NYC

First up is the amazing Sofia Beskasnova, who has more than a decade of experience as a professional makeup artist since starting out with MAC Cosmetics. Sofia, who is Russian and was born and grew up in Latvia, studied makeup at film and television school. She learned all the skills of glamour, red carpet, special effects, and film and TV prosthetics — but her real passion was women’s beauty.

“I love to see how wonderful and confident women feel when they have the right makeup on,” she says. “Bridal makeup will always be my favorite field in this fascinating industry. It is a very rewarding and happy job, because I make brides feel their most beautiful.”

Sofia is well known at the Paris, Milan, and New York fashion weeks, where she has been doing runway makeup for the past 12 seasons. She has worked with Diane Von Furstenberg, Oscar de la Renta, Marc Jacobs, Vivien Westwood, Reem Acra, and Monique Lhuillier. Sofia’s celebrity clients have included Lady Gaga, and her work has appeared on shows such as TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress and Bravo’s Miss Advised, Bethenny Ever After, and Project Runway. Her work can also be seen in GQ, Allure, and the Harper’s Bazaar runway report.

Every time I see a bride get to know Sofia during a makeup trial, the bride leaves our salon feeling absolutely confident and excited about her upcoming wedding day. Sofia becomes friends with most of her brides, and they often become lifetime clients.

When I ask Sofia what her approach is to working with brides, she says: “I always try to connect with my client first, then her face just speaks to me. I love doing wedding makeup! Natural, dramatic, sexy, extravagant — whatever fits the bride’s personality. And the biggest excitement for me is the moment when a bride smiles at me and says, ‘It’s exactly what I want!'”

When I shot my video for this website, I had Sofia do my makeup — she did an amazing job.

Sofia puts the finishing touches on a bride before she walks down the aisle

Sofia also loves doing makeup for our brides’ flower girls.