Former Versace Mansion Wedding

May 13th, 2012

I am always in awe when I have the privilege of working at the former Versace Mansion now named The Villa by Barton G located on Ocean Drive in South Beach.  This is an amazing 19,000 sq ft boutique luxury hotel, restaurant and venue space. The history on this property is interesting;  born as Casa Casurina in 1930, built by architect philanthropist, author and political reformer Alden Freeman as an homage to the oldest existing house in the western hemisphere, the “Alcazar de Colon” in Santo Domingo.  In 1937 Casa Casuarina was bought by Jacques Amsterdam, who renamed it  ”The Amsterdam Place.”  It was in 1992 that Gianni Versace first encountered Casa Casurina. Versace exquisitely restored, expanded and embellished its features by adding the south wing, the pool and garden areas.

 Today we had a gorgeous bride and bridal party from Michigan at Villa by Barton G.  Everything about this venue is unbelievable, from the hand painted walls, mosaic floors to the extravagant embellishments.   I took some pictures today while on set to try and capture all the beauty that was happening in our bridal suite.  I got a sneak peak at some of the fabulous pictures of our bride today by Ray,  I will be posting the pictures from photographer Ray Santana www.raysantanaphotography.com  Can’t wait!!!!!

My Makeup Kit

 

Just beautiful

 

Robes in the suite for the Bride and Groom

 

You might forget you are in Miami

 

My Brides inspiration for her hair

 

Amazing detail to our Brides Dress by Ines di Santo

 

Dress by Ines di Santo

 

Do I need to say more?

 

Can't live without my brush belt

 

FBS Artist in uniform

 

FBS Artist creating beauty

 

Hair was inspired by InStyle Magazine "Hair Issue"

 

Sign on Bridal Suite

 

Fresh Beauty Studio Hair and Makeup Team on location

 

The Villa was getting ready for the big wedding

 

I thought this was wallpaper! It's hand painted.

 

Every detail on the walls in the entire house are hand painted.

 

Signature Versace Mosaic floor in the bathroom

Fresh Beauty Studio had the privilege of working with Hazel Photography and our beautiful couple Jennifer and Daniel.  The wedding took place last November 2011 at the breathtaking National Hotel on South Beach.  Everything was perfect from the weather to the crystal clear beach.  Enjoy….

I am always excited and honored to be a part of Indian weddings, as a hair and makeup artist there is such range when it comes to colors, design and the whole feeling of the Indian culture.  Nahid our bride was such a delight to work with,  funny, easy going and so beautiful.  The weekend festivities took place at The Bath Club and The Raleigh Hotel in South Beach.  The decor and event planning took your breathe away from the crystal candelabras to the hanging tea lights compliments of TC Event and Design. The weekend was captured by an amazing photographer Mary Beth Tyson .  Makeup by Fresh Beauty Studio Team, Hair by Nikol Johnson.

My possible wedding shoes by Oscar de la Renta

I received an email from Ever After www.everafter.com a Couture wedding dress boutique in Miami announcing their annual designer wedding dress sample sale.  WOW!! What perfect timing, I cleared my schedule for the morning and rushed down for my early appointment, as you know first come first serve with sample sales.  When I walked in to Ever After it was very chi chi with Louboutian, Carolina Herrera and Grace Ormonde coffee table books out for perusal.  I flipped through a couple books for inspiration and looked around at all the Couture gowns from Monique Lhuillier, Vera Wang, Ines Di Santo (one of my favorite designers) and Oscar de la Renta to name just a few.  I was offered a glass of bubbly while I picked out dresses which always make everything seem that much more glamorous.  I wasn’t thrilled thinking about buying a sample dress that had been tried on by 500 brides, soiled, torn etc. my main motivation to visit Ever After was to go to a bridal boutique that had all the main Couture designers.  I picked out about 8 dresses and started trying on which is somewhat of a workout.  I was delighted to find in my dressing room 5 different heels (in my size believe it or not) by Oscar de la Renta to Mononlo waiting to be worn.  I slipped on a little number by Oscar as you can see in the picture above and fell in love. Dress number 4 was the ultimate classic wedding dress by Oscar de la Renta which we all agreed fit my body and style perfectly.  The wedding dress had exquisite hand embroidery, the matching veil was French toile with a scaloped edge that matched the slimming mermaid style dress. 

Oscar de la Renta

I am finding that the more dresses you try on the more confused you get.  I had one of my dear friends Jennifer from www.interviewher.com meet me to help give advice, thoughts and share a glass of celebratory bubbly.  I don’t suggest trying on dresses by yourself, you need the support from your family and or friends to help guild you.  Jennifer took pictures of me in each dress because when I was on number 8 I was like “What did number 3 look like on?” “Did I like it?”.  Make sure you take pictures and review them after you are finished.  I was surprised that I liked some dresses better on then in the picture, something you don’t want to say when you are editing your wedding pictures.

I am getting closer to finding the perfect wedding dress, I have my eye on a beautiful Oscar de la Renta gown right now so I am hoping by my next wedding dress blog update I will confirm that I placed my order.

I have had the honor of working with over 150 Brides in my short career over the last 5 years. I am so excited to start 2012 with beautiful hair and makeup created by myself and my talented team of artists for all of our upcoming weddings both in South Florida and nationally. We look forward to meeting with you whether you are getting married in 2012, have a black tie, birthday party, anniversary or just because. Fresh Beauty Studio is ready to create red carpet magazine quality hair and makeup for you.

I am doing a little redecorating in the studio for a another big announcement in the next couple of months. I have had this plan in mind for over a year and a half.  I am so excited to share this with you beauties! I stumbled across this picture today and thought that  these chairs would look perfect in the studio.

Sexy Pink Chairs

I will be posting pictures of the before and after so keep checking back.

I was so excited to see one of our brides from this past spring in Martha Stewart magazine online today. Candice looked beautiful, her wedding at the Fort Lauderdale Yacht Club was exquisite. Candice opted for a fresh super clean makeup look and a simple bun. You can read about her wedding details by going to http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/photogallery/candice-and-scott