Barrington Beauty

Sarah Gordon, a Barrington native, decided to come back to her roots for her wedding. Sarah is now a Bostonian (not to be confused with BRISTOLian, a Bristol native, born and raised).

Her wedding was at the Rhode Island Country Club. This location is not your typical country club on a golf course--it overlooks the water, showing off some seriously beautiful sunsets. I'm told if you grew up in the East Bay area, you always crave the ocean so it's only fitting that Sarah came back for her big day.

Sarah came in to New Leaf the day before for some pampering. After her manicure, we coerced her thick, curly hair into a beautiful blow out. Sarah was pretty psyched that it was perfect fall weather--no humidity, crisp air and sunny. This is why many curly girls choose September to get married;-)

This is just a great shot of Sarah and all her ladies getting ready together in the Bridal Lounge.

We love making beauty happen.

For her trial, we styled it half-up but that day, Sarah changed her mind. She didn't want to have to worry about her hair so she chose a smooth, classic chignon with texture in the front.

Amy is polishing Sarah's skin to perfection.

This was Sarah the whole day--happy and smiling. Just how we like 'em!

Jenn twisting some beach waves into place...

Sarah's mom, Pat, is a New Leaf-er and we were happy that she wanted some pampering too.

Mell, the blow dry queen, is working her magic.

Jamie Evenson, our other blow dry expert, is 'working it' too.

You know a great blow out when you have one!

Here is an adorable bridesmaid (and Jamie Evenson's 'after') with Sarah.

I wonder if having a great smile is a prerequisite to be Sarah's friend....hmmmm.....

Polished and classic. Just like Sarah.

You would never know how curly her hair really is...

(It's our secret Sarah...shhh!)

Isn't the pearl detail fabulous?

Another angle...

The ladies...

The family...so sweet.

Pat apparently was the woman running the show. If the wedding was just half as wonderful as Sarah, it was going to be terrific!

Our thanks and congratulations to Sarah. You were a showstopping bride--radiant and elegant.

And remember, Pat, we need pictures!!

Kana's Hana

Kana Okano called us a month ago to see if we could make her gorgeous on her wedding day. Even though September has become our busiest wedding month, we said, "of course!"

With a name as exotic and unique as Kana Okano, the mystery was too alluring.

Kana's wedding was at Linden Place, a beautiful historic mansion in Bristol with gorgeous grounds.

Many of her guests were out-of-towners (great movie, by the way), including Kana, hailing from Boston, or Beantown as the locals call it.

Her guests travelled as far as Japan for Kana and her fiance. That's almost another planet for Rhode Island-ahs. We are impressed.

Kana must feel pretty loved.

Any bride who passes on a hair and make up trial (which we always suggest) must be pretty easy going. She just said, "I trust you. I know you are going to make me look great."

Absolutely.

Only Kana didn't need much help.

Kana wanted something natural and undone, but high enough to tuck her veil under the chignon. We love that because then everyone can see our hard work the whole day. Another bonus is that brides are more likely to leave their veils on longer.

My motto still remains...

You only get to wear a veil once!

I loved spinning Kana around to see her style.

Since she put her blind faith in me, I really wanted her to love it!

Jenn puts her finishing touches on her sculptured style.

How amazing is her shiny hair?

Okay, so my favorite part was Kana's handmade silk orchids. She ordered them from every bride's favorite wedding obsession....etsy.com!

It's a website to buy and sell all things handmade. You can find anything from invitations to jewelry to furniture. And it isn't your local church basement craft fair kind of crafts. Think fresh, modern and fun.

Thanks Etsy!

I love that she won't have to worry about her flowers wilting or browning.

They even had small pearl detailing.

Of course with a name as pretty as Kana, I had to Google it. The Japanese name means 'powerful'. I was feeling curious so I Googled 'orchid' in Japanese. It's 'hana'.

Sometimes things come full circle like that.

Now it's Amy's turn to surprise Kana with her wedding day look.

We just voted Kana our new award..."Best Cheekbones Ever".

I think you would agree.

Plus she has a gorgeous smile. Amy has a way of making all her brides laugh.

She's silly and they love that. Beauty is fun, after all.

Okay, I just came up with another category, and I am casting my vote for Kana..."Best Skin".

I don't think people with great skin realize just how lucky they are.

The hard part of looking radiant is already done. Amy just perfects it.

Our thanks to Kana and her wedding party. Your trust in us was appreciated and we hope we exceeded your expectations. Congratulations on you marriage!

Girls Just Having Fun

Cristina Northcutt had a fantastic bunch a girls surrounding her on her wedding day. All 8 of them decided to get "celebrity treatment" at New Leaf...hair and make up for all--yipee!

We love when that happens because everyone seems to look and feel so good when they leave. You can always seem to tell when a woman feels pretty...it's that whole confidence thing.

It's amazing what some lip gloss, hairspray and a few bobby pins can do for a girl.

The best is when you don't even have to stress out about doing your hair and make up yourself, then you really feel like J-Lo in the chair!

All Cristina's girls wanted something different (we love that too).

Cristina opted for a low soft, chignon and Leah delivered, as usual.

Pay attention to how smart the girls are again...the button down shirts!

Amy in the 'zone'...the make up zone, that is.

And Ashley, our doubly gifted make up artiste...

AND hair stylist!

Pam and Danielle working side by side

Danielle starting to create her low smooth chignon. Are you sensing a trend?

Good, because I am too.

Each pin placed perfectly...

One of the biggest misconceptions about a chignon is that they are 'easy'.

Ask any stylist how 'easy' they are. They will laugh (with you, not at you...hopefully).

I know. They look so polished and simple. But it's the biggest challenge with so many different hair types to get each style completely smooth, with the right amount of volume, and without ANY pins showing. At New Leaf it's the #1 updo class we teach, reteach and teach again. You can never have enough education!

Jenn setting up her natural updo...

And the after...beautiful.

Don't these beach waves twisted into place just remind you of the ocean?

How cute are her dimples?

As cute as her hair is awesome!

Blonde hair just work so well with updos...I have such blonde envy.

Don't you just love how smiley Cristina's girls are?

A smile is everyone's best asset. While we're talking life lessons here, hair is also "the accessory you wear every day". Think about it. You spend all this money on shoes, jeans, earrings but you are wearing your hair each and every day. Take care of it!

Here I am rambling again...

Cristina is a lucky bride. But I know it's not luck. When someone is surrounded by all these sweet people, it's because she is a gem herself.

Leah putting on the finishing touches...

Checking out the view...

Here is Cristina doing that whole smiling thing again...I know why she's smiling--Amy just made her look absolutely beautiful and natural!

I'd like Cristina's skin please. Thanks.

Love it!

And I am cheating again. I did this for Melissa Paquette's wedding too but I had to do it again.

This photo of her pearl clips is from the trial but I bet if I was a better liar, you would never have known.

It's all about the details.

Thanks so much to Cristina and her girls for letting us spoil them rotten.

Congrats on your wedding...I hope you were beaming/smiling all day!

Jonah's Trend Alert!

Do you know when you meet someone and you feel like you have known her forever?

Well, that's how we felt about our bride Jonah Neagle.

I bet the minute her fiance met her, he was smitten too.

She found out about New Leaf by this very blog...yay! Nice to know someone is reading:-)

Jonah travelled from Connecticut with her mom and sister the day before her wedding for some royal treatment--manicures and pedicures with Mary and Nicole. What a way to start a weekend!

Her wedding ceremony was at Newport's Tennis Hall of Fame. The usual follow up question when she told people was, "Oh, you guys must love tennis, right?" Nope.

And that's what we loved about Jonah.

Apparently it has these gorgeous grounds you can rent for your ceremony. Who knew?

Her reception was at 41 North in Newport, another new place we hadn't heard of before we met Jonah. It's called a 'marina resort'. It looks like this intimate, modern coastal mix of Newport swank without being overdone. I think I just found my newest spot to try out in Newport!

Jonah found all these hidden gems online, she must have her master's degree in Googling.

I am working on Jonah's classic chignon with some volume. Jonah wasn't scared of it.

That makes me happy.

We are working hard on the 3 ladies...Mom and her daughters getting ready together.

What is better for a mother?

Notice the mimosa glass Jonah is holding so elegantly while I style her hair. Her sister, Rachel, made them! Move over Martha, we've got a new girl in town.

Martha should be shaking in her fancy shoes, because Rachel is getting married in April and Jonah tells me there are going to be lots of crafty details!

Isn't it super cute?!? I admire craftiness, but I think I am far too lazy...

Here is Martha--er, Rachel being beautified by Ashley...

Making sure there's not a hair out of place...

I think we have found the missing link to our blog. It's Amy, our make up artist.

Turns out, she is fantastic at snapping away and I am on to her. Too bad she has to be an incredible make up artist too.

Love this shot.

I had to use a few of my extension pieces for Jonah's chignon. She had the length going for her but not enough volume. She had the chig-, without the -non so I helped her out a bit.

I know it always looks like it's not going to ever come together. Have a little faith!

Covering the last piece...

I told you it would come together! But you haven't seen the best part...

So the hot trend right now is definitely flowers, brooches, or pins in the hair to one side. We love that look. But because it seems like Jonah likes to be a bit different than the rest, she found something else...

WEDDING TREND ALERT:

THE HEADBAND!

I know, headbands are all the rage for everyday wear, and that I have hopped right on that bandwagon. But, add some sparkle, beautiful detail, and some fancy ribbon we have next season's latest trend...

Here are the girls! Rachel, Jonah and Barbara.

Is it me, or does Rachel look alarmingly like Liv Tyler?

Jonah said she was going to repurpose her headband as a belt after the wedding. Firstly, there's that craftiness again. Secondly, imagine having a waist small enough to fit a headband?

I think everyone would agree that Amy's make up is absolute perfection for Jonah's wedding day. Just wow.

Jonah just let Amy do her thing...

and here is the result. Another good idea, Jonah!

We had a blast, we really hope we get to see Jonah in her wedding dress...hint, hint, we know you are reading! Thanks for coming to Bristol and we hope you had fun at New Leaf.

Congratulations!!