"We had just had 4/4/2020 in our minds," said Alexander, who had gotten the date embroidered on the inside of his tuxedo in Yuki's handwriting. "I kept thinking that date would mean something to us. We didn't want it to pass without recognizing it in some way." With the encouragement of friends and family, they moved forward with the Zoom ceremony.
Among many, many other things, doing her own hair and makeup for her wedding was not something Yuki had originally planned for. Many brides dream of feeling taken care of on their special day, but not being able to have a professional help with her hair and makeup forced Yuki to take matters into her own hands. "I definitely am not a pro," she said. "I have no background in any sort of cosmetology, so doing my own hair and makeup was definitely a wrinkle I didn't expect for our wedding weekend."
That's where Nioxin artist Diane Stevens came in.
"I have no background in any sort of cosmetology, so doing my own hair and makeup was definitely a wrinkle I didn't expect for our wedding weekend."
In all of her years of experience, Stevens had never done something like this before. "This is my first virtual wedding, but you know what? It makes so much sense," she said. "Brides like Ashley, they had to make different arrangements for their weddings right now. And virtual hair tutorials make the bride feel like she's gotten some extra pampering and some extra attention."
The bride's two requests for her hair: volume and for the curls to hold. Stevens's role in the ceremony was to guide Yuki through her wedding-day hair tutorial. "I definitely wanted my hair down and curled, regardless of if I was doing it myself or not," Yuki said. "Thank god I didn't want to have an updo."
The day before her wedding, Stevens (who is accustomed to teaching other hairstylists how to do bridal hair, not first-timers) hopped on a Zoom call with Yuki to go over her wedding-day beauty prep and to give her a step-by-step tutorial. "We wanted to go through a practice first," Stevens said. "She was holding the iron, and I was holding the iron." Some of Stevens's tips included when to wash her hair (the night before), how far away to hold the hairspray bottle (six inches), how to use a thickening spray to add some grit and texture to the hair, and how to clip the curls while they cooled to ensure they lasted all night.
"I had to go into her world," Stevens said. "I knew I wanted her to feel confident about her hair. I wanted her to feel beautiful. It's important for people to have that extra confidence, especially for a bride."
