100 Layer Cake

Emily Schuman, the stylish blogger behind Cupcakes and Cashmere and guest blogger for Estèe Lauder, is getting married this Saturday! We’ve been stalking her blog as we’re sure some of you have, reading all the bits & pieces she’s been sharing about getting ready for the big day. She had a chance to answer a few questions about her wedding day look (who knows how she found the time!), but she’s sharing a ton of helpful info and has paired up with Estèe Lauder for an incredible giveaway today. Let’s jump right in and hear how Emily is getting ready for Saturday!

1. Can you give us a hint about your venue and how your makeup will reflect your woodsy enchanted theme? Yes, definitely. It was important to me that the whole wedding felt cohesive. We’re getting married in my home town of Mill Valley in a turn-of-the-century mansion. The property itself is romantic – it’s tucked among the Redwood trees, with lakes and trails nearby. It has such a wonderful vintage feel that I wanted to let that dictate everything else – from my dress (something super modern would have looked out of place), to my make-up, to the kinds of flowers we chose. My make-up will hopefully just enhance the entire feel and will look like me, but just a slightly prettier version of my day-to-day self. The most important thing for me is that my skin looks dewy and fresh, with pink accents on my cheeks and lips. My eyes will be the focal point with a slightly smoky eye, done in pinks and browns.

2. Do you have a Pinterest board we can snoop at to see where you pulled your inspiration from? I ended up getting overwhelmed by all of the options out there. I’m extremely fickle so I’ve gone back and forth with nearly everything – hair up, hair down, dark eye, dark lip…but I think I’ve finally arrived at a look that will work out nicely. I created a Pinterest board with some hair and make-up ideas (here), but for inspiration, I like to look back at pictures of my mom on her wedding day. Her look was perfect in its simplicity – the flower in her hair, her glowing skin, and her stunning vintage dress. But most of all, she just looked happy (my parents celebrated their 30th anniversary this past year) and that’s what inspires me most.

3. Will you be changing up your makeup to transition from your ceremony to your reception? There won’t be any wardrobe changes (I love my dress too much to change out of it), but I will be darkening my eye make-up a bit. Nothing too dramatic, but hopefully the majority of my tears will have been shed by then, so we can add a bit more of a smoky eye (obviously it’ll all still be completely waterproof, just in case).

Take a look at the goods that you could win!

Pretty incredible, right? Make sure to fill out the info below to enter! We’ll be picking one winner this Thursday night, April 12th.

4. Brides sometimes struggle with having their wedding party complement their look. Did you run into this? What looks inspired your bridal party? I actually decided not to have bridesmaids. It’s not to say that I won’t have my closest friends getting ready with me beforehand – they just won’t all be in matching satin dresses. The plan is to meet at my parents’ house beforehand, eat lunch, drink champagne, listen to music, and have a nice relaxing day before the wedding.

5. You’ve got an audience of brides-to-be at your fingertips, got any words of advice? Is there one thing that you were most surprised by while going through this process? Yes, my advice is to truly enjoy the process of planning the wedding. Sure you’re going to hit those snags (we changed venues five times), but ultimately the thing that matters most is that you’re going to be spending the rest of your life with the person you love. When you look at it like that, the wedding becomes a lot more manageable – and just a great party to celebrate with your friends and family.

6. Of all the Estée Lauder products you tried, which product do you see yourself using well after your wedding? Concealer (I like the texture of Double Wear since it hydrates my skin) will certainly be in my clutch to help with any redness and some lip gloss (Pure Color in Star Pink is the perfect light pink) to apply throughout the night. Those are two of my daily staples already, but will come in handy the night of our wedding.

Watch how Emily perfects her wedding-day look with Tom Pecheux, Creative Makeup Director at Estée Lauder.

HUGE thank you to Emily for taking the time for sharing her wedding day beauty tips, and Esteè Lauder for an amazing giveaway!