Edmonton

Iceland Couples Session | Leah + Jesse

When we arrived from Edmonton to Iceland we visited the Blue Lagoon and then drove the three-hour journey up to the Arnastapi area which is so stunning. Leah and Jesse’s wedding was set to take place a few days later at hotel Budir but they also wanted some images captured around the island. The day before their wedding I got Leah’s hair and makeup done and helped with the styling and then we set off on an adventure driving around to see the epic black sand beaches and waterfalls. It was so magical chasing the sunset and we lucked out once again as the rain held out. If you want to see the images from their wedding the following day check it out here to see those! Photography by Nicole Ashley Hair and Makeup by Behind the Blush Leah’s outfit was by Free People and scarf from Red Ribbon Your Narrative blog will appear here, click preview to see it live.For any issues click here

Christmas Couples Session | Phoebe + Brandon

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We planned this session just before Christmas as both Nicole and I love anything Christmas related so it was the perfect opportunity to create with this stunning couple! Check out Nicole’s blog post to see even more of the photos.

Boho Summer + Vintage VW

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Last summer we came together with an incredible team of vendors to make this photo session happen and we were rewarded with the most spectacular sunset! Hopefully this summer we will get to work together with these amazing creatives again to make some magic! Photos by Nicole Ashley Hair/Makeup by Behind the Blush Florals by FaBLOOMosity Dress by Rue De Seine from the Bridal Boutique Jewelry by Shakti Jewelry Styling by Lay Holmes Models: Chris and Annikka with Mode Models Vintage VW by 5 Dogs Beetle

Jillian + Joe – Frank Sinatra Estate Wedding in Palm Springs

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In November I had the honour of travelling to Palm Springs for Jillian and Joe’s wedding in the desert. Their wedding was so relaxed and so them right down to the pool party before starting to get their hair and makeup done. The wedding was hosted at the Frank Sinatra Estate and I had to pinch myself that I was getting to work and celebrate in such an iconic home. The day after we headed to Joshua Tree where we witnessed the most epic sunset. Nicole Ashley captured all these stunning photos and then Plaid Collar Films created this beautiful video showcasing Jillian and Joe’s wedding as well as the day after session. Photos by Nicole Ashley retouched with Nicole Ashley Presets Hair/makeup by Janna with Behind the Blush Video by Plaid Collar Films Planning by The Love Riot Decor by Jesi Haack Design Wedding Dress by Jenny Packham Bridal from White Toronto and veil by Sara Gabriel Veils Custom Suit by Atelier by Ensemble Wedding Venue: Frank Sinatra Estate

Tracy + Will | Mountain Elopement

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Tracy and Will decided to elope in the mountains this past summer and we could not be more grateful that they chose me to come alongside Nicole Ashley who photographed their day. We’ve been looking forward to their wedding day ever since we met them in the Yukon for their engagement session last summer. They chose to make their day intimate and about their love and their pup Lola. So thankful that couples trust us to do what we do best for their big day.

Best Beauty Discoveries of 2017

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Looking back at what an amazing year 2017 was for us and our clients as we did in our year in review blog post here, had us thinking about what were the best beauty discoveries of the year. We decided to pick out the best of the best to share with all of you! Let us know what products made it to the top of your year last year as we are always looking for amazing products to use for our clients! Microneedling at Hemingway Medical Spa – We wrote our praises of our experience trying out Microneedling at Hemingway Medical Spa in Edmonton here and we had to include this service as one of our top discoveries of 2017. If you want to spend money pampering yourself while at the same time actually helping your skin improve then you should check out Microneedling! We found the effects to be long-lasting as the service helped improve our skin texture as well as fine lines. Don’t let the “needle” in the name of the service scare you as it feels more like a little suction cup going over your whole face. Try it out and then thank us in a month on the money well spent for your face health! Puff Me by Design Me – The first ever volumizing hair powder spray in a pump! Gone are the days of pouring too much hair dust powder as the new method of spraying out the powder makes it so much easier to control where the powder is going and you can even spray it into the lengths of your hair to have volumized curls. It is so perfect for all our traveling as it is in powder form and so light so we don’t have to lug around cans of texturizing sprays. Overnight Garden Mask by Pura Botanicals – Ever since picking this mask up at the RAAS opening at West Edmonton Mall my skin has been thanking me! This thick hydrating mask is geared towards those of us with problematic skin that tends to be oily and acne prone. After I wake up from putting on the mask the night before I find my skin to be tightened as well glowing. If you have a dryer skin type we’d recommend trying out the Overnight Mango Mask (antiaging) or the Overnight Watermelon Mask (super hydrating). We also love that this product is…

Alex + Farsai’s Brooklyn Engagement Session

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Alex and Farsai were in contact with Nicole to schedule a potential couples shoot in New York sometime in the spring of 2018 but little did Farsai know that Alex had been in contact with Nicole to do a surprise proposal of a lifetime! He had worked it out that Nicole and I would fly into New York in time to do a proposal on the rooftop where they had their first date in Brooklyn. He got her friends and their adorable puppy named Pretzel involved in the surprise proposal. The rooftop was decked out in cafe lighting and dozens of candles. Even the imminent threat of rain didn’t stop this romantic surprise that Nicole was able to capture. Of course, she said YES and they went off to celebrate their news with close friends. The next day I did Farsai’s hair and makeup before their engagement session started. Nicole captured their love story starting in their apartment with Pretzel and then we took off on a stroll to their favorite ice cream shop. Their session was highlighted by the beautiful fall colors and the epic New York scenery. We are just so thankful to have amazing clients who fly us out and include us on such momentous occasions. Congratulations to Alex and Farsai and we wish you all the happiness in the world!

Our 2017 in Review

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2017 brought so many adventures and changes for Behind the Blush and we wanted to take the time to thank each and every client, family member, friend and supporter that we have for helping make our year the best yet!! We got to expand our team to include Caitlyn and Diane and ended up traveling the world! Check out our 2017 year in review below and we cannot wait to see what 2018 holds for us. Our 2017 year started out with some boudoir beauties while working with Nicole Ashley We also started a monthly favorite series to share our product loves with everyone and do reviews on products that really wowed us. Check them out here for January, February, March Our good friend Suzanna asked to come speak at her school’s Career Day and we presented a talk on how we started our small business and followed our dreams to create Behind the Blush. This is selfie we took with Suz right after our talk! We worked with Lululemon again for one of their Ambassador Love shoots for Meg in her studio. Photo by Nicole Ashley Laurence and Oliver tied the knot in February. Photo by Woodland Photography Co In February we did a collaboration with Nicole Ashley to shoot some different beauty looks on the stunning Jaeda from Mode Models. You can check out all of the photos here! In February our good friends Ryan and Kristina welcomed their baby boy Jack into the world and we worked with Nicole Ashley on this newborn session. We’ve expanded to sell hair product on our site! Check out our shop here! The same day that we worked with Jaeda we also filmed a hair tutorial and you can see the full video for that here! In February we did a styled shoot with an amazing team and in May the shoot was featured on Artfully Wed. Check out the full post here! In March we worked with an amazing team of FaBLOOMosity, The Skinny, and Carmen Freemark to create some pastel magic on this kids styled shoot. See more images on our full blog posts here and here. Perhaps the most exciting news of 2017 for us was expanding our duo to a team of four to include Caitlyn and Diane! Photo by Nicole Ashley In April we also worked on this styled shoot that got featured in Green Wedding Shoes. We loved…

Positano, Italy Elopement

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This past May we were hired to travel across the ocean to Positano, Italy for an elopement! As many of you follow our blog posts, Facebook and Instagram we are sure you saw the sneak peeks and experiences that we had but no words can describe how amazing this little nook of the world is! We were lucky enough to all share an amazing villa which was only a short 15-minute walk to the main downtown/beach area of Positano. Maybe it was the time of year, but this place was seriously magic. The flowers were all in bloom, the weather was at a perfect mid 20’s (with no bugs) and it smelled like flowers and salt water everywhere you went! Our roles for this trip were basically to make Kim and Chris, our couple, feel little to no stress and we stepped up in more ways than our typical job roles would require. From helping with dinners, picking up greenery, decorating for the ceremony. We had the opportunity to do two days of shooting with the couple Kim and Chris for the wedding day and then the day after shoot in a boat! The wedding day was a very early morning as we started at 3:30 am for hair and makeup to have her dressed and prepped for sunrise. Chris also had some pampering, and their friends who joined us- Rob and Megan even snuck in for a quick men’s cut and hair/makeup styling before the ceremony later that evening. The beautiful thing about an elopement is the only rush or agenda at all as we are just working with Nicole to make sure we have the best light for the photos. We have been beyond blessed with the number of travel opportunities for weddings, elopements and engagement sessions and we are so excited to finally share all the images with you! Nicole Ashley, our dear friend, and amazing photographer has been a big reason for all of our success and shared even more photo’s over on her site.

Nice, France Engagement Session

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Sometimes schedules and fate really work out in your favor as we ended up booking a second session when we were planning on being in Europe in May/June of this year. Kailey and Dave had Nicole and I fly out to Nice, France to shoot their engagement session in May after we finished the elopement in Italy that originally brought us out to Europe. You have to check out even more of the photos and their full love story here on Nicole’s site! I had been to Nice once before but I had forgotten how really beautiful and magical Nice really is. After I did Kailey’s hair and makeup and helped them decide what to wear we headed out to some of their favorite spots in Nice while Nicole captured their love. From eating gelato in the Old Town of Nice to swishing the perfect basket of flowers on a pebbled beach and then finishing the photos at sunset on a cliff by a light house. We couldn’t have asked for a better couple to work with and we are even more excited for their upcoming wedding in September!