[Diary of a Future Bride] Royalty for a day

Most hair salons (kuaför) in Turkey offer some kind of wedding package. I had asked around and had a rough idea of what the prices and services would be months before our wedding. Our photographer, however, had a companion deal with a hair salon near his studio. Our photographer told me that if my hair and makeup weren't done well, it made his job harder, which is why he had teamed up with a hair salon. “There is only so much I can do with Photoshop,” he told me with a wink. I appreciated his candor, and the TL 250 salon package contained everything I needed, from makeup, hair styling, a day to try out different styles, manicure, pedicure and tanning. The day we had tried several different styles, the hair dresser had taken a picture of the style I liked, so that he could remember it when it was time to do the real thing on my wedding day. When we arrived at the salon, our photographer, Mahmut Bey from Ömür Fotoğraf, met us there at 10 a.m. to check on us and make sure we were comfortable. He told us he would be back at 2 p.m. to help us get to the park where we would have our photos taken. I appreciated that he came over to check on us and thought it very professional and considerate. For a nervous bride, it was the best thing he could have done.

One thing I didn't like and didn't want to have was my makeup done at the salon. My fair, Irish skin is hard for Turkish makeup artists to do. All of their foundations are too orange, and their way of doing eye makeup makes me look like a horrible version of Cleopatra. Fortunately, one of my best friends in İstanbul, a Greek-American makeup artist, was going to come to the salon with her MAC makeup kit and make me look beautiful. I recommend any fair-skinned bride intending to marry in Turkey be very careful of getting your makeup done in a salon. Until three years ago, I was ordering my light-toned foundation from France because I couldn't find anything porcelain enough in Turkey. If you do get your makeup done in Turkey, bring your own foundation or head to the nearest MAC store and splurge on a color that will match your skin. Both my friend and I are adamantly opposed to the black, thick eye shadows they sometimes use here, saying that it makes your eyes look better in the pictures. I disagree and think the black makeup looks too heavy even in photos. Going natural isn't good either, so it's best to sample with your colors. My blue-green eyes looked best with blue eye shadow, so that is what my friend brought in her kit. We were afraid that the salon's makeup artist might be offended, so I tried to lighten the blow by explaining that my friend was a professional and that it would mean a lot to her if she could do the makeup for my wedding day. A little bit miffed, I tried to ease her concern further by telling her she could have the opportunity to learn some different techniques from an American makeup artist. She agreed, became our assistant and asked plenty of good questions while my friend Pam worked her magic. When she saw the end result, she openly thanked Pam for teaching her some new techniques for applying makeup to fair-skinned people.

As she set to work on my makeup, my sisters and mom got their hair done. They were shocked at how different hair salons in Turkey are from those in our home state of Michigan. Two, sometimes three people would sometimes work on their hair at a time. One to hold the blow dryer, another to hold a strand of hair, a third to hand over the proper tool, like a nurse in an operating room. The “master” hair dresser could indicate what he wanted the other two to do with a mere lift of an eyebrow or slight grunt, making everything flow like an orchestrated performance. My siblings were awed into silence as their red and blonde tresses were pulled and coiled and they were transformed into princess-like characters from the stories of our youth. My mother did not think it necessary to have her short, Titian-colored bob styled, but the hairdresser pretended not to understand her. I tried not to laugh as he gently pushed my mom back down in the chair and attacked her with the blow dryer with the help of his two assistants. Cowed, my mom opened her eyes half an hour later and was shocked at the reflection that greeted her in the mirror. I, too, was surprised, as I had never seen my mom look so beautiful.

Pam saw her chance and moved in to also do my mom's makeup. My mom is a simple, soap and water type of woman, and I can't recall ever seeing her wear makeup. To me, she is my mother and always looks beautiful. My sisters and I gasped in surprise when Pam finished a few minutes later and we saw how stunning she had made my mom look. I jokingly told her that she was outshining the bride! We finished final touchups, and then Can, my dad, my brother-in-law and our friend came to pick us up and take us to our album's photo shoot. My mom, sisters and I felt like princesses heading to the ball as we were escorted to our waiting cars on the crowded Şişli street. People stopped on the street to wish us luck and say “maşallah!” and we smiled back shyly. I was so happy that my wedding day was also a day that my sisters and mom could look and feel like royalty. Thanks to my friend Pam the makeup artist and all of the hairdressers at the salon, we looked stunning. The highlight was watching my dad stare in awe at my mom, as if they were newlyweds. I hoped that after 33 years of marriage, Can would look at me that way, too. I looked over at him, and he kissed me on the cheek, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. I couldn't think of a better way to start off our wedding.