Channels Hotel, Maison Talbooth and Mulberry House

June 4, 2021

Well weddings have truly taken off this past week and I have really enjoyed being back amongst the brides and their families on their wedding morning. At the moment it is still only a maximum of 30 to the day, so it really is just families gathering together at this time but it is so special and intimate. No first dance, no singing, everyone still wearing masks, but because of the wonderful weather we have been having, the brides have been managing to do all the above outside. I now have a very busy week ahead of trials for brides getting married at Gosfield Hall, Mulberry House, Leez Priory, Gaynes Park and Felsted Church. Here are a few before and after images of behind the scenes at some of my weddings this week. The first images are of my beautiful bride who married at High Easter, the other images are of the bridesmaids today at Mulberry House in Ongar.

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Weddings Return At Last!

May 28, 2021

What an absolute joy! Today I carried out my first wedding since the latest lock down. Since April 12th I have been carrying out hair and makeup trials but today was my first official wedding. After being out of work for almost a year, I was so nervous about returning. I started to doubt myself and wondered whether I would even remember what to do, I know that may sound crazy but it’s the truth. Now I am a month in and it suddenly feels like I have pressed the reset button. I have never loved hair and makeup as much as I do today. I have this new passion and excitement for styling my brides, I hardly sleep the night before a trial or a wedding day. I’m loving all your hair and makeup ideas for your weddings this year and next. I will be posting my brides on here so keep popping back. Any brides getting married this year or next year are so lucky as all your wedding suppliers are suddenly re-loving what they do so you will get the very best from all of them. Thank you for taking the time to stop by. Get in touch if you are looking for hair / makeup for your wedding day, I will make you look and feel amazing! Gail xx

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Wedding Industry Awards 2021

April 7, 2021

So pleased to learn today that I won a hairstyling award for a competition that I did not enter. The Wedding Emporium have been researching suppliers in the wedding industry and today I received this lovely award.

“We have put lots of time and effort into choosing you as our Outstanding Winner as your work is absolutely amazing”.

Thank you to everyone at the Wedding Emporium that chose me to win this award. I feel very honoured.

Gail x

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A Winter Wonderland Bride and a Vintage Afternoon Tea

December 30, 2020

These lovely images were taken at a recent photo shoot. We decided on two themes; Winter Snow Queen and a Vintage Afternoon Tea. Below I have listed all of the amazing suppliers that came together to showcase their work. Some of the images were taken by S E Wedding Photography and some were taken by the suppliers too. Let me introduce them to you:

Anthology Vintage Hire. Amy from Anthology helped create both our themes with her beautiful timeless furniture. She can create any theme and any ambience for any occasion. Truly amazing. http://www.anthologyvintagehire.com

Elaine Marie Makeup Elaine is a specialist in bridal makeup using the finest quality products available. http://www.elainemariemakeup.co.uk

Gail Gardner Wedding Hair https://gailgardner.co.uk

Raw Jewellery – This beautiful unique jewellery is handmade by Amy from Raw Jewellery. Instagram: rawjewellery

S E Wedding Photography – This is an image I took of Stacey the photographer, while she was setting the scene. Stacey specialises in wedding, portrait, newborn and corporate photography. http://www.seweddingphotography.co.uk

Tangle and Thyme – We were all blown away when we saw this masterpiece created by Kate from Tangle&Thyme. All her flowers were just incredible and she grows mostly everything in her own garden. http://www.tangleandthyme.co.uk

Mary – Yummy Baker12 – Mary baked this lovely Naked Cake for our photo shoot and specialises in wedding cakes – Instagram yummybaker12

If you are planning on getting married, look up these fabulous suppliers. Everyone is now taking bookings up to 2023.

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Merry Christmas and a Happy 2021!

December 27, 2020

Merry Christmas!! This Christmas has been very different for all of us but it has given us time to reflect and realise how important and special our family and loved ones are to us.

I did miss my usual Christmas mayhem, full of noise and laughter with everyone, but surprisingly, I found Christmas Day quite special. I found I had more time to spend with my husband and children without interruption, watching movies and just being together.

We also linked up with all our family on Zoom which was just wonderful, seeing them all in their Christmas hats also spending time with their immediate family. How fantastic technology has been for us all this year. We are all about to leave 2020 behind us with the prospect of 2021 returning to normal and for some of you, that may even mean a wedding too! Can you even begin to imagine how wonderful your wedding will be?

It has been difficult for businesses like myself in the wedding industry as the ever changing guidelines have meant that work has been very limited.

I decided to call upon other industry professionals to group together and hold a special photo shoot at my house, which I did this month. We decided to cover the themes of Christmas, Winter and also a vintage afternoon tea. Here are just a few images of the Christmassy ones to give you a taste of what we got up to and a glimpse of the vintage afternoon tea. Pop back in a day or two to see the images from our winter and vintage afternoon tea shoots, and I will also tell you a bit about each of the suppliers too and why you should secure them for your wedding day. I personally chose these suppliers as I have worked alongside them for many many years and I really love their work so take a close look at the flowers, cake, makeup, jewellery, theme, hair and of course, the actual quality and styling of the photo. The suppliers involved are:

Theme setting by http://www.anthologyvintagehire.com

Makeup by http://www.elainemariemakeup.co.uk

Hair by myself Gail Gardner.

Jewellery by rawjewellery on instagram

Photographer and image setting http://www.seweddingphotography.co.uk

Flowers by http://www.tangleandthyme.co.uk

Cake by Yummybaker12 on instagram

I am so proud of all of the above suppliers. Here is just a snapshot for now but please feel free to get in touch with any of the suppliers for your special day.

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Finding the right Hair and Makeup Artist for your wedding day

October 21, 2020

To avoid falling at the first hurdle of recruiting a hair and make up artist for your big day, check for reviews and look at previous work carried out. Have a trial up in advance and air any concerns you have regarding your hair and skin. A good hair and makeup artist will listen to your concerns and take these on board. Maybe try and arrange for your dress fitting to take place after your trial. Seeing everything come together in advance will give your confidence a huge boost ahead of your special day.

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Hair and Makeup Essex – Covid 19 Weddings

October 1, 2020

Here are some of the hair and makeup styles I have carried out this past few weeks. Some of these are brides, some bridesmaids. Some of the hair and makeup styles are also from the trials I held.

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Wedding Hair and Makeup in Essex

October 1, 2020

It felt so good to get back to styling brides again but I still cannot believe the huge effect these restrictions have had on the wedding industry and on our special brides and grooms. I feel for everyone who has had to go through all this upset when it should have been such a happy time for everyone. I have had a few brides that have continued with their wedding date with the new restriction of 15, with the plan to have a huge party hopefully next year. Here are some images of their wedding day.

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Keeping you Safe – Covid 19

September 14, 2020

What a year it has been! Hair and Makeup services closed down for months, Brides and Proms forced to reschedule their big day to a later date while many opting for a smaller intimate wedding instead.

Hygiene and Cleaning  

I have always taken sanitisation very seriously and have now set aside additional time between clients to sanitise even more. I want to reassure you that I am doing all I can to ensure your safety during your trial and on your wedding day. My number one priority is the wellbeing of my brides and clients and in providing a safe environment for everyone. I have reworked my hair and makeup kits and will be keeping you informed of the often changing guidelines.

I will be cleaning my beauty room from top to bottom each day. Freshly sanitising all kit and touch points for each client.

Please make use of the tissues and anti-bacterial gel provided. I am asking my clients to wash / sanitise their hands on arrival at their trial, throughout time at and before leaving my bridal room.

You will need to keep all your belongings with you, including coats. Bring a bottle of water with you to the trial.

My bridal room is quite small, so please try to avoid bringing extra persons with you as it may be difficult to maintain a 1m distance throughout the trial. If someone else will be having a trial, maybe ask them to arrive a little later.

I will be wearing a face shield and a face mask whilst styling your hair and applying your makeup. The current guidelines are for clients to wear a face mask throughout their trial. With regards to makeup, you will only need to wear the mask while I carry out work around your eyes, which will be the first stage of the makeup application. All this extra hygiene takes extra time so we will need to incorporate this additional time into your wedding morning to ensure you still are completely ready in plenty of time. Please remember, I am carrying out all the above measures to keep you and your loved ones safe. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the above, please get in touch. xx

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Lockdown Hairstyling

June 10, 2020

I am still managing to keep my hand in during lockdown, as my lovely daughter has been very kind and given me more of her time for me to try out a few more hairstyles. Here are a few more to keep us going until restrictions are lifted, which hopefully, won’t be too long now.

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Wedding Hair during Lockdown!

April 20, 2020

I must admit, I am having huge withdrawal symptoms of styling my brides hair and makeup. I have managed to persuade my daughter to give me some of her time during lockdown to play with her hair. Here are a few hairstyles we have created over the last couple of weeks. Thinking of all my lovely brides and grooms who were supposed to be getting married this week at Leez Priory and Blake Hall in Ongar, Essex. Maybe open a bottle of champagne and make a toast to each other and of the good times ahead. Thinking of you all.

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Weddings Postponed 2020 due to Corona Virus 19.

April 17, 2020

It has been so upsetting to read all the sad emails from all my lovely brides and grooms having to postpone their 2020 weddings. Some of my brides were due to marry the week following lockdown. This has been such a difficult time for them all. Each week I am still receiving emails from brides holding off postponing their weddings, in the hope that the lockdown restrictions are lifted but it is looking more like we will have to wait a few weeks longer.

So far I have been able to cover most new dates for my brides and grooms with the exception of one or two. I am continuing to work from home, styling my daughters hair and makeup, doing different styles and just keeping my hand in so I am fired up and ready to go as soon as we get the thumbs up. We are all in this together. Take care everyone and stay safe, looking forward to seeing you all again soon.

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Gosfield Hall Wedding Venue

February 23, 2020

I have been styling brides at Gosfield Hall for so many years, doing their hair and makeup and catering for the bridal party too. We usually start off in the Ladys Chambers, which is a stunning little cottage attached the Gosfield Hall, and then mid morning, we move over into the stunning Rococo Room where we do the finishing touches, touching up the lipstick and doing the final touches to the hair. Everything is timed to perfection to ensure the bride can relax all morning without the worry of running out of time. I always make sure the bride has enough time to raise a glass of champagne with her bridal party, before the Registrars enter the room. Its always a busy morning with the bridesmaids keeping the bride happy, florists arriving, photographers snapping away and the cake being prepared downstairs. Also, with family arriving early and popping up to say hello to the bride. Its always a morning to remember. Yesterday I did the makeup for the bride and the bridal party. I only managed to take a photo of one of the bridesmaids but will be posting the professional photos here once the photographer has them ready (EPS Photography).

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Channels Estate – Wedding Day

February 23, 2020

I had the pleasure of styling beautiful Janes hair for her wedding day at this wonderful wedding venue. I also styled her mothers hair and her bridal party too. It was such a wonderful relaxed morning but I think that was mostly down to the fact that Jane was very calm and she had lots of support from her wonderful bridesmaids. The makeup artist on the day was Elaine Marie from elainemariemakeup.co.uk who ensured they all looked fabulous. The bridesmaids all chose their own hairstyle so I enjoyed making their vision a reality.

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About Me

Welcome to my Blog. I'm a multi award winning Professional Hair and Makeup Artist working with Brides all over Essex and London. I have been working in the wedding industry for 20 years.  I have also recently won Wedding Hairstylist of the Year for the third time and the most recent Award I received was for Bridal Hairstylist of the Year.

With my husband and daughter on the night of the awards.
With my husband and daughter on the night of the awards.

Wedding Hair

I trained at Wella Hair Studios in London, alongside the world acclaimed Patrick Cameron.  He gave me the confidence to explore and experiment with hair and that is exactly what I like to do, ensuring you have the perfect hairstyle for your wedding day.   I love working with hair and creating the impossible.

Trained in Hairstyling at Wella Hair Studios in London, alongside the world acclaimed Patrick Cameron.
Trained at Wella Hair Studios in London.

Bridal Makeup

I trained as a Makeup Artist in London alongside some of the industries most famous makeup artists. You will often find me at Masterclasses, keeping up to date with the latest trends.  My aim is for my brides to looked absolutely stunning on their wedding day and that they enjoy receiving endless compliments about their hair and makeup all day long.

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Contact me today to discuss the perfect Hair and Makeup for your special day.

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