Joya beauty
Joanne McDonough
Examples of her beautiful brides!
KP: What is your favorite part of the wedding process?
JM: You thought I was going to say the day of the wedding makeup application, right?
Actually, my favorite part is the makeup design appointment. The bride and I get to spend the better part of two whole hours together alone. We mix and match products and colors and then try them on just like the dress. She doesn’t get to leave until I see in her eyes that she LOVES her look. Everything has to work together to capture the mood of the bride as she dreams about that walk down the aisle towards her groom.
KP: What do you love most about your job in the wedding industry?
JM: Because of the amount of time I spend with the bride and her mom prior to the wedding it feels like I am part of the family on the actual day of the wedding. Many brides and their party stay with me long after the wedding and I get to see the photos of new houses, new babies and be a part of their new lives. I am so happy when I get to do a wedding on my own wedding anniversary and birthday. I got to spend a significant birthday with a bride and her family. They had a party for me during the “getting ready” part of the day and gave me presents! That was a several years and two babies ago and we still stay in touch.
KP: What is the biggest misconception about your industry?
JM: That makeup is just makeup and the application process is all the same. It seems that my biggest challenge is convincing ladies that I am not going to make them look like a clown or worse. Makeup and the application of it is an art form and I look at each person’s face as a canvas. My goal is to have her looking and feeling radiant through the laughter, tears and kisses until the last dance.
KP: How did you get into the wedding industry?
JM: I have always loved makeup and spent most of my spare time and money at the counters in all the major stores in cities and countries all over the world. There is something hypnotizing to me about the colors, textures and smells of makeup. When I made my great leap I decided that I was going to build my business around attending to brides and their families and friends. I have made so many new friends in this business…vendors, brides, families… This is a passion for me and not a just a “job”.
KP: Tell me one wedding vendor other than in your industry you highly recommend? Why?
JM: It seems that I have been blessed to work with all wonderful and talented people. It is so hard to pick just one. I tip my makeup brush to them all. They are all on the “My KPW” website so a bride can’t go wrong picking from the vendors she will see there.
KP: Tell me one wedding vendor in your industry you highly recommend? Why?
JM: Lena Hartford, “Hair that Moves” is a joy to work with. She is patient, has an infectious laugh and creates beautiful hair styles for the brides as well as the rest of the party. The bride is actually the easiest since Lena has worked with her during her hair design appointment and shares the same philosophy as I do. The bride doesn’t leave until she loves her hair. The rest of the party also has to look beautiful and compliment the bride’s chosen style. Not many people can handle the pressure of meeting people for the first time and doing their hair in 30 minutes for a wedding. Everyone thinks we are a mother/daughter team because we work that well together. If I was lucky enough to have a daughter I would want her to be like Lena.
KP: Favorite wedding story- funny or serious
JM: I was working with David Murray for a beautiful bride who looked like she should be in a magazine when she was dressed in her gown. She was understandably very nervous just at the moment she was to walk out the door to get married. She turned and saw a platter full of wonderful lobster rolls that were huge and full. She picked it up in a flash and took a monster bite out of one. My makeup applications are flawless and durable but the mayonnaise was all over her cheeks and chin so her foundation had to be reapplied. It made for a great photo of the moment though and a funny memory we still share years later.
KP: What other part of the industry would you not want to work in? Why?
JM: The answer to this is easy for those of you who know me personally. I don’t cook…AT ALL. My sainted husband takes care of the shopping and cooking in our household. So…the caterer’s job would not work out for me. How do they get all those entrees together and served at the same time? Do they have 125 ovens in that little tent?
KP: What differentiates you from the rest of your industry peers.
JM: Patrick McNamara captured it perfectly in his interview. When I work with a bride I get into a zone and all I can see in front of me is her face. I feel that my part of the wedding preparations, which starts the minute the bride retains my services many months in advance, is an honor and a privilege. It is also a very intimate service since I have my hands on her skin and am very close to her in personal space. We work on her makeup design until I can see in her eyes that she LOVES her look. One of my 2009 Joya brides just told me that besides her groom and her dress she is looking forward to her wedding day makeup the most! That is music to my ears. She relies on me to be there for her…not just to apply her makeup and leave but to dry her tears, calm her nerves and send her off with a radiant smile.
I've been very lucky to have spent the past eight months while planning my wedding with Joanne. Obviously the most important and exciting part of my wedding is that I'm marrying my fiance, but the second best part has been meeting Joanne and the calming hours I've spend on her unbelievable comfortable facial bed being pampered. I just had my makeup trial and felt so beautiful when she was finished. I feel blessed that she's been such a big part of my wedding and I thank her from the bottom of my heart!
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