On August 24th, in the green room at the Fillmore, Lizzo played and the cameras were ready as freshly married Melissa quickly ran in from her reception to change her whole look including cutting 5 inches off her hair right then and there.
Melissa and Mike’s whole wedding vibe was about having fun with their family and friends. They made it a point to have a good time and celebrate in a way that felt true to them. The wedding and reception took place at the Fillmore, and Melissa danced down the aisle with her dad. They played games and drank beer and cocktails. They sang, danced and partied while the main stage held a killer band. Overall, A pretty epic fête.
Melissa is one of the coolest human’s out there. She’s brilliant and beautiful. Kind and generous. To boot, she is totally bad ass.
Let’s start from the beginning.
A few months before the wedding Jacque, Makeup Artist and Diana, Hair Stylist, met with Melissa (joined by her mom and bridesmaid) at ONLO’s Germantown studio for her bridal preview. We had previously had the honor to do Melissa’s hair and makeup at her brother’s wedding for then bride Madison (check out their wedding here— so gorgeous!). It’s always fun to get to see clients again, especially when its their turn in the spotlight. We made a plan for a killer high ponytail paired with a beautiful makeup look that emphasized her natural beauty and felt elevated and refined. Melissa joked about chopping her hair off on her wedding day, and we all laughed at how that would be so dope. Diana then stopped and was like “I’d do it if you’re really down”… and the whole mood changed to a putting the plan in motion. We decided to let the idea simmer so there was no pressure. The plan was that we would definitely do it if Melissa still felt like it worked for her and her day when we went to create the timeline a few months later. Needless to say, a few weeks before the wedding we confirmed that it. was. going. down.
The wedding day: Its 9am at the Hilton Penn’s landing and the ONLO team arrived 4 artists deep to take care of the group of 15, all who were to be ready by 2:30p that day. Bridesmaids and Family were enjoying a relaxing morning of munching, mimosas and hanging together. They were an awesome group of ladies. The timeline was set up so that the photographer (Dearly Beloved) could catch the tail end of lip color applications and final touch ups. Then off they went to get dressed and roam around the city a bit for photos before the ceremony.
Melissa’s look was about being refined, fun and chic all at once. The star of the show could easily have been the power pony we started the day with, but you can make that call— Check out this slow mo of the pony in all its glory.
The plan: Diana returns to the Fillmore at 8:30p to set up for Melissa to jump into her chair between 8:45 and 9p and get a killer lob inspired by Julianne Hough. Melissa changes her dress and appears back at her reception, with a full new look and surprises everyone including her Husband, who had no idea about the plan.
And thats exactly what happened. It went off without a freakin’ hitch.
Diana and the whole ONLO team sends a HUGE thank you to Melissa for being so trusting with our skills and talent. From the start, she let us do what we do best; taking in our advice and recommendations and being open to plans, interpretation and our care. We absolutely loved working with her and her whole group of beautiful women. Thank you Melissa, it was a total honor and you’re the best!
Comment below: Would you chop your mane mid wedding?!
Photo/Video: Dearly Beloved
Hair: Diana DuHaime
Makeup: Jacqueline Musselman
Assistance: Hayley Atella and Courtney Thornton
