Name: LaVey Lauren Ortiz
Location: Las Vegas Nevada aka Wedding Capital of the World
Number of Years in Business: 8 and counting
Website: laveylauren.com (under construction)
Blog: Up and coming
Facebook: LAVEY ORTIZ Celebrity Make-up-Artist
What did you do prior to this? I worked at Disneyland for a short time right after high school then moved back to Vegas and started working at the salon inside the Venetian as a receptionist. One day our make-up artist called in sick and he was booked solid so I volunteered to do the job. It was either sink or swim and I guess I've been swimming ever since. :)
If you didn’t do makeup for weddings for a living what would you be doing instead? Honestly I've always known I wanted to do something creative. At first I thought I wanted to be a special effects make-up artist.
What are some of your hobbies? You mean besides making people beautiful? It's crazy how much my work has consumed my time and how lil spare time I get sometimes. But when I do get free time, I enjoy working out, hiking, spending time with family and loved ones. Dinner with friends is one of my favorite things to do.
What is the craziest wedding experience you’ve ever had? I had a couple hire me out to do wedding makeup in Beverly Hills, California. The morning of the big day as I was packing my kit, the bride called me balling saying she just walked out on her fiance and was at the airport headed back to New York City. I didn't know what to say. I tried calming her down and said "hey do what you gotta do". I cant imagine how much money and time had completely just went to ruins but thankfully that was the first and hopefully last time I experience something like that.
What is the best wedding experience you’ve ever had? Wow I have had so many! I've been so blessed to have traveled all across the United States to participate in weddings. One of the best weddings I have ever been to was when a young couple flew me out to New York around the holidays and gave me an apartment to stay in and invited me to their wedding on Wall Street next door to the New York Stock Exchange. It was a beautiful wedding and not a detail was skipped and I am so lucky to make good friends with almost every bride that I have ever worked with. I know they will always remember me and I could only imagine how many wedding photo albums I have been apart in. But I'm sure my wedding day experience will top the charts.
What is your inspiration? Old school Glamour! I believe classic traditional glamour will never go out of style and you can never go wrong with any of the classic looks. Back then women were dressed to the nines and hair and make up was always done and I still believe to this day that women were most beautiful back then.
Name an exotic location you’d like to visit soon. I'm not much of an exotic location type of girl. I just recently visited Hawaii to do a friends/co-workers wedding makeup and that was a blast! So i would have to say next on my list would be Napa or Sonoma County. It may not be exotic but that's my idea of paradise.
Why do your clients choose you over some of your competitors? Besides having years of experience and working on some of the most famous faces of the world, I believe being personable makes a huge difference. I always take extra time on every bride and while I work on them, I think to myself that this could be me and how would I want to look and be treated on my wedding day. I am VERY honest and I will let u know if what you have in mind may not be the best look for you and trust me.....I KNOW what photographs good and I think brides appreciate the confidence. I also use the top of the line products and know of almost every product made and truly do know what works best for make-up and skin. I always do my research and try and suggest a good lipliner and gloss to every one of my brides and I assign a close friend lipstick duty
What is the best piece of advice you can offer a bride and groom on their wedding day? To actually enjoy the day and enjoy each other. Nothing else really matters and years from now no one will remember the napkins or center \pieces but they WILL remember how much in love you two looked and how much fun they had at the wedding. And to the brides......"I promise they will not start the show without you!" and please......Drink tons of water the week of your wedding day, stay out of the sun and tanning beds and please don't have your bachelorette party the night before. The pictures never lie! And research beauty magazines and have in mind a make up look and hair look so that both you and your artisan will be on the same page.
Anything else interesting you’d like to share? I work inside COLOR salon inside the real Caesars Palace, one of the most beautiful salons in the world. I have worked on thousands of brides and deal with weddings every single day. It still amazes me how many weddings Vegas is a part of and of course that I am so lucky enough to be a part of
Check out the work we've done together at a recent photo shoot.
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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com