By Joy Kraft
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Stephanie Beckett (foreground) is surrounded by friends at Bajon (from left): Ann Steinbrunner, Erin Herman, Lisa Halterman with stylist Lisa Wesley, Cheryl Beyer, Janet Steinbrunner and Jennifer Tankersley with stylist Julie Lochard. (Dick Swaim photos) | ZOOM |

"I feel like a queen," says Kate Perin, 21, of Colerain Township.

But in a flannel shirt, jeans and running shoes, the transformation was incomplete - despite the glittery cloud of netting being fastened to her fresh curls at LaBella Salon and Spa in Westwood.

The honey-blonde, who was being prepped for her Valentine's Day wedding to Geoff Bostick at First Christian Assembly of God in Corryville, is one of the growing number of today's brides taking her court to the salon for a little pampering instead of sitting alone, watching the clock, fidgeting, pacing and waiting, waiting, waiting for her grand entrance.

Brides are partying right up to the church's door, surrounded by friends, attendants and future in-laws. But we're not talking prim teas or champagne in the garden.

It's gossip and giggles as salons seek to soothe the bride, her attendants and out-of-town guests with manicures, pedicures, facials, hairstyling, massages and makeup, keeping the bride busy and surrounded by friends and family.

Stephanie Beckett gets makeup from Bajon's Andrea Checroun while Erin Herman (left) and Jennifer Tankersley watch. | ZOOM |

"I wouldn't want to be here by myself," Perin says in the middle of LaBella's comfy party room, surrounded by her mom, Meg Perin; aunts, Robin and Laura Grierson; sister Rachel Perin, 18, and cousin Emily Minges, 12.

Safety pins, magazines, scraps of paper scribbled with last-minute reminders litter the table - along with salad, cookies and bread brought in from Panera to soothe jumpy stomachs.

Robin Grierson sighs, remembering Kate as a child playing bride wrapped in lace curtains. Her mother describes the hours of her own wedding day ticking by ever so slowly.

"I did my own hair, too. Whatever was I thinking?"

Tears spill as they discuss the evening ceremony and whether they will get through it without blubbering.

Not a chance.

'No time to get nervous'

Manicurists chatter. Hairstylists summon. And checking manager Olivia Broxterman plays traffic cop.

It's not quite chaos. More controlled confusion.

Stephanie Beckett shares a laugh with sister-in-law Lisa Halterman about a joke they played on Lisa's father at the rehearsal dinner the night before. | ZOOM |

"Having fun, laughing and joking help keep me relaxed," says Stephanie Beckett, 26, on the Saturday morning of her March 22 wedding to Glen Steinbrunner at St. Francis de Sales Church in Walnut Hills. The bride, now of Baltimore, grew up in West Chester.

She gathered at Bajon Salon & Spa with out-of-town friends, future sisters-in-law and her future mother-in-law - some for manicures, others for hairstyling and makeup. All for some last-minute chatter and a rehash of the preceding evening's rehearsal dinner.

"Trust me, we have so much going on with hair, makeup and photography later. There's no down time, no time to get nervous," Beckett says as her fine hair is pulled up and looped into a swirl of curls while friend Jennifer Tankersley and sister-in-law Lisa Halterman sit in chairs behind her getting their hair styled. Matron of honor Erin Herman and others involved in the wedding take turns in the makeup corner.

"I like it this way. The whole day becomes a celebration, not just the ceremony," says Beckett.

In earlier days, it was just the bride getting her hair styled and maybe makeup on the wedding day.

"I remember when I got married in 1981," says Robin Grierson, Perin's aunt, while getting a manicure at LaBella. "I went to Clifton, where the wedding was, all by myself. I remember being so nervous. It wasn't fun. This is so much better."

"More and more clients are bringing in the wedding party," says Pam Cothran, salon coordinator at Bajon.

BRIDAL PACKAGES

Ask about bridal packages. Most salons offer at least a two-visit package with a hair styling and make-up a few weeks before the wedding and on the wedding day. Packages can start at about $125 per person for hairstyling and make-up. Facials, pedicures, manicures, eyebrow waxing, massages, aromatherapy, hot stone treatments, body wraps, skin analysis and foot massage are other options. • To cut costs, consider a visit to a beauty school where supervised students do the work and prices are lower. • Do not get a facial the day of the wedding. They tend to bring out blemishes. • Ask the salon to take a photo of your hair style and makeup at your "rehearsal" visit and take notes on products used. • If you are getting makeup, buy the lipstick for touch-ups. • Book three to six months in advance, especially if you have a big party. • Plan on three hours per person the day of the wedding to be on the safe side, but it depends on the services and staff. Ask the salon about limo service and catering. To cut costs, ask if you can bring in your own food. • Grooms' packages include a gentleman's facial, manicures, pedicures and massages

WEDDING TRENDS

Gowns: Brides are choosing either clean lines and sophisticated looks or beautiful laces and embroidery, says Tina Minshall, advertising and public relations director of Bridal and Formal in Reading. Other popular features include strapless styles, corset backs and two-piece designs with an improvement overall in fabric quality. Attendants' dresses: Pastel plaids and iridescent taffetas are the trends, and a mid-calf length skirt is coming, says Minshall. Strapless and two-piece styles remain popular; about half are full-skirted and half sheath styles. Baby blues, lavenders and pastels are popular. The same color-different style bridesmaids' dresses are going out. "Most brides like the look of uniformity of the whole picture. You have to think of the whole presentation," Minshall says. Rings: Platinum and white gold still are ring leaders, says Rick Fehr, co-owner and gemologist of Richter & Phillips Co., downtown. Princess cut, round and oval are the three most popular diamond shapes, and only about 20 percent of couples are choosing matching bands. The news is in metal mixing - platinum with 18 carat gold - and a new diamond, the Lucere, which is square and cut with more facets than a conventional princess cut. "It's totally different from what people are used to seeing," he says. Flowers: Supplemental break-a-way bouquets (four to five small bunches of flowers) made for the bride to toss remain popular, says Heather Arnold, designer at Ruttle & Neltner in Fort Mitchell. There are more hand-tied bouquets as opposed to larger cascading structured arrangements, and traditional roses are still requested. "We did use a lot hydrangea, tulips and calla lilies," she says. Seasonal flowers are more cost-effective, but almost any flower can be ordered year-round. Cakes: Fresh flowers on cakes coordinated with the bridal party's flowers is still a popular in the bakery, says Robert Ayres, supervisor of the cake department at Servatii's. (He placed second overall in the recent Retail Bakers Association competition in Anaheim, Calif). "I tell brides to go for what they want. I generally don't tell them which way to go," he says. Eighty percent of Servatii's wedding cakes are a simple design, then a florist incorporates the flowers. Most cakes are round. Some are hexagonal and square, though the latter is headed "out." "We're not seeing as much color are we used to," Ayres says. "We're seeing a lot of fresh strawberries, but our most popular is almond and apricot filling." Tuxedoes: As three-button suits have gotten popular, the three-button tuxedo has followed. Two-button styles are running a close second, replacing the one-button style. "The trend is back to the basics," says Carmen Ramundo, co-owner with his father of Peppe Ramundo & Son on Glenway Avenue. The Windsor or four-in-hand tie has been popular the past two years, but the traditional bow tie is coming on a little stronger in the past six months, with the top colors being silver and black. Black, full-back vests are in demand, as opposed to the backless styles, and the length of the jacket continues to be about an inch and a half longer than the traditional tux length. Color depends on a successful match to the bridesmaids' dresses, says Ramundo. "If it's not exact, it really doesn't look good, especially in photos," he says. "Color is more a prom thing."

"The best part is we got to spend time together and relax, and they kept me calm until I got to the church," says Maria Benedetto, 23, of Amelia, who wed this past December after a day at Sableaux Salon & Spa in Crestview Hills with five bridesmaids and a flower girl.

"We just kind of took over the salon.. It felt like we were 12 years old all over again, running around giggling, getting our hair done. And we had spent the night before together. It was like the continuation of a slumber party," Benedetto says.

Popularity growing

The wedding party-spa trend started about five years ago, "but has really increased the last year and half," says Jeremy Braun, general manager of Sableaux. "We've always had quite a few, but last year it got a lot more popular."

Salon and spa owners say this year is booking quickly for the wedding season's busiest months - May through October - then will pick up again over the holidays.

"Instead of brides and bridesmaids going out to a bachelorette party, they are coming to the spa and getting massages, facials, manicures, pedicures, scrubs, body waxing," says Shannon Brech, who became Mitchell's Salon and Day Spa bridal coordinator, a position that didn't even exist until last year.

Taking care of big parties ("our biggest was 25," says Brech) on a timely basis is much like directing traffic.

"You are dealing with 15 girls on a very important day, and they think the world revolves around them that day. You have to please and accommodate at the same time to keep everything going smoothly," says Brech.

"We have a big party coming in April with about nine people," says Karen Welch, owner of Bajon salons in West Chester and Montgomery. "Sometimes people like to do it like a party, with food, and others like to be more laid back and relaxed. It depends on the bride."

The biggest crowd Tanya's Image & Wellness Salon on Hyde Park Square has handled was a wedding party of about 15 in October.

"It was the bride, the mother and the whole party. We did their hair, makeup, some eyebrow waxes, manicures. The whole salon got into it and everybody helped on that party, rotating chairs," says Michelle Speed, manager.

"Everybody was from out of town, except my sister-in-law," says Carla Loon Leader, 29, of Baltimore, one of Tanya's pampered brides who married in October.

"I just liked being able to go together and relax with everyone. It's so nice not to have to sit and wait all day alone before the wedding. My mom brought bagels ... and we snacked through the day."

Many salons have a separate party room where food can be served and guests can wander in and out as their work is done.

"We have a VIP suite and we can do any kind of package," says Broxterman of LaBella. "We just had a group of 20 women who came in for a meeting, then got services and a catered lunch."

Mitchell's Northgate salon has a room with five round tables, centerpieces and candles.

"The wedding party can meet here and kind of hang out. It's a little more relaxing and more private than the waiting room," says Brech.

But don't ask for booze. The champagne lunches are frowned upon by liquor agents, and salons are not allowed to serve alcohol.

Often, catered food or covered dishes brought in take care of nervous stomachs.

"One mom brought her daughter's favorite quesadilla roll-ups and we set it up," says Brech. "And I did have a bride who brought in her own dishes and made her own heart-shaped sandwiches for the bridesmaids."

"We also had a party a couple of weeks ago where the whole party showed up in a Coach bus they'd rented for the whole day."

LaBella often summons limos to deliver the bridal party to the church on time.

"One father even had the mother of the bride and bride delivered to Sableaux in a horse-drawn carriage and the rest of the party came in limos," says Braun, "but limos are pretty common."

The cost of all this pampering isn't cheap, although most salons have packages for brides that include a dry-run hairstyling with the headpiece and makeup several weeks before the wedding as well as on the big day. And many salons will take a photo of the "rehearsal" style and makeup with notations so everything goes smoothly the day of the wedding. Expect to pay $30-$50 for a cut, shampoo and styling and about $25 and up for makeup, depending on the salon.

Who pays?

How the bill gets paid varies.

Sometimes the parents of the bride take care of the services. At others, attendants may give the bride her package as a gift or vice versa. But more often, each pays her own way and decides which service she wants.

"My mom chose to treat the bridesmaids," says Leader. "I don't know that I would have told them to 'come down and get this done' if they had to pay. If the bride can't cover it, it might be too much for some (attendants or) guests."

"I think the reason why people want to spend money is that we are the people making it easier for them that day," says Broxterman of LaBella. "They want to know things will be perfect.

"This way, you're not worried about how everything is going to be. These folks are not going to let you walk out of here not looking perfect," says Perin as she headed out the door 10 minutes ahead of schedule in perfect curls and her wispy veil floating above her flannel shirt and jeans.

Well, almost perfect.

E-mail jkraft@enquirer.com