I arrived at the Olde Mill Inn and told the front-desk manager I was modeling in the fashion show that evening. She directed me to three rooms two flights up. I was barely through the doorway when I was intercepted by makeup artist Deborah of Deborah’s Bridal Concepts and plunked down in a chair to be overhauled. I’m no stranger to foundation or lipstick, but the fake eyelashes were an adventure. When a stylist said, “Wow, look at her!” after another model entered the room, I instinctively opened my eyes to see, a big no-no when having fake eyelashes attached. “They need to dry,” Deborah laughed, and proceeded to undo the damage.
Once my makeup was finished, I was bounced to Claudia and her team of stylists from Cuts & Curls by Claudia, where I quickly learned I would be sporting extensions. We were all in awe as they matched my hair color perfectly. I always thought extensions were glued in, but these were almost effortless. Tease hair, push in, and snap in place, Claudia explained. Instant 5 inches. Impressive!
The next room housed the gowns we’d be modeling, all from Priscilla of Boston. I excitedly scanned my four looks, one for each season. And then this size 4 realized the strapless gowns I’d be wearing were all a size 8. I looked at another model in horror. “Standard size,” she responded. “Don’t worry, they pin you in real good.” After being pinned in to my first look, the veteran models gave me a quick tutorial on the show. “It goes really fast,” one said. “Once you get off the runway, you book it up those stairs.”
She wasn’t lying. After each trip down the runway, I ran up two flights of stairs and back to the dressing room, where I was quickly unzipped and unpinned. Then I’d shake the dress off and slip into the next one. They’d zip me up and pin me in, and off I would go, running back down the steps to line up for my next walk.
Will I be trying out for the next season of America’s Next Top Model? Probably not. But if the magazine ever needs bridal models again, this writer will be there armed with her strappy sandals.