Bridal News Magazine is designed for the couples we meet online and in person throughout the year. These real brides and grooms are living their own inspiring, everyday love stories as they plan their weddings in local communities across Ontario. That’s why, when it came time to designing the cover of January 09’s Bridal News Magazine, we knew we wanted a real bride to play the starring role... Toronto bride-to-be, Stephanie Ekstein, is an enchanting girl whose natural beauty made her the perfect choice for a day filled with everything from hair and make-up to a fashion photography shoot. Here’s an inside look into the making of the cover of Bridal News Magazine.

Like many wedding days, the cover of Bridal News Magazine required the preparation and talents of some incredible people to bring it all together...

The cast & crew
Stephanie Ekstein, bride-to-be, posed for the cover, putting her own May 17, 2009 wedding plans on hold to help us make it all happen. She and her mother, Lillian Ekstein, drove in from Toronto for the day.

Christine Kufske of Click Photography provided photojournalistic and fashion photography, including finding a shoot location and providing post production of images, along with the help of her assistant on the day-of, Joanna Botelho.

The Kitchener (Max Becker) location of Chameleon Hair Studio provided make-up artistry and hair style and design for Stephanie, opening their salon to our entourage for the early morning appointment.

Charmanté Bridal and Evening Wear allowed staff at The Ring to raid their multitudes of fabulous gowns and accessories (earrings, bracelet, and hair piece), and ultimately offer the use of their Venus Pallas Athena gown (Style #891027) for the shoot!

Vildana Glisic of Belmont Flowers provided fresh floral design of the bridal bouquet, a lush collection created to fit the colour and concept of the shoot.

Add to the crew - two girls from The Ring (Jennifer Cunningham and Anne Warren), and the day proved to be a group effort.

Diva style
The photo shoot took place in a historical hotel in New Hamburg, The Puddicombe House, offering a mix of dark colours and rich textures as a backdrop for our gorgeous bride.

Stephanie wore a Royal Tafetta cut strapless gown with a sweetheart neckline, empire waist and buttoned tiffany train.

The bride's deep brown softly curled hair is pulled to the side and accented with a vintage flower spray of organza petals and feather tendrils, gathered to a centre of warm gold rhinestones. Stephanie's bangs are left loose, creating a playful, 'come hither' look.

Stephanie's make-up artistry is designed to be naturally sweet with a punch of drama around the eyes. Shadow, liner and mascara were applied in a subtle palette of romantic and warm lavendar. Her lips are topped with a final touch of soft pink lip gloss.

Tear drop rhinestone and crystal Marquise Elite chandelier earrings added elegance and sparkle to the frame of Stephanie's face. On her wrist, a matching Marquise Elite rhinestone stretch bracelet adds some glam.

Revealing her inner diva, Stephanie carries off stunning red peep-toe pumps with confidence, adding a splash of trendy and colourful style to her cover-ready bridal attire.

The bouquet is a collection of gorgeous blooms including hydrangea, mini cymbidium orchids in green and 'rustique' roses. The entire piece gives a layered, vintage feel and is hand wrapped with wire, ribbon and beads at the stems for a polished finish.

A fairytale love story
Steph and Mike were together for eight months when he made his fairytale proposal. Stephanie told us how she received a call from him while at work and he said that there was a limo outside... he said to get in and do whatever the driver said! Inside the limousine laid a Cinderella gown and tiara (Steph is a self-proclaimed Disney freak). The driver told her she was to put on the gown. For Steph, changing in a limo wasn't an option and she was wondering if it was all some sort of trick. She texted Mike and said

she wouldn't put the dress on, getting a little annoyed about the whole strange and confusing situation. When the car pulled up to the front of Casa Loma, Steph's favourite place, it began to look like this was the real thing, so with a little nudge from a representative of Casa Loma, Stephanie slipped into her gown and tiara and was led to a room where Mike stood, dressed as Prince Charming. He proposed to her in front of friends, family and Casa Loma tourists. Many of the visitors thought they were watching a play!

Stephanie plans to marry her soul mate, Mike, on May 17, 2009 at Hilton Suites Markham in a large, extravagant evening wedding. The guests list, at the time of the shoot, was at about 450 people, but Steph laughed and told us that the number is ever-changing because her dad can't stop inviting people to his daughter's wedding.

The part of the wedding day Steph is most looking forward to is the Jewish tradition that will take place right before the ceremony. It will be just the bridal party and family and they'll sign the traditional paperwork here. In a very special, intimate moment, Michael will then cover her face with the veil.

Style tips for brides Spending a full morning inside the doors of a high-end salon surrounded by hair and make-up specialists, can mean only one thing: three hours to learn as many bridal style and trade secrets as humanly possible!   MAKE-UP Since poor skin texture (i.e. dry, flaky skin) can be difficult to cover up, Carla Muia, Make-Up Artist at Chameleon, says the best thing a bride can do is prep her skin before the big day. This means lots of exfoliation and moisturizing.   HAIR STYLE & DESIGN According to Sabrina Quessy, Hair Stylist at Chameleon, it's best to choose your hair style based on the style of dress. Your stylist should take your hair type, wedding location (indoors vs. outdoors) and the weather into account when designing your wedding day look. Chameleon offers free consultations for brides for these reasons. Sabrina told us that the hottest and latest styles include old school, vintage-style looks, modernized in some way. This means salons are seeing more and more finger waves, cap veils and use of feathers. Sabrina says that even though there are still plenty of 'up-dos' going down the aisle, she sees more brides are wearing their hair down, in soft curls, than ever before.