Iowa Brides: A Year in Review with Des Moines’ Finest Glam Team

Another year down and, as a result, there are so many amazing events to look back on! 2023 was Hello Darlin’ Glam’s 4th season pampering Iowa Brides, Marriers, & their closest friends and family members. We introduced new stunning bridal looks, expanded our team of talented stylists, and continued to spread love and beauty throughout the heartland. As we step into 2024, we are thrilled to continue our mission of making every wedding day extra special and unforgettable.

A collective of Des Moines Bridal Hair stylists and Makeup Artists celebrating with champagne on a rooftop in the Downtown Des Moines Iowa area.

Iowa Award Winning Professional Hair and Makeup Team, Hello Darlin’ Glam, Photographed by Sage Collective Photography

Once more, we express our gratitude to every bride & wedding party who trusted our skills and expertise this year. Our journey wouldn’t have been possible without the support of every one of you and your generous appreciation in positive reviews.

2023 was a huge year for growth and learning with Hello Darlin’ Glam. Thank you for making our favorite moments from this year possible, and for being a part of this incredible community.

New Year, New Space For Iowa Brides…

In January we opened our Off-site Bridal suite, The Evermore , in the Historic East Village Downtown Des Moines! It is a 1,200 sqft studio space curated with not only Bride’s and their families in mind but for Hairstylists & Makeup Artists to have a comfortable & functional workspace as well. Because on your wedding morning you deserve a space tailored to your needs! A space that is aesthetically pleasing, perfectly photogenic, has great sound system to set the vibe, room to spread out, eat food, & have fun as you get glammed up to say I DO!

All Hello Darlin’ Glam preview sessions are now held at The Evermore. However, it’s not just for us to use! The Evermore is available for rental by any bride with any glam team, but HDG Bride’s receive 25% off reservation costs.

When not hosting wedding mornings for Iowa Brides, The Evermore is a great gathering space for Micro Events (under 35 guests) such as baby showers, rehearsal dinners, or birthdays! We are very excited to see how different people will utilize the space.

Photo Abi Jo Photo Co. Makeup Danielle Moore Hairstyling Hair and Makeup by Stacy

An Award Winning Spring..

Our season began on a high note with the Iowa Wedding Choice Awards! The Wedding Choice Awards happens every February. Local wedding pros have the chance to dress up & let loose while celebrating their hard work & dedication to their craft. Beginning in October couples, friends, and family can vote for their favorite Pros that helped made their event so memorable.

I’m truly delighted to share that Hello Darlin’ Glam was nominated in two categories, Hair Stylist/ Salon and Makeup Artist. The team is over the moon to have received Gold in BOTH categories amidst such fierce competition. What an exciting milestone!

This was an amazing moment for our two recently recruited artists, Madison Ward, our talented Makeup Artist, and Tatum Decker, our skilled Hairstylist, to connect with everyone prior to the beginning of an extraordinary season. They have seamlessly integrated into our team and completed our lineup for the year with sheer perfection.

One Hot Iowa Brides Summer..

In April we worked with the wonderful Laynee of Sage Collective Photography to update our team photos & headshots. Seeing the growth of the team has been so surreal. To think we started as a team of 3 and in just two years we have been able to triple. Thank you, Iowa brides! It’s because of you that we have been able to GLOW.

Iowa Brides Fall In Love…

A joyful and radiant Iowa LGBTQ+ couple, side by side, showcasing beautifully styled hair and makeup by Hello Darlin' Glam. The couple exudes confidence and happiness, highlighting the success of personalized hair and makeup services. The image reflects the inclusive and welcoming atmosphere of our team, where individuals of all identities can enjoy expertly crafted beauty experiences.

We dedicated the rest of the late summer and early fall to improving the experience for those who grace our chairs.

Ensuring that our clients receive not only great hair and makeup but also a pampering experience beyond luxury is priority number one.

Your reviews are deeply appreciate and we value the feedback from our clients. Your insights play a crucial role in enhancing the experiences of future clients. When you take the time to share your thoughts, you contribute to the continuous improvement of our services. Your reviews help us understand what we do well and where we can make enhancements. This helps create a community of satisfied and informed clients. It ensures that each person who sit in our chairs can enjoy an even better experience! We are grateful for the opportunity to continually refine and elevate our services with your valuable feedback.

See what Brides, Hannah & Lauren had to say about their experience with Hello Darlin’ Glam below:

“Hello Darlin’ Glam is the best choice to bring your hair & makeup dreams to life! We had 16 people doing hair and makeup for our September wedding and we were having a hard time finding a vendor who could take our large group and was LGBTQ+ friendly. Luckily from the initial conversation with Samantha, our group size was not of concern and we saw other LGBTQ+ couples on the HDG website/social media. In addition, Samantha was excited, detailed, and listened to our needs. We were pleased to hear they had options for the team to come to our venue for getting ready and no hidden fees. The price transparency and options were so refreshing after reviewing so many vendors who charge for parking, mileage, travel with limited distance and upcharge for each additional artist. HDG has is packaged so you know the cost per person. It was easy planning with them; their response time was quick and they include out of office replies so you know if they won’t be able to respond for a while due to the demand of business. We had a fun time at our hair/makeup trial and felt extremely comfortable expressing what we wanted, tweaks, etc. We never felt we would offend the artist and ultimately they wanted us to feel 100% on the big day. The wedding day getting ready was seamless. The timeline we prearranged with Jess (Beauty Coordinator) was so helpful so our bridesmaids knew what time each service was and when they needed to go to their artists’ chair. Every single one of our bridesmaids loved their hair and makeup and many wished they could of had HDG for their wedding (truly, I am not just saying this!). Samantha did both our bridal makeup and Melissa and Stephanie did our bridal hair and we are still swooning over how we looked. When I tell you not a single hair was out of place and our makeup still looked flawless at the end of the night, that should help solidify HDG for your big day! We are so thankful!”

-Hannah N.

Going Out, Iowa Brides Style…

Closing out our 2023 season with a new hairstylist & 2 new makeup artists! In late October, we met our newest hairstylist Amie Thompson along with Kate Pasa, makeup artist. Shortly after, Fall season guest artist, Stephanie Valerio, shared interest in signing on as a Featured Artist. We are incredibly grateful for adding such extraordinary talents to our already exceptional team I’ll share more about them in another blog, but be on the look out for their work in our feeds!

In the years since Hello Darlin’ Glam has been open, we have been blessed with some all out amazing NYE weddings to end our season. It’s not common in our industry to have a year fully booked with weddings, but thanks to our clients recommendations & reviews, we do it year after year. It is truly one of my favorite little moments for us.

This year, we were honored to be a part of 3 NYE parties, pampering 3 brides & 31 of their squads. That’s a total of 54 services from 8am – 2pm! What a genuinely rewarding way to end the year.

A few of our favorite images from our NYE brides:

If you’ve made it this far, Thank you. This has been one of our best years yet and honestly, I don’t know how 2024 Iowa Brides can top it. Check back in January 2025 to see how they do. In the meantime, be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for all the latest and greatest updates!