We recently connected with Amy Shell Jacquilynn Proctor and have shared our conversation below.

Amy Shell, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

I (Amy) first came up with the idea for Bewitching Beauty Events while I was in cosmetology school. I had attended a big music festival just before starting school, and it hit me like a ton of bricks that there should have been hair booths set up. Everyone at a music festival is camping, dancing, and sweating. A vendor offering braids fits right in. When you’re at an event like that, the consumer is already going to be spending lots of cash on food, merchandise, and art. Spending an extra amount to get a unique festival look that also keeps your hair out of the way would be a no brainer for many attendees. The idea stuck with me over the years as I worked alongside Jacquilynn (Jaci) Proctor. We have a long history of working together for weddings, and we both love travelling. Creating our own business to create hair and makeup looks at music festivals, weddings, parties and whatever else people want to hire us for lets us do what we love and see new people and places all the time.

When I was ready to put my plan into action, Jaci was someone I knew I could rely on. I had fully intended on making her my go-to stylist to hire, but she approached me with the idea of becoming my partner and going in 50/50 with me. I was and am so incredibly glad that she wanted to take this on and add her own ideas to the mix! When we set up at our very first event (the Pickin’ On Picnic music festival at Lost Hill Lakes in St. Clair, MO), the emotions were overwhelming. We were so grateful to be executing this dream I’d had sitting in a classroom 5 years previously, and thrilled that it was going over exactly as we hoped it would. Our clientele were fantastic- they all said they’d never been to a music festival where hair braiding was offered and they were great at spreading the news about us to the rest of the crowd! From there, our 2022 season continued to be a success.

Every look we create for the events and weddings we’re hired for are detail oriented and personalized to the client. We pride ourselves in going over and above with this. We have a large, beautiful canopy tent that we currently use at festivals and farmer’s markets, and we have big plans on how to expand into something even better in 2023/2024 (but we’re keeping that a secret for now!). We had the opportunity to set up the braiding tent two more times after the Pickin’ On Festival, once for a family Fall Festival and again in the vending lot at Phish concerts in Denver, Colorado.

We were on-site without our tent for two amazing nonprofit fundraisers here in St. Louis, MO (Gateway to Hope and LaunchCode). We worked with the events team at LaunchCode to create some space themed makeup looks for their event at the Planetarium, they offer free education and job placement in computer science/software engineering for St. Louisans and beyond. We ensured the board members of Gateway to Hope looked beautiful for their fundraising event, their organization makes sure that cancer patients in St. Louis have access to resources they need while going through treatment.

Last but not definitely not least, we got the chance to create fiercely spooky looks for a Coven-themed photo shoot with some stunning models. All of this was in addition to our wonderful 2022 weddings!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Jaci and I go way back to our professional dancing days, when we were performing together. She became my hairstylist, and is ultimately the reason I was inspired to go to school in the first place. She knew I loved styling hair, and when I couldn’t make a decision on where to go next in my dance career, she nudged me toward looking into cosmetology school. Everything clicked, and within the first couple of months I had the idea for Bewitching Beauty Events.

Jaci and I work in salons where we get to be creative with cutting and coloring hair, and we have been working alongside each other at weddings for the past 4 years. We love being in the salon, but we definitely have a different sense of joy on those wedding days we are privileged to work. Our performance backgrounds have allowed us to really hone in on the details and we know how to make our brides shine on camera while still looking like themselves. The pressure and nerves of a wedding day are actually similar to getting ready on the day of a show, so Jaci and I know how to be calm and relaxed, and pass that on to the group we are working on.

The number one most helpful tactic to keep the fun and easy environment for weddings is scheduling- we add in ample extra time to our wedding mornings to account for anyone being late, getting distracted, pausing for photos, etc. This sometimes means starting the morning off a little earlier than a bride anticipates, but it’s always worth it to start the day on time and relaxed. At the bridal trial, we take plenty of notes- we also ask the bride to give us feedback at the end of her trial day- did any bobby pins come loose? How did the foundation look and feel? Were there any areas that didn’t feel covered enough? It’s not enough to look great at the beginning of the day, we want to know how we can make it last for the duration of the evening.

Jaci and I also want to make it easy and accessible to receive quality hair and makeup services whether you’re in the middle of a city or in the middle of no where- we will travel wherever clients want us to go, and can get as creative as they’d like when it comes to themes and parties. We get the privilege of being a part of their most special days, or during a time when they’re really letting loose and having fun. Our goal when the client is with us sitting in our chair is to make them feel completely comfortable with communicating with us- if they don’t like something about their hair or makeup we welcome and encourage feedback so that they know they are in control of how they look- we’re there to execute their vision.

We establish this comfortability by communicating lots from the time the client reaches out, making sure we are exchanging ideas and expectations of whatever the event may be. We take plenty of time in any trial appointments we set up, and anything our client wants to test run, we are down for! The trust we build with each person results in what we hope just feels like relaxing with friends getting ready for a fun night out. We thrive off of the energy our clients bring to us, and we want to add to it by making them look as great as they feel.

We offer groom’s services and “stand by” services on the day of weddings to make sure everyone is looking their best and to keep ourselves available for hair and makeup touch ups throughout the day. With many couples choosing to do photos before the ceremony, it brings peace of mind to know that we can refresh everyone’s looks before the ceremony and reception. If they opt not to have us stay for photos, we can also provide touch up kits containing things like bobby pins, lipstick, and powder. It’s one more thing we can take off of the bride or bridesmaids’ plates so they can all focus on just enjoying the day!

The problem we solve for our clients at festivals is one that they don’t even fully recognize as a problem sometimes- keeping long hair out of the way during hot summer months is just something you learn to put up with. When we offer a solution that makes them look great and also takes away the mostly annoying task of keeping their hair out of the way while camping, people respond very well. We have a checklist about a mile long for these festival weekends- we want to be prepared for anything. That means water bottles, snacks, bug spray, wire cutters, scissors, first aid kits, trash cans/bags- and we even bring dog treats and dog water bowls for any furry friends that stop by the tent. The decorations we add to the tent really set the vibe for our clients. We keep it as cool as possible with fans, comfortable chairs for our clients getting braids done, an area rug for people waiting in line to sit on. The lights that come on when the sun goes down really pulls it together, we aim to create a little oasis for our clients.

Something else Jaci and I do well as partners is make sure that we are honest with what we can take on. We split the work very evenly, but in ways that work best with our brains. If I am feeling overwhelmed by a task, I know I can tell Jaci and without judgement, she’ll either trade me something on our to-do list or talk me through what I’m having issues with (and vice versa). What makes us the most proud at the end of the day is that we really trusted our instincts this year- we went all in with our skill sets and love of meeting new people, and as a result, had happy customers and built many genuine connections.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Our mission statement is “Captivating styles, for timeless memories.” Our goals always align back to that sentence- we want our clients to feel confident, beautiful, and genuinely themselves. We aim to do this by connecting with them on a personal level and making them feel seen and heard.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

Social media of course is the easiest and most accessible choice for keeping in touch and interacting with clients, but we also send out newsletters 4 times per year that include where we plan to be next, as well as seasonal hair and makeup tips. Part of building repoire with our clients is staying a trusted source for them long after their event or wedding has come and gone. There are endless options for beauty advice these days, but if we’ve done your makeup before or worked with your hair, we can offer you a more personalized view on what to do for yourself at home. Clients know we aren’t looking to hype up one particular brand or product; we are there to offer genuine, unbiased advice. We like to highlight a small business that we love in each issue of the newsletter as well. Part of building community for us is becoming familiar and friendly with other small business owners in our direct area. Many of these people are other vendors we meet on site at different festivals or events. In this industry, word of mouth is still some of the most powerful marketing you can get, so when we find small businesses we love, we like to spread the word!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @bewitchingbeautyevents
• Facebook: Bewitching Beauty Events
• Other: Contact us for bookings or questions at [email protected]!

Image Credits
Lumosco Photo (Sam Fink) Duckingwood Photo (Matthew Wood)