Crystal Wolf, the owner of Blush Strokes Beauty, is very clear about her chosen career path – “I want to build my life by being with people on the best day of their lives,” she says. She’s become a beloved wedding professional by doing just that. As a makeup artist and, more recently, as an officiant, Crystal helps make wedding dreams come true.

While a makeup artist turned officiant may seem like an unusual combination at first glance – for Crystal, these two services go hand-in-hand. It’s all about supporting people during their most vulnerable moments and helping them experience as much joy as possible on their big day.

It’s also a combination she’s developed from years in the business as a wedding professional, learning about what her clients want and need and seeing those priorities shift over time.

In the early days of the pandemic, Crystal was already well-prepared to navigate the new landscape. The mother of immuno-compromised children, she has been masking at work since 2017 and was already known for the highest standards of safety and cleanliness. This meant that Crystal could continue seeing clients safely once Covid restrictions allowed it.

During the confusion of the early and mid-pandemic, she worked with four couples in a few weeks who found themselves in a bind because their officiant canceled last minute. Seeing her clients in a pinch, she got her officiant’s license so she could step in and support any couples that may need her.

As she began offering officiant services, she developed a new way of connecting with her clients.

For Crystal, stepping into this new role was a natural fit. As a makeup artist, she’s spent years going above and beyond for her clients. Supporting brides with out-of-town bridesmaids by going dress shopping with them, providing her own style suggestions when appropriate, or simply just being there to lend her company and hold the phone up for a video chat with a loved one.

She has always defined her career as a wedding professional by her commitment to provide whatever support she can to her clients. She’s spent countless hours after the bridal party has left to get ready in their own suites with the bride alone, moments before the ceremony. Going above and beyond the role many wedding professionals take on, she’s sat with them, in these moments of quiet vulnerability, as they’re waiting to embark on the next phase of their lives.

There’s an intimacy in these moments and a way that she’s learned to connect with her brides that has served her well as an officiant. She brings the same empathy, intuitive connection, and respect to her officiant role that has defined her time as a makeup artist. This empathy defines every aspect of her work as a wedding professional.

“Treating each person and union like the sacred act it is is important to me,” she explains.

Something else that’s served her well as she’s transitioned to her new officiant role? Her own relationship with her partner. The two regularly exchange love letters to each other, so she’s more than up to the task of crafting a speech or ceremonial outline for a wedding. In fact, her love of love is a large part of what drives her role as a wedding professional.

As both a makeup artist and an officiant, Crystal focuses on getting to know her brides and their relationships. As a wedding professional, she is all about making sure they feel like their beautiful, authentic selves so they can appreciate the occasion with as much comfort and joy as possible.

Something else that’s served her well as she’s transitioned to her new officiant role? Her own relationship with her partner. The two regularly exchange love letters to each other, so she’s more than up to the task of crafting a speech or ceremonial outline for a wedding. In fact, her love of love is a large part of what drives her role as a wedding professional.

She’s seen trends come and go during her time in the wedding industry – noting that more and more of her clients are opting for a natural look and a service that represents themselves and their relationships.

“They don’t want to look back in 50 years and see someone they don’t recognize,” she explains when describing the current priorities of her clients.

Along with this more timeless, low-key aesthetic, she’s also noticed other priorities come into focus during her years as a wedding professional – an emphasis on family being one. In the past, grandparents, for example, may have been provided a designated seat in a special section, a corsage or other floral accompaniment, and special attention during photos.

Now? Many extended family members are being incorporated into the ceremony itself. Crystal has seen this play out in several ways – from serving as a non-traditional flower girl to being part of the bridal party, where they’re able to get getting dolled up with the rest of the bridesmaids and the bride herself.

“Now it’s kind of the whole nine yards because a lot of my clients have really come to realize how precious their families are to them,” Crystal explains.

Crystal also notes that a few years ago, it was much more common for brides to insist on walking themselves down the aisle, but she is seeing this less and less. Perhaps due to the pandemic-influenced isolation from family and friends, many brides are putting a greater emphasis on the support of their loved ones during this special moment.

“If the last couple of years have taught us anything, it’s that there isn’t any certainty in our futures. And so, it’s a really vulnerable moment for a bride to be standing behind closed doors of the church or around the corner – standing completely by themself,” Crystal says. “It’s something many brides aren’t interested in doing as much anymore.”

This emphasis on family, community, and the support loved ones can provide seems to have become increasingly relevant to many of Crystal’s clients.

“No bride wants to carry the weight of the wedding day on her shoulders, by herself, and nobody should have to,” she explains.

Whether these observations constitute a major trend, a random coincidence among the weddings Crystal has attended, or something in between, the different paths couples take reveals the unique opportunity that a wedding provides.

Every couple gets to make what they want of it, whether that means honoring and leaning on family or whether it means centering their own independence. Crystal cherishes her ability to help every client she works with to experience a wedding that feels authentic and true to themselves.

And throughout it all, she’s kept her focus on the most important reason for the wedding – the wonder and beauty of true love.

“It never gets old, seeing couples who love each other and are ready to dedicate their lives to each other. It doesn’t matter whether it’s their first or 10th marriage. Love is love,” she says.