Hair and Makeup Team
At Lara Stokes Bridal Specialist, our team of beauty professionals brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to every wedding. With years of experience in the industry, each team member is a top-tier specialist in hair and makeup, having contributed their creative skills to countless weddings. This hands-on experience gives us the insight needed to ensure your wedding morning runs smoothly, leaving you stress-free and ready for the best day of your life.
Our team is known not only for their talent but also for their calm, reassuring nature—exactly what you need during your wedding preparations. We go above and beyond to make sure you feel confident and look stunning before walking down the aisle.
We proudly serve areas from Bristol to London along the M4 corridor, but we’re happy to travel further afield to be part of your special day.
Please take a moment to meet each of our stylists below and learn more about their expertise.
Lara Stokes
Lara Stokes is the creative force behind Lara Stokes Bridal Beauty Specialist. Although she initially dreamed of becoming a fashion designer, her journey took her through the skies as a British Airways Flight Attendant before she found her true passion in beauty. After studying at the London School of Beauty & Makeup, Lara’s career took off when she was invited to establish the beauty division at a Toni & Guy salon in London. She later refined her skills at the renowned Kristina Gasperas Academy.
With over 25 years of experience, Lara leads a talented team of artists, dedicated to making brides feel beautiful and confident. She’s passionate about creating personalized styles that ensure each bride feels like the best version of herself on her special day.
Makeup Artists
Holly
makeup artist
Holly recently earned her BA degree in Specialist Hair and Media Makeup in 2021. Through her extensive training, she developed a wide range of skills and gained valuable experience in various sectors of the industry, including working with renowned brands like Nars and Charlotte Tilbury. Based in Worcestershire, Holly offers flexible appointments, either in the comfort of clients’ homes or at her studio, while also traveling throughout the West Midlands and beyond. Her passion lies in the moment her clients see their true beauty, focusing on enhancing their features rather than covering them.
Holly’s Bridal style is
“My signature style of makeup is to show how beautiful you truly are, using soft, lightweight products to produce that lit within look.“
Holly’s Brides
Jo
Makeup Artist
Jo started her makeup journey back in 2017. She joined The Beauty Academy and studied to achieve Level 3 Diploma in Makeup Artistry. She learned skills in all areas including, Bridal, Airbrush, Media and Special Effects. Since then Jo’s continued to learn from other established makeup artists and joined the Kristina Gasperas academy where she continues to learn and brush up on her skills.
Jo’s Bridal style is
“I like to be versatile when it comes to makeup. I love creating more natural timeless bridal look but also love a more full glam bride. I aim to make you look and feel the best version of you for your big day. It’s so important to understand what my brides vision is and listen to any concerns they may have.”
Jo’s Brides
Kathryn
Makeup Artist
Kathryn is a Bridal Makeup Specialist with more than 17 years experience working in the wedding industry, helping brides look, and more importantly, FEEL, amazing! I absolutely *love* all things makeup and weddings! I am a friendly and easy-going person, and my aim is always to make my brides feel comfortable and relaxed amongst the excitement of their wedding day preparations.
Kathryn’s Bridal style is
“My makeup style is soft and elevated to be more than your everyday makeup, with glamorous touches to make it extra special. I love to create radiant, elegant, and effortless bridal makeup looks to ensure that you feel beautiful, but still look like yourself. Makeup that doesn’t look or feel heavy in the day, but still stands out in the evening. A style that suits and enhances you“
Kathryn’s Brides
Hairstylists
Lauren
Bridal Hair Stylist
Lauren is a true creative in anything to do with wedding hair. She has been practicing and perfecting her skills for over 18 years! Lauren achieved an NVQ in hairdressing straight from school so has gained valuable education in different hair types and knows how to create the style of your dreams by using the correct products and tools. She has continued to invest into her skills by attending many courses and plans to attend many more. She has particular skills and experience in boho and vintage.
Laurens Bridal style is
“Any up-do! I love experimenting on what the bride envisions on her big day. A bun is not just a bun – when a bride starts to look for THAT bun, its all in the detail and wedding day style. When we start our creation on the trial, it fills me with so much happiness seeing that I have achieved what she has dreamed of. On the wedding day, seeing the whole creation together is something super-special and overwhelming. It’s such a special journey!”
Laurens Brides
Nicola
Bridal Hair Stylist
Nicola is a fully qualified, freelance bridal hairstylist. She has gained numerous professional qualifications and holds NVQ 2/3 in general hairdressing. She is also experienced in working with wigs and is fully qualified in hair extensions too – she doesn’t stop! She has also refined her creative skills in wedding hair with training academies, such as Chris Fordham and Loreal. Hair is clearly her passion and loves creating a variation of styles.
Nicola’s Bridal style is
“I love bringing the brides’s and her bridal party’s vision to life. It is such a great feeling seeing all glow and knowing I had a part to play in making them feel fabulous. I’m very confident in creating all style requests and do really enjoy any new styles too. It’s a very magical industry to be in and love every second of my job.“
Nicola’s Brides
Hair and Makeup Artists
Kristina
Bridal Hair Stylist and makeup artist
Kristina has a huge passion for hair and makeup as she loves having the opportunity to see her brides and bridal party glow from the inside, looking at themselves in the mirror, and knowing that she had, quite a big part in making them feel amazing. She’s now 8 years into her career and she couldn’t ever dream of a better job. She never stop learning and improving on her skills and is regularly visiting masterclasses and training classes, online classes, and has a lot of passion and drive to practice and learn more, more, more – new techniques are always being produced. Kristina also offers special effect makeup which is jaw-dropping to see! You’ll be wowed!
Kristina’s Bridal style is
“I’m quite versatile when it comes to a certain image. I like to make sure I create a great relationship with my bride to be to be able to understand her and how she sees the style for her day. By getting to know her, I feel I can create what she envisions and there’s nothing better than seeing her face light up once she’s seen the creation!”
Kristina’s Brides
Nadezhda
Bridal Hair Stylist and makeup artist
Nadezhda is a makeup artist and hair stylist who started her career in the beauty industry in 2006 after deciding to change her career as a Lawyer. She is qualified to use a wide range of makeup application techniques including, the flawless finish of airbrush makeup. If you are looking for natural-looking, light but photo-ready makeup Nadezhda has the skill set to achieve this. With her training and experience, she can replicate your dream hairstyle for your day and with great confidence.
Nadezhda’s Bridal style is
“I love to show my clients just how beautiful they naturally are. I encourage my bride to feel amazing by being ‘you’ and only enhancing what is ‘you’. It is a great feeling every day to see how my bride’s confidence just glows from them once I have completed the look and done the reveal!” Hair and makeup is what Nadezhda sleeps, dreams and lives for. It’s more than a passion. It is something so ingrained her, its impossible for her to do anything else!”
Nadezhda’s Brides
Jas
Bridal Hair Stylist and makeup artist
Jas has always had a passion for skin and hair from a very young age. Her career started in 2009 and since has worked at many wedding helping her bride’s feeling nothing but amazing. She started working in a hair salon where she also gained a hairdressers qualification so she can not only style your hair, but if you want that last minute cut (we have experienced this on an actual wedding morning – bride’s request), she’s you gal! She loves to travel and took her creative skills over to Australia for 2 years – working with those gorgeous bronzed beach beauties! Wanting to add to her skills, Jas then went one to train in makeup too. She attended the DFMA Makeup Academy and did a further course to offer more of the instagram style of makeup – Glam by Polly.
Jas’s Bridal style is
“I love to be versatile in my creations but I do sway slightly to more ‘glam’, hence taking the further course in this. This said, makeup and hair always starts with a base and this is where you build upon, so once you feel the creation is you, this is where I will happily stop. There’s nothing better than seeing my brides glow with confidence once we completed their vision.”
Jas’s Brides
Olivia
Bridal Hair Stylist and makeup artist
Olivia graduated with a degree in Specialist Hair & Media Makeup in 2017 and has since specialised in Bridal Hair and Makeup. She loves helping brides feel like the most beautiful version of themselves, bringing a calm, supportive presence to every wedding morning.
Her artistry blends classic techniques with modern trends, creating looks that are elegant, timeless, and perfectly tailored to each individual. Based in Cheltenham and originally from the Midlands, Olivia has worked with bridal parties across the UK, and continues to grow her craft with every bride she meets.
Olivia’s Bridal style is
“My bridal style is all about enhancing natural beauty with soft, elegant details that feel effortless and timeless. I love creating looks that give my brides a radiant glow from within – polished yet still completely ‘you’.”
Olivia’s Brides
