TIPS: Wedding Make Up — EBM Photography

Every girl likes to look their very best on their wedding day. For most of us that means getting hair and make up done. You can see more about wedding hair in this post. Here's what you need to know about wedding make up.

Most of us wear make up from time to time, on nights out, or maybe even an everyday natural look for work. For wedding make up you may well choose to you your own make-up on the day. I would suggest wearing slightly heavier make up than you would for every day, but still keep it looking fresh and natural. The reason for this is that it looks much better on camera, especially if your photographer needs to use flash or other lighting.

If you choose to consult a professional make up artist to do your wedding make up, make sure that you have a trial prior to the wedding to discuss the look you would like to go for, as well as trying the products that will be used. No one wants to have a reaction to a new product on the morning of their wedding!

Fife based make up artist, Eileen Wood, answered some questions for me.

How long have you been a make up artist?
Scarily I have been doing bridal make up for a long time, over 27 years.

How far in advance of the wedding should a bride book her make up artist?
The earlier a bride books the better. I have bookings over a year in advance, especially for weekend weddings. Leaving it less than 6 months before could mean you will struggle to get who you want.

What happens at a wedding make up trial?
I will discuss in detail what looks the bride and her bridal party want to achieve and I will apply full make up for thebride to see the finished look. Extra time can be taken to try different looks but the bride should always leave happy with the results. They should leave the make up on for the rest of the day to ensure it is the look they want as well as to show them how long the make up will last on the day.If the bride or attendants are planning on having spray tans for the wedding it is best they have a spray tan done for the trial too. It isn't great if time is spent getting the colours right only for a bride to turn up on her wedding day with skin a completely different colour. It is also recommended all those having make up done on the wedding day have trials, especially with larger groups, as this cuts down on time required on the wedding day.

How far in advance of the wedding should a bride have her make up trial?
I would suggest approximately 4-5 weeks in advance, however this is not always possible. Trials might not be available on weekends due to other wedding day bookings. The trial should where possible be done in natural daylight.

How long on the day will the make up take to do?
A trial can take anything from 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours, per person, sometimes more. Make up on the wedding day itself is approximately 45 minutes to an hour, per person.

How much do you charge for wedding make up?
A trial and make up on the day is £59 per person, £39 for those only having make up done on the day. There is a 3 person minimum for weekend weddings. I offer bespoke bridal packages with discounts if other pre-wedding treatments are booked. For more information on booking terms and conditions visit my website.

Do you have any other tips to share?
A bride cannot underestimate the importance of skin care preparation to ensure a fresh, good condition canvas for make up. This ensures foundation base glides on smoothly for a flawless cover. Make up only looks as good as the underlying skin canvas.Facials in the few days before the wedding are not ideal, as this can cause flare ups, but ideally several facials in the couple of months leading up to the wedding, and the make up trial, make all the difference.Regarding artificial eye lashes, it is a good idea to bring strip lashes to the trial so you can see the full finished look. Lashes can make all the difference, as can lash tint for those with very blonde lashes.

Many thanks to Eileen for contributing to this post on wedding make up. To find out more about her packages here. You can see more pictures of Eileen at work in a forthcoming post about the bridal shoot that took place recently. Check back soon!My last tip is to take a look at magazines, as well as online, for ideas on wedding make up looks to give your make up artist an idea of what you are looking for. Pinterest is, as always a great resource for this!

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