Your Wedding Morning is what kickstarts the whole day, and get this stage right and you are setting yourself up for theeee most relaxed, enjoyable and perfect day- EVER!
As a Bridal Makeup Artist I’ve now worked hundreds and hundreds of Weddings, and believe me when I say as MUA’s we see eeeeverything. So here are some of my top tips to get the best of your morning, keep organised and calm, and ensure you have time for the most precious moments which can often get forgotten about, but you’ll wish you’d taken time for later!
1. TIMINGS.
Your time line is everything. So I’ll start here! Your Makeup and Hair suppliers should be giving you indicators for their timings, whether they are rough estimates or a full timeline broken down into minutes. It’s always best to work back from the time you need to be out the door. 1pm ceremony but cars getting you at 12.15? 12.15 is the final end point then, not 1pm.
Your timeline can be as precise as you wish, or nice and fluid to allow for changes. But either way; you need to ensure there is time for everyone to have hair and makeup, get into dresses, and time factored in for photo’s. Your photographer will snap away at the morning, but please please please don’t be the party who have zero time for photos due to rushing, and then be upset with the photographer in months to come as you really wanted some pics in your PJ’s. This is part of the morning and should be factored in!
2. PHOTOS
Leading on for point 1, photo’s. Which images are a must for your morning? Bought the bridesmaids matching gifts? All in cute little dressing gowns? Have some sentimental keepsakes from Granny? These are all things you’ll probably want captured. Have a little list and relay these to your video/photo team. Set aside 10-15 minutes for pictures with the girls popping the bubbly, and if you don’t need that full 15 minutes? Perfect. Time to grab a Croissant.
3. FOOD.
Weddings are LONG days. Make sure where ever you are getting ready, that you have time and space for breakfast. Everyone needs to line their tummies for all the Prosecco that will follow, and the last thing you want is a Bridesmaid passing out before 2pm. Set aside TIME for breakfast too, or lay out a buffet of snacks for people to graze. Even hire a Graze Board company for some serious grammable pics of the brekkie. Giving a time and place for food is always ideal. As a MUA I’ve had people trying to eat a full English on their lap while I’m doing their face. Not only is it unhygienic (mental images of me wiping Ketchup off someones lip/chin), but it gets in the way of your suppliers trying to work as effectively as they can. It’s also hard to keep a kit clean and germ free when someone is spilling bean juice into the eyeshadow palettes. So I highly recommend keeping breakfast bits away from your Hair and Makeup area’s haha!
4. PROPS.
Give a role to one of your squad to have all of your important items ready for the videographer/photographer. The Dress, Perfume, Flowers, Jewellery, something old, borrowed etc…
Once these suppliers arrive they’ll want to get these images captured (if you are wanting them) and it takes up key time while everyone rummages through 10 suitcases and overnight bags to find it all. Keep everything together in a pretty little box or bag, and this keeps everything safe and organised.
5. DRESSES.
Who is dressing you? Is it an easy dress to get into, or do you need 2-3 hands to help with the buttons/corset? Who’s dressing the kids? Who’s dressing the bridesmaids? Are their dresses easy to do themselves, or do they all need to help one another? These are more important questions to factor in, and may mean moving the ‘dressing time’ a little earlier than planning. Getting into dresses at 12.10 when the cars are leaving at 12.15 might not be ideal, so is another key moment to work out.
6. FLOWERS.
I’ve worked with some of the most amazing florists, who give the most incredible tips on the morning. Most will turn up and check you LOVE the flowers, show you how to hold the bouquet, and advise on if the flowers are in water. If your bouquets are placed in water for freshness, they’ll need to be dried off with a towel before you all place them straight onto your beautifully perfect dresses. Wet Stems + Satin Dresses? A recipe for disaster. Usually it’s ideal to set time aside for someone to dry them off on a tea towel, or if you forget its usually us as MUA and Hair that are jumping in to dry them off and hand them out. Either way, remember to check for water!
7. INSPO IMAGES.
Often it’s usually the Brides who have just had trials with your Hair and Makeup Team, and if this is the case then your suppliers are often meeting people for the first time that morning. Ask your bridal squad to have between 1-2 images of hair and 1-2 images of makeup, ideally from the suppliers work pages, on hand as their ‘look’s they are aiming for. If not from their page, then something similar that is achievable within a 45-60 minute time slot. While we would LOVE to spend 2+ hours on each look, it just isn’t achievable when there are a number of you to get ready for a set time.
8. RUNNING ORDERS
Similar to the timeline, a running order is also perfect. We know no-one wants to go first for hair and makeup at 6am, but someone needs to get things started. And, it lasts! I have Brides and Bridesmaids sending me selfies at 1pm the very next day, hungover, enjoying a McDonald’s, with a perfect face and hair still! Trust us when we say if you don’t remove it, it’s staying on/in. Although I definitely advise to wash your face that evening!! Set a running order and give the girls/guys their times. I’ve seen it happen a number of times where people simply refuse to go next, as they want to wait, and it can make your whole morning late. Dealing with these things before the morning can ease stress, and make for less of an awkward moment when your supplier is trying to get the hair and makeups done for a specific time.
9. TIDYING
Whether it’s at home, a cottage, a hotel, or the venue, having a set area for your dress shots is key. Imagine your incredible dress, fitting you like a glove, your perfect flowers, you posing to perfection for your bridal portraits.. and your bridesmaids bright pink thong on the bed in the background. Half eaten bacon butties on the table to the side of you, a suitcase spilling all over the floor. Yeah.. it’s not ideal hahah! Setting 5 mins aside to throw everything UNDER the bed, into a cupboard, or even keeping one room spotless and only for photo’s is usually the best thing. Photographers can achieve amazing things, but it does make their job easier by focussing on you, rather than having to edit out the getting ready mess in the background. Remember these photo’s are forever! You want to hang them with pride in your Home, and you’ve spent a lot of money on them. So taking a few moments to either delegate someone to clean up, or keeping one room separate will make the world of difference.
10. THE REVEAL
Literally my favourite part! Do you want to do a reveal for your bridal party, mum, dad, grandparents, step parents, aunts uncles? Anyone who is with you, giving you away, or simply means the world to you. These moments make for some amazing photographs, and are super special to look back on. Your Video and Photo teams are pro’s at these; so let them know before if you’d like the first time these key people ‘see’ you to be captured. Usually you are in your dress, full hair and makeup done, all jewellery and flowers on, and ready to go become a WIFE! So if you leave some time before the transport leaves, or the ceremony starts for this moment, you’ll not feel rushed and can savour every little moment.
If you are a previous Bride of mine, a supplier, or a super organised Brides with some perfect tips for the morning then pop them in the comments below as I'm sure we would all LOVE to hear them!
And finally;
Please please remember this is YOUR day. From the moment you wake up; this is your WEDDING DAYYYYY
You must enjoy it. There should be minimal pressure and stress, and the people around you will play a huge role. Remember to do it your way, and enjoy every single moment. It’s simply so special, and a day to remember.
Now let’s go get you married Honey’s!!! Xxxx
