Timing for you wedding morning for makeup

Makeup | 21.01.2022

This is something that I feel is so important on the morning of a wedding, yet it seems to be the last thing on some bridal parties’ minds. The attitude of “as sure it’s only the makeup artist” has really been evident to me over the last few weeks.

Times are tough at the minute for brides and vendors with the uncertainty of a wedding day happening, all involved are truly affected.

But the magic of the morning should still be there, stress free, fun and relaxed. That’s why us as makeup artists and hairstylists set out a schedule for the wedding morning so that all involved know what’s happening and that someone is always in the chair.

Generally, if we set a time for 8am that means we will arrive at 7:45am and get set up to be ready to go at 8am. Not always but I do see on some mornings that people are late or they aren’t organised, and no one sits in the chair until 8.30/9am. This really does have a knock-on effect which in turn falls on the makeup artist and or hair stylist to try pull back the time which can be manic.

As a rule makeup generally takes anywhere from 30-50 mins with the bride generally 60 minutes.

The schedule for a bride if her ceremony is at 1pm is that I like to have her in my chair for about 10:30am so that when the photographer arrives for 11 am that he/she is capturing the bride’s makeup moments and final touches. That way by 11:30 she is done and has ample time for a glass of bubbles and to get into her dress and have those precious moments with family and friends.

So here are a few tips I find work well for the morning of a wedding:

• Organising the order of the morning. When you have received the times for your bridal party be clever with you who choose to go first. I like to think that if you get the organised more responsible bridesmaid to go first, they generally keep the schedule intact. Also, you should consider your mam's preference as often the mother of the bride will want her makeup done earlier so she can help out and keep herself busy on the morning of the wedding. I understand on some occasions no one wants to be the first appointment; they often worry that their makeup won’t last for the whule day if they’re first. I always remind my clients that the makeup will always last and a touch up of lippy is all they will need heading out the door. If someone has extremely oily skin a little touch of settling powder may be applied.


• For me I like to do the makeup after the hairstylist so that way they’re not getting hairspray on their faces again. This is what I like to happen, but this doesn’t always go that way. This depends on the bridal style, if the hairstylist has face framing pieces these could get in the way of the makeup so makeup would be done first.


• Never leave the bride until last. The hair stylist may want to set your hair early, that's fine, but your makeup should never be left until last. You will want it fresh, however, there is always a chance of a rush at the end of the morning, and the last person that should be rushed is the bride. The bride should be made up somewhere in the middle like I outlined above, and her hair finished second last. If your makeup is done with an hour or two to go, it gives your makeup artist a chance to check it before you leave. She will check you for any areas that are getting shiny or mascara smudges and fix them.