We’ve been speaking to some of our favourite wedding suppliers, the folks we see at weddings and whose efforts and professionalism make all those special days go smoothly. Having a good team around us, people we respect and have fun working with makes such a big difference to our Brides and Grooms too. We wanted our couples to hear from the experts and our favourite make up artist (MUA) is Victoria from Edit . Here’s Victoria in her own words with wedding makeup tips and advice.

Update – Victoria has just been chosen as MUA Judge for the UK Beauty Awards 2023!

Victoria, please introduce yourself!

‘Hey guys! I’m Victoria and I’m a makeup artist with 10 years experience. I’ve done a fair few weddings over the years and I’d like to think of myself as a bit of an expert by now! Hopefully this blog entry will give your Brides some make up tips and advice on how to keep the morning of your wedding day running smoothly!’

How would you choose your makeup artist?

Word of mouth and going by recommendation is always great. Definitely ask your friends or family that have recently got married to see who they used. I’d still recommend doing your own research and chatting to possible MUA’s yourself too.

Your makeup artist, hair stylist and photographer are an important part of your wedding morning. Of course, ultimately you want someone whose work gives great results but are you going to get on with that person?

I’ve been to weddings where I’m with the bridal party for 6-7 hours. That’s a long time to have somebody in the same room as you on the biggest day of your life if they’re going to be miserable, unhelpful and not add to the vibe of your day!

I would find 2-3 makeup artists on Instagram who’s work you like then study them for a few days. Watch their videos and stories and get a feel for their personality. Are they going to have a laugh with you on the day? Will they get on with your bridal party? Can they help zip up dresses, buckle up shoes? And will they help you wipe after you’ve had a last minute nervous wee in your dress? (yes I have done this!)

Any advice on making the booking?

To ensure a quick reply and accurate quote from a makeup artist I would suggest including the following information in your first message:

• Full Name
• Date of wedding
• Venue/address of place you will be getting ready at
• How many people require makeup for example (1x bride 2x bridesmaids 1x mother of the bride)
• Time of ceremony or time you need to leave to get to the ceremony

Is a makeup trial a good idea?

Most brides like to have a trial before the day so they can get an idea of what it will look like on the day.

On the day of your trial, please be specific about what you’d like. Makeup artists likes to know what colour themes you’re going for. For example: “we’re having Pampas grass and nude tones at the wedding”. This will then let the artist know that you like warm tones and they might suggest something like a soft brown with champagne tones on the eye. A makeup artist will also want to know your personal style. Do you like a soft boho look or do you prefer a Hollywood glamour vibe? It’s all helpful to figure out key features to add into your makeup look. Having pictures of makeup that you like is helpful too. Showing your MUA a photo of you wearing makeup is good so they can see how you feel comfortable wearing it.

So yes, be specific about what you want but also be open to suggestions from your artist and allow them to create a look that you’ll love but with their own creative spin on it.

I would suggest just booking a trial for the bride, you’re the most important person on the day. As long as you are happy with your makeup that is all that should matter. Makeup artists will of course accept bridesmaid trials but to be really honest we would rather just focus on you. We can always discuss with the bridesmaids on the day of the wedding the kind of style they’d like.

Wedding makeup tip. Ask your makeup artist what lip colour/brand they used so you can go and buy yourself the same one to top up with on the day.

Wedding makeup tips for the morning of the wedding?

Ensure there is space for your makeup artist to set up in. The best light for a makeup artist is natural daylight. I always make a beeline for the biggest window I can find! Try to put aside an area next to natural lighting. A makeup artist will need a table to lay out their kit and enough room to set up a chair.

I’ll usually want to do the bride second to last. It doesn’t really matter too much who goes before her. A lot of brides want to type out a time schedule. You can go ahead and do this if you want to but honestly, there isn’t much point. The makeup artist and hair stylists will work out the timings as they go along. This is for them to worry about and not you.

Make sure your bridal party are turning up for makeup with a clean and fresh face (even if it’s super early in the morning) this helps save time.

Make sure you EAT on the morning of your wedding. It’s a long morning and often an early start so make sure you’ve organized some refreshments for your bridal party. Nothing too heavy though! It’s best to steer away from pastries and breads, this can often make you and your girls feel a bit sluggish by lunch time. I would opt for fresh fruit and high protein items! Oh and don’t forget the prosecco!

Take your bra off!! Let the girls hang loose on the morning of your wedding if you’ve got a strapless or bardot dress to avoid strap marks! (Lisa adds – same for socks, if you’re in heels you don’t want sock marks either!)

Lastly, make sure you have a getting ready playlist! Your morning sets the tone for the rest of the day so create an atmosphere! Get your favourite tunes together to get you and your girls in the mood!

If you have small children with you on your day I really would strongly advise getting some help with them. I’ve often been at weddings with small children running round. It does add to the stress for the bride who is trying to get ready. My advice? Get someone to have them for the morning. Maybe bring them into the room at the last minute for pictures before the ceremony.

How can you keep makeup fresh through the day?

Your makeup will last all day if done correctly however, it will need touching up a couple of times. Keep the following on hand:

• Lipstick and gloss
• A foundation buffer brush (if you have oily skin like me and after a few hours your foundation separates a little then use a buffer brush to buff it back into the skin)
• Face powder, again if you have oily skin, buff your foundation then add a little powder to take away the shine

I offer a touch up package which means I can stay after the ceremony to top you up. Also I offer a full day stay so you’re camera ready at every minute of the day!

What’s your favourite thing about being a wedding MUA?

I love the wedding morning it’s always such a lovely vibe. It’s an honour to be able to be a part of such a special day. I love creating gorgeous, timeless makeup styles on brides that give them so much confidence and pride on the day.

Most of all, it’s the thought of the bride looking back at her wedding photos way in the future and remembering how beautiful she looked and how special she felt. 

Your funniest experience at a wedding?

It wasn’t funny at the time but we can look back and laugh at it now…

I’d turned up really early in the morning to a venue where the bridal party had stayed over night. There was quite a lot of them so I was starting at 5am. The bride was the only one awake so when I knocked on the door she opened it. Although I knew it was her, I didn’t recognise her. Her face was completely swollen and her eyes were bright red. She was crying. I’m thinking the worst, maybe they’ve called off the wedding, something’s happened to someone? After she caught her breath through the tears she explained she had fallen asleep in these under eye patches she’d bought from some shady website. she had the mother of all allergic reactions!

In a panic I jumped in my car, drove to Tesco and bought ice, antihistamines, eye drops… the lot. I raced back to her and after 2 hours of icing her face and once the Piriton had kicked in she was looking like herself. Just before I started her makeup we popped some whitening eye drops in to get rid of the redness. By a miracle she was absolutely fine.

But that’s not the worst bit. She’d told her husband-to-be to use the same eye patches…and the same had happened to him. The best man turned up to the bridal suite 20 minutes later to grab my emergency kit! 

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A big thanks to Victoria for sharing wedding makeup tips. We hope if you’re planning your big day and need a pro MUA that you’ll give her a shout! Here’s Victoria’s website again.

If you’re planning your wedding go look at our blog for more planning tips or give us a shout. We love chatting weddings!