The morning of your wedding will go in an absolute flash. The hours will whizz by in a blur of flower deliveries, glasses of Champagne and random unforeseen problems. The best way to tackle your wedding makeup is to be well prepared. Having everything planned out well in advance, in fine detail, will ensure that those precious wedding morning hours run like clockwork.

Here are my Bridal Makeup Tips for stress free and beautiful bridal makeup.

Get a Bridal Makeup Professional I did my own bridal makeup and beforehand I had visions of a lengthy pamper session and a “totally me” look. In reality I was in a state of panic, trying to apply eyeliner with a case of the wedding day jitters. Although my makeup did look natural, it didn’t exactly feel special. A well chosen bridal makeup artist will make the wedding morning feel momentous, as well as giving you a better face of makeup.

Choose Your Makeup Artist Wisely I recently helped a friend choose a makeup artist for her wedding day. My top tip for finding a MUA that suits your aesthetic is to trawl Instagram for bridal makeup artists in your area. Seeing actual pictures will give you a good impression of their work. Also get recommendations from wherever you can- Wedding hair stylists will have good experience of local makeup artists. Once you have found your bridal makeup artist..

Have a Makeup Trial A makeup trial a couple of months in advance of your big day. It gives you an opportunity for your makeup artist to get to know you and your tastes. You can hash out your ideas together and it will help you to feel well prepared. If you take the time and effort to have a makeup trial this will ensure that you look like you, a better you, on your big day.

Research When you’re going through wedding magazines (wedding magazines are the best part of wedding prep in my opinion), pay attention to the makeup. If you see anything you like, keep it one side. Use Pinterest. It will really help your MUA if you can be specific about what you like.

Think of the Long Term You don’t want to look back at your wedding photos and think “what was going on in my head”. Severe contouring is very fashionable at the moment, but it’s a trend that might not be around forever. Choose a timeless classic makeup look and you won’t be regretting following the latest trend.

Bring A Photo Of Your Dress To Your Makeup Trial This is another great way to explain your vision. Suiting your makeup to the dress gives unity to your bridal look, it will be much easier if you have imagery. Also bring your favourite makeup to the trial. That way your MUA can see what you mean when you say “I like pink lipstick”

The All Important Tan A white or ivory wedding dress is beautiful and classic, but very light colours can leave you looking washed out. If you’re pale to begin with a tan of some sort will go a long way to creating a healthy glow. And a tan blunder is much worse than looking pale, of course. This is why it’s important to consider bridal tanning well in advance. If you’re planning a spray tan, go in for a trial beforehand to check that your version of “natural bronzed glow” is the same as your beauticians. I personally opted to fake tan myself- just to be sure that I was in complete control. I practiced my technique several times well before the big day. There’s a whole other post in self tanning tricks and I made sure I had it nailed before I made an orange fool of myself. Whichever method you go for, have your tanning done at least 48 hours before saying “I do” so that the colour to settles in. It’s a good idea to have a tanning trial alongside the makeup trial, so that your MUA will be able to colour match you accurately.

Lashes Are you going to go fake? Have good think about what sort of lash look you’re going to go for. Lash extensions are a great way to increase the fullness and length of your lashes. A beautician precisely glues in single lashes to the lash line to make for an easy to manage natural looking lash boost. They last around 6-8 weeks, perfect for wedding and honeymoon.

Brow Shaping Nice shaped neat brows really give the face polish. Getting your brows waxed and tinted a couple of weeks beforehand with a reputable brow artist will give the finishing touch.

Go Shopping For Lipstick This is the fun bit. Find your ultimate bridal lip shade in a lasting finish. Even if your makeup artist does your lips for you, this is the thing you will most need to touch up during the day. Consider the texture of your lip product, you might normally wear gloss, but on your wedding day there is going to be a fair bit of kissing and champagne sipping. A long lasting finish might be more user friendly in the circumstances. A dewy finish might not be as long wearing as matte or semi matte.

Be Careful With SPF Products Mineral sunscreens cause flash back in photographs. If you need sunscreen, choose a chemical based product (check the ingredients list and avoid Zinc and Titanium Oxide).

Scheduling The Wedding Morning If your make up artist is also going to do your sister and your mum’s makeup, ensure you put yourself first. You need to be the most beautiful- remember that!