While I’m a photographer, not a makeup artist, it’s important to me that my brides and their bridesmaids look great on their wedding day. The better you look, the better you’ll feel, and that means you’ll be more confident in front of the camera. I’ve recently sat down with Eva Gerapetritis of Make Me Up Eva to talk all things wedding day makeup, and she shared lots of helpful wedding makeup tips with me. Read on below for a summary!

A Makeup Trial is Important!

Always do a makeup trial before your wedding! I personally love when brides do their makeup trials on the same day as their engagement session with me. When being photographed, you can get away with heavier makeup, and don’t you want to look your best for those photos you’ll be sharing for months or years to come? Your trial is a great time to notify your make up artist of any allergies you have that would require avoiding any particular products on your skin. You don’t want to risk a reaction on your wedding day!

One huge tip is to be sure your trial is done during a month when your skin is the same color and texture that it will be at the time of your wedding! Makeup won’t apply the same to your skin when it’s dry as it will when it’s oily, and colors won’t look the same on tanned skin if you’re usually very fair.

Are Lashes & Airbrush Worth the Extra Expense?

Based on tips from Eva, airbrush may not be right for everyone. It won’t last all day on dry, flakey skin, but it may be your best bet if you have some rough patches of skin that need a little extra coverage. Lashes, on the other hand, are a must! You can do individual lashes or the full strips of lashes, depending on the look you’re going for. Either way you go, fake lashes will be a game changer for any bridal look, whether it’s more natural or super glam.

Timing is Everything

My biggest priority on a wedding day is that everything is running on time, and the bride is kept stress-free. This means that the day needs to start with hair and makeup running on schedule. Ideally, you’ll want to make sure hair and makeup is done for all girls involved by no later than one hour prior to when you need to be out the door for your ceremony or first look. This will ensure that you have enough time to squeeze in some casual shots with your girls and slowly get dressed, and put on your jewelry and shoes without rushing.

Talk to your makeup artist about how many artists you’ll need in order to fit in all of the applications you need to be done in time. Some may need to bring a total of 2 or 3 artists, depending on your wedding party size. When planning out your morning timeline, always assume that they’ll need approx. 45 minutes per girl. As with all things on your wedding day, you’d rather have more time than needed than not enough!

Preparing Your Skin for the Wedding Day

Your makeup artist can only work with what you give them, so getting your face prepared leading up to your wedding day is super important! You’ll want to start hydrating your skin a couple months in advance with moisturizer morning and night. If you wax your eyebrows or lip, be sure to do it enough in advance that your face isn’t red from the process, and if you get a fake tan prior to your wedding day, keep your face a little lighter than your . Arrive on the wedding day with a clean and moisturized face.

If you have any allergies to any types of products, be sure to bring your own with you to be used, as well as your favorite lip color to touch up with throughout the day.