For the wedding planning tips series, this week I will be focusing on an extremely important aspect of the wedding planning: the bridal make up. Every bride wants to look at her best on her wedding day, and make up definitely plays a big part in that. In order to understand more, I have interviewed Joyce Connor, a successful make up artist with tons of experience and an incredible portfolio. You can follow her work on her Instagram, Facebook and on her brand new YouTube channel.
Could you please introduce yourself?
My name is Joyce Connor and I’m a professional make up artist, skin and beauty expert and beauty blogger. I have been in the cosmetics industry for 22 years. I offer brides skin advice in the lead up to their wedding day and make up trials and make up application on the day of their wedding, I also offer brides one to one make up lessons if they are getting married abroad and want to create their own make up look or I travel nationally and internationally for destination weddings. The most rewarding part of my job is when the bride looks in the mirror and she’s over the moon about the look I’ve created.
How long ahead to book your make up artist?
As soon as a bride has booked her wedding date I advise them to book their make up artist. I take booking up to 2 years in advance. Most brides that leave booking their make up artist until the last minute might miss out on their chosen artist, especially during peak season dates.
What would you say it’s a realistic price range for bridal make up?
When booking a professionally trained make up artist a realistic price range is between £150 and £200 for the brides make up application on the day. I would advise brides to also book a trial session before their wedding ado that they are happy with the way the make up artist applies their make up and have an idea of how they will look on the wedding day.
What are the factors to consider when choosing the make up artist for your wedding?
When choosing your bridal make up artist there are several factors to consider. Do you like the look of the make up the artist is showing on their website or social media? Does the make up artist have a diverse portfolio if your bridal party is diverse? Can they do mature skin make up, for mother’s of the bride and groom. Is the pricing of the make up artist within your budget?
What are the biggest DONT’S regarding bridal make up?
When a bride looks back at her make up in her wedding photos she doesn’t want to have regrets.
Don’t go for trends that won’t look great on 20 years time.
Don’t try and look too different from your normal, you should be an enhanced version of yourself.
Don’t accept the make up look from the make up artist if you’re not happy at the trial.
Don’t try out new beauty products just before your wedding day.
Don’t have facial treatments less than 14 days before the wedding day.
Common mistakes/misconceptions/wrong expectations customers have
Lots of brides want to look like a celebrity photo they’ve seen online. Please take into account that the image is probably photoshopped and taken with a professional camera in a studio setting.
When considering your make up look for your wedding, it’s nice to look at mood boards and Pinterest, but brides should know that that make up look won’t be exactly the same on themselves.
Try and select make up images with a model/celebrity with a similar eye shape and colour to yours. Hair colour and skin tone are important too.
Look at the style of make up that your chosen make up artist has done previously. Is their style of make up looks the same as what you’d like for yourself?
Make up isn’t going to change the way your skin concerns are, only good skincare can do that.
What is the most important piece of advice you can give to a bride-to-be?
I advise every bride to get into a good skincare routine and to hydrate their skin. A good skincare routine and great long lasting make up go hand in hand. Before I do a make up trial, I do a skin consultation with the bride to be. I give them skincare advice and by the time the bride gets married the improvement in their skin is incredible.