Story time! I was a bridesmaid for my cousin’s wedding in New Orleans. She also had her best friend, her college roommate, and the groom’s sister in her wedding party. We were all set to have our makeup done by the same woman the day of the wedding and she wanted to start at 11am since we needed to leave for the church at 3pm for a 4pm wedding. She started with the bride, then the maid of honor, then her college roommate, then me, and lastly the groom’s sister. I was supposed to start getting my makeup done at 1pm, but when I showed up she was just starting on the college roommate. I decided to wait it out, but at 2pm the groom’s sister arrived for her appointment time and she still wasn’t done. She started on me at 2:30, clearly rushing, but she still wasn’t done until 3:15. The bride wanted us all to have dramatic purple smoky eyes (see photo above of my actual makeup from that day) complete with fake lashes. The makeup artist, clearly flustered and getting frustrated, decided she only had time for a “natural” look on the groom’s sister. The result? Next to the groom’s sister, the rest of us looked like painted clowns. Next to the rest of us, the groom’s sister looked like a hairless mouse. Nobody was happy, least of all the bride.
Timing is everything on the day of a wedding. Making sure everyone arrives at the venue dressed and ready to go is enough of a challenge without having to worry about venders slowing you down. A great wedding planner will make sure you never stress these details. But knowledge is power, so we sat down with the lead artist from Emilykmua to ask her what to consider when picking a makeup artist.
“You absolutely need to get a makeup test done before the big day. For one, you want to make sure they can make you look exactly like you want, not too dolled up or too toned down. But the real test is punctuality. Given unlimited time your makeup artist can have you looking flawless. But if you need them to do makeup for you and your bridesmaids in under 3 hours, you need to make sure they can handle the time crunch.”
And she would know! Emilykmua specializes in SFX or special effects work. Lots of fake blood and bullet wounds. “You would be surprised how many directors want full realism in 30 minutes or less. If you want quality you have to budget for the time it takes to get it right.” She went on to add “If you’re not sure where to start ask your friends who have been married. Who was their makeup artist? Did they like them? Or what didn’t they like so you know what to avoid. Even if you get a great reference from friends still talk to your wedding planner. They really are your best resource and probably have great makeup artists they know can do the job.”