professional hair & makeup

If it’s in your budget, I recommend professional hair & makeup for your bridal session (& wedding day for that matter) because it takes the stress off from you to achieve the look you want while giving you an extra layer of polish. Also, who doesn’t love their hair getting played with??

If you have a pro booked for hair &/or makeup for the wedding, chances are they require you to schedule a test or trial run at some point before your wedding & it’s in some cases at a discounted rate. I recommend taking advantage of that & scheduling it to coincide with your bridal shoot so you can see the whole look together before the wedding day. You may choose to change things up once you see the final result of hair + makeup + dress + veil!

Tip: Most of my brides like to book their hair & makeup test runs for the day of their bridal shoot.

Professional makeup artists know how to apply makeup that looks great on camera and brings out your best features. If you've never had professional makeup done before, be prepared for it to feel like a lot, but if applied correctly, pro makeup can be stunning on camera. One thing I like to tell my clients during shoots is “Feels weird, looks great!” Usually I’m referring to posing & the potential for it to feel weird, but it applies to pro makeup too!

DIY

If your plans for your hair & makeup don’t include a pro, & unless you would call yourself a professional hair & makeup artist, I suggest practicing multiple times to have a solid grasp of what you’re wanting to achieve.

There are a billion (I counted) Pinterest tutorials for DIY wedding hair & makeup, so look some up & try them out! Schedule a dinner date with your man afterwards!

take it outside

Once you’re finished, head outside & have a friend take some photos of all angles to make sure you like what you see. Ideally you would photograph yourself in the evening time & in the shade facing away from the sun.

warning: beware of makeup with sunscreen

TIP: Makeup with sunscreen will reflect white if flashes or reflectors are used.

If you’re using your normal makeup that has sunscreen in it, be aware that your face may reflect white or much lighter than it appears in person if flashes or reflectors are used. While I rarely use flash during photo shoots, I do sometimes use a reflector.