WEDDING MORNING TIMINGS FROM A PRO MUA!
Photography: Jessica Bevan Photography
Do you have your wedding day approaching, engaged or in the process of booking your wedding? Wondering what happens on the wedding morning? This is the post for you!
Unless you have been a bridesmaid before timings for the wedding morning probably seem overwhelming. Being a makeup artist, I always create schedules for the wedding morning not only for me but for my brides and bridal parties to follow. We are the first suppliers you see on the day of the wedding. If your morning glam and getting ready doesn't go well.... this really can set the tone for the day.
Let's also talk about ceremony times and venues. This plays a huge part in the morning prep. If your getting married at 2pm your venue will likely want everyone ready and in dresses around 1 hour to an hour and a half before the ceremony time followed by your chat with the registrar. This is just a talk through and confirming a few details and is carried out around 30 mins prior to your ceremony and takes around 10 minutes. If you are not getting ready at your venue and need to travel this needs to be factored into the morning timings.
Makeup timings are not as quick as some may think. Timings are also reflected in bridal pricing. A bridal makeup costs more usually for the extra time required to create your perfect glam. For me a typical bridal glam takes around 1 hour 15 minutes. A bridesmaid makeup takes around 1 hour and a mother of the bride or groom makeup takes around 30 minutes. I do not believe in rushing makeup. This is why I over estimate my timings knowing I am usually quicker than the times stated. I also factor in 30 minutes after all makeups are finished to top up everyones makeup. I also book out and stay with all my brides and bridal parties up until the ceremony time to ensure your glam is PERFECTION.
Venue access times also play a huge part in the wedding morning. Typically the earliest access is 8am. If you are staying in a hotel usually there is no restrictions on the access times. Wedding venues however are rather strict on this. On occasion you can pay extra frees or request to gain earlier access. This is different venue to venue. It is best to communicate this with your wedding co ordinator. We can only start makeup as early as a venue allows us.
A huge huge part of the wedding morning is also photographers / videographers. They usually arrive mid morning to take bridal prep images, images of your dresses, accessories, bridal party images and so much more. Muas, hairdressers and photographers timings usually are very similar and can clash on occasion. It is important to know every supplier needs their allocated time equally to be able to full-fill their work to you and create and capture the day perfectly.
Getting up early..... Now no one likes this on a wedding day however the earlier your ceremony - the earlier you all need to start getting ready. This is something to bare in mind if you have a large bridal party. I usually aim to hire an additional artist for large bridal parties to avoid extremely long time scales on the morning and this also helps everything run much smoother. A second artist is never guaranteed but can be an option. My brides can also source their own second makeup artist if they have someone in mind they know some of their bridal party would like.
Lateness from the bridal party can also cause issues on the wedding morning and stress that typically we aim to avoid on the wedding morning. It is always a great idea for you and your bridal party to stay together the night before or all travel to your venue together.
Wondering what a bridals schedule would look like? Here is one of my typical schedules:
Schedule Explained:
Typically it takes me 15 minutes to set up when arriving at a venue. I am then aiming to start glams within 15 minutes from my arrival.
Each makeup is listed. I usually do number bridesmaids so there is no pressure on who should go first. Bridesmaids can then decide for themselves which order they would like their makeup done.
Brides are always third or second to last. I like to carry out my brides makeups earlier so nothing is rushed. This also allows the photographer to also carry out bridal party, bridal portraits in plenty of time. I will then check in for any makeup top ups once my last makeup is complete.
Makeup top ups - This is the time where I also check in on each person to make sure the makeup is intact or tweaked if required. I tell every bridesmaid what time I aim to carry out makeup top ups so they know when to come to me if they need anything.
Photography: Rachel Burt Photography
Your wedding morning should be a relaxed and fun time! I always suggest to my brides to send my schedule to the photographer, hairstylist or even your co ordinator if they request it to see if our timings clash or coincide. I send out bridal schedules alongside final invoices which is one month prior to the ceremony.
Lastly, if you are a bride who wants certain images taken (bride and bridesmaids in pjs, mum doing up dress, fun champagne pop shots, bridal portraits etc) or wants to create some bridal content (fun reels for your memories).. Please let your mua, hairstylist and photographer know so we can allocate some time out of our schedules and work as a TEAM. We all have the same aim to create perfection for brides. When we have amazing communication and direction... that's when the magic happens! However, if you need guidance or direction we are more than happy to advise and use our experience to make your mornings amazing!
I hope this is a helpful insight into the wedding prep / mornings!
Thank you for reading! x
