top of page
Writer's pictureHania McIntyre

A Day in The Life Of

I often get asked questions about the Day of the wedding, what time should I be ready for, should I get hair or makeup done first etc. So I thought I would blog about a typical wedding day for me.

No wedding is the same, and I love how each day as a Makeup Artist differs. Most of my Wedding Days start off with very early starts (usually a 5 or 6am wake up depending on travel time to the venue). I always pack my kit the night before and for larger parties I seperate all my sets of brushes so they are all prepared and I don't have to spend time hunting for them.


I have a lot of kit to take with me so often it takes 2 trips to the car with it all! I recently started to bring my own chair (more often than not there is only one chair in the room and it's usually too low down so to save me having to search venues for an extra chair (and to save my back) I bring my own. I also bring my own lighting, natural day light is best but we can't guarantee we will get that (especially in the darker winter months).


It takes me about 15 minutes to get set up, then I start with skin prep (cleanser, moisturiser etc) this is a good time to do this as it's usually very early when I arrive and this prep time gives time to get someone into the chair as often the Bridal Party are having breakfast or haven't arrived in the room yet.


A question I get asked a lot is about timings. I like to spend at least an hour with the Bride doing makeup, and everyone else about 50 minutes (depending on the makeup look, lashes etc). I leave the Bride until last (time dependent, if the schedule is running a bit tight I will do the Bride second last). I find the most common reason for time running out is not having someone in the chair. There are times I am waiting for someone to arrive and that can often hold things up a bit. Another reason I like to spend longer with Brides are that nearer the Ceremony time things can get busy, with the door constantly knocking, cakes, photographers, family etc arriving, it always seems to be at the same time. I highly recommend Brides take a wee bit of time out at this point, even if it's 5 or 10 minutes quiet time on their own. Just having the finishing touches to makeup done can be quite relaxing and help ease any nerves.

Another frequently asked question is should hair or makeup be done first? There is no right or wrong way and I am always more than happy to work around whatever works best for the Bride. I personally would say it is easier to do makeup first, just so I am not messing up hair moving it to apply makeup, but this isn't often a big problem.


I stay until as close to the ceremony time as possible. This is to ensure that the Bride and her party are ready to go, and final finishing touches such as topping up lipstick, applying more setting spray are done before the walk down the aisle (or help with dresses, putting on shoes, even carrying the back of the wedding dress or veil). This often results in me running out of the venue about 10 minutes before the ceremony time and packing up my kit in the fastest time possible (nothing goes back into the kit the way it was).


Every wedding is different but these are the most frequently asked questions, I hope this can be of some help.












Comments


bottom of page