The method to choosing the right bridal make up artist for your wedding day- with some controversial secrets revealed.

So, lets talk average wedding mornings from the point of view of a wedding hair and make up team. Picture the scene- you have spent weeks if not months in touch with a wonderful woman who you are excited to see have the day of her dreams, because when she first got in touch to book with you there's a good chance you guys just clicked, and you could see this was another lovely person excited to start organising one of the most fundemental elements of her wedding morning, her beauty team. You have done hundreds of weddings up to now, the set up is usually the same, you set up your lighting, ideally snag a nice spot near to a window to steal as much natural light to work in as possible and start to set out your products according to the number of clients you know you will be working with back to back in a short amount of time. She chose you, maybe because of your prices, or because of your previous work in your online portfolio, she may love your particular style, or perhaps you worked with her already as a client and she couldnt envisage anyone else doing her wedding make up- whatever the reason, she chose you. And she needs you more on her wedding day than she will ever realise- here's why.

There is a very high likelihood that this wonderful woman has some problematic relationships that she handles in her life on a semi- regular basis, a friend who comes in and out of her life, perhaps a mother figure who she doesn't necessarily always see eye to eye with, potentially a sister who there has been ups and downs with or a long distance cousin her age who just simply does NOT like your bride (but her mum is the mother of the brides sister, sooooo). Sadly, and without any notice or warning, its the wedding day where these breakdowns in the relationships and friendships take their spotlight on centre stage in some form. Any bridal artist will have experienced the same, countless times, and we quickly learn to remain as professional as conceivably possible through every side eye, snarky comment, grab for attention or an inappropriate commandment of the room by a likely or unlikely member of the wedding party.

I have been a bridal artist for a while now, and let me say- I am yet to experience a problematic bride. They want the best day possible and have planned this for weeks, if not months, if not the entirety of their adult lives. So brides, hear me when I say, we remain in your humble service and are delighted to be with you and supporting you on your day. But that's just it- the part you didnt consider when booking us, you didnt know that we were going to witness someone treating you less than you deserved or expected. And these people dont need to shout, or be aggressive, or even look at you the wrong way on your wedding morning to achieve that. They just simply didnt let the day be 100% about YOU. The way you had planned, and were completely right to plan for. Dont get us wrong, your day will absolutely still be magical, it will be everything you hoped. But there is a high chance your bridal hair and make up team are going to be your much needed standby professional mediators through the art of laughter, level headedness, emotional intelligence, situational prevention, damage control and above all, professionalism. This means you know your artist isnt the type of person to add fuel to a fire by (for example), reporting a step mothers misdemenour to the maid of honour, setting a course for drama that could absolutely be avoided if the step mother simply goes ignored, that kind of thing.

So yes, the methods to booking your bridal artist are as follows- Book someone you have seen the work of online or in their portfolio. Book someone who responded within a resonable timeframe when you got in touch, this shows they genuinely care about winning your custom and giving you the best impression they can. Book someone who you can easily build a rapport with, who you trust to be YOUR professional on the day. Book someone who you know you can rely on to be on time, to show up where and when they are expected and ultimately book someone who understands the importance of it being your day, who can build up a "bestie" rapport with everyone around you, with you firmly in the centre.