BRIDAL BEAUTY | Bridal Party Looks

Many times when I’m working with a bride and her bridal party, I’ll get asked what the ‘best look’ for the bridesmaids is.  The truth is there doesn’t necessarily have to be one uniform look for bridesmaids!  In fact, using the same colours across all your bridesmaids can be dated and unflattering to each of their individual looks (unless of course your end goal is to have a bridal party of clones!).  Just as the technique of application should be customized to the individual look of a client, the colours used should also be specifically chosen.

The make-up colours of choice will vary depending on the desired look and the colour of the bridesmaids dresses…but a failsafe go-t0 look that always works well on camera includes neutral tones on the eyes, pink on the cheeks/lips..and of course, false lashes!!

For brides looking for a little more direction with their bridal party make-up, one very minor suggestion (and I say ‘minor’ because it’s really not that big a deal for all bridesmaids to have the exact same look!) is for ‘bridesmaids’ to keep the intensity (and area of intensity) of the make-up application consistent.  For instance, if your bridesmaids are gonna rock a smoky eye + neutral pink lip combination, make sure the entire party goes for a similar level of intensity on the eyes rather than on the lips.  In the group shots, that bridesmaid that opts to focus on reeeally dramatic smoky eyes or who instead pairs the look with a punchy red lip may look like the odd man (well, bridesmaid!) out!!  But again, I reiterate it’s really not that big a deal…because the focus in the pics is always the bride anyway!!

Personally, I have to admit that as a make-up artist, I absolutely love when the bride is open to whatever looks her bridesmaids want – I always get excited to play around with more colours rather than my usual neutral palette of browns, nudes, pinks and purples!   …and really at the end of the day, each bridesmaid gets to choose a look that helps her look and feel her best….and happy people always make for the best picture opps, no?!  :)

Lastly, if your bridesmaids are going to do their own make-up, make sure that they apply their make-up with enough intensity to stand out on camera….or you can always hire a professional make-up artist (ahem!) to help out with that.  :)

Check out these before and afters from Jess‘ wedding…her bridesmaids got to rock looks all their own!  My fave was Aneta’s double drama eye + lip combo (pictured below).