GoHen spoke to some of the best wedding professionals in the business for tips to help make your big day the dream wedding you’ve always wanted.
Wedding Makeup
Phoebe Caramitsos – Flossy & Leigh
With an impressive CV including work on TV commercials and BBC dramas and music artists such as Ian Brown Phoebe’s real passion is wedding makeup.
What is your top tip for brides finding a make-up artist for their big day?
Always ask your photographer to recommend a couple that he/she has worked with. They will have seen first-hand not only how well the finished article shows up on photographs, but also have experienced how well the artist had looked after their bridal party. Social media is also a massive tool for finding good suppliers. See photos of makeup you like and message people asking who has done their makeup. Ideally don’t just solely go off recommended lists from venues, as some select few venues will only recommend suppliers who pay them a fee. Let’s face it, if you have to pay someone to recommend you, there’s something a little odd about that. You’re entitled to check if this is the case.
How much should a bride budget for a make-up artist?
A makeup budget can vary massively according to whereabouts in the country you are. Up North, for a good quality bridal makeup artist specialist, to travel out to you on the morning you should expect to pay between £50pp – £85pp. Down South this figure is usually a bit higher.
Bear in mind, the fee will go up depending on what sort of makeup technique/application you want. For example, airbrush makeup will always cost more due to the expense of the products and equipment used. Also, if the artist offers quality individual lash inserts instead of strips, this will cost more, as it takes more time to apply and are generally a more expensive product.
What is the current trend in wedding make-up?
There’s no fixed trend as every bride wants to celebrate her own uniqueness, but generally we find that the request is for a subtle smokey eye, and a very minimal natural lip colour. Due to the female population’s current obsession with all things Kardashian, the biggest thing we get asked for is the contoured look. Makeup artists in my opinion have always done this anyway, it’s just that girls are more aware of it now, and ask for it specifically.
What is the one thing you’ve seen at a wedding that has really struck you as a great idea?
I’ve seen So many great ideas:
I saw a farmer and his new wife, arrive to the venue on a dressed up tractor.
I’ve seen Krispy Kreme doughnuts for a wedding cake – Genius idea, as everyone ate every crumb, and nothing left at all.
At Flossy & Leigh we offer a full day and evening hair and makeup touch-up service for the entire wedding party and guests. This has been so popular, because in summer, the guests sweat their makeup off, and in winter, they are windswept and rain beaten. Hair always needs tweaking and re-pinning. Usually after the speeches the guests have eye makeup running down their faces, so it’s great to have someone there to look after them all for the imminent party ahead. Who knows, they may meet their future husband that evening.
Some very similar services are appearing more common now.
Alternatively, a great idea for girls is to stock the bathroom with an emergency kit for girls; hairspray, clips, lip balm, tampons, perfume, deodorant, plasters, sewing kit, tissues etc etc.
Finally, two other really great things I saw this summer were; firstly complementary flip flops for the girls for when their party feet got tired. Secondly, I saw boxes of his and her sunglasses. Guests would help themselves to a pair on their way out to the terrace for pimms. It made a great photo opportunity.
