Even though we think that wedding day is only about the bride and groom – the mothers of the bride and groom come in a close second in my opinion! This day means a lot to them as they watch their sons and daughters walk down the aisle and it’s a special time to celebrate with family and friends.
After working with hundreds of bridal parties over the past 15+ years as a professional makeup artist, I have lots of experience in the wedding industry. Obviously doing makeup for a young bride is a bit different than working with a mature mother or future mother-in-law.
So today I’m going to share with you some key tips if you are planning on doing your own makeup for this type of occasion where you will have lots of photos taken and want to look your absolute best! Here’s how to do your own mother of the bride/groom makeup.
The Summary
Jennifer is showing us how to do our own mother of the bride/groom makeup
She has 7 key steps and all of her suggested products are shoppable inline
I’ve also shared some mother of the groom dresses for inspiration
Each alternate is shoppable via a text widget
How To Do Your Own Mother Of The Bride/Groom Makeup
1. Stay True to Your Own Personal Style
Even though a wedding is typically a more glamorous occasion than every day life, you don’t want to stray too far in your chosen makeup look for wedding day. If you’re usually a chapstick and mascara gal only, don’t go trying to pull off a bold red lip on wedding day! You want to recognize yourself in years to come in those photos as the best version of your everyday self and not see a total stranger in those photos.
2. Look For Inspiration And Practice In Advance
Granted you do probably want to step up your makeup look a bit so that you look great in photos (and not washed out) so check out Pinterest for makeup looks that you gravitate towards and want to recreate on yourself. Be sure to follow me on Pinterest to see many client inspiration photos of real women, not photoshopped!
And then because wedding day is always hectic, do not wait until day of to practice your new look! Work on it a few weeks in advance and take pictures of yourself with your phone to see how it reads on camera ahead of time. Do you need to blend more here or there, should you have added more color on the eyes or lips? Photos don’t lie!
3. Skin Prep
Your makeup will only look as good as your skin does. So be sure to be cleansing, exfoliating, and moisturizing regularly leading up to wedding day. One of my favorite quick skincare products that shows fairly immediate improvement in smoothing skin texture is the Paula’s Choice BHA Liquid Exfoliant – I swear by it!
4. Face Makeup
Hear me out on this one, when choosing a foundation to wear for wedding day, make sure your shade is correct, even a hair DARKER than you think! Too light of a foundation will make you look super washed out in photos.
And stay away from makeup & skincare with SPF because you could get flashbacks in photography. Other face makeup tips to be aware of are getting rid of dark circles with a great concealer and adding a little bronzer and blush for a happier-looking complexion! I’ve talked about this anti-aging face trio in a previous post here on SAACA, and it’s still one of my favorites.
5. Eyes
Keep the shadow palette fairly neutral that you use, but really play up that lash line! Do not skip eyeliner, however just keep it on the top lash line and use it in a dark brown or soft black or charcoal gray. Also, add a lid primer to help lock in that eyeshadow look and use waterproof mascara in case you might cry happy tears!
And if you can master this, it will make a huge difference in opening up a smaller eye bed. Wear false lashes! I typically go for the Ardell naked lashes in style 420 because they’re not heavy or too long and look great on most lash lines without being overwhelming.
You can see exactly how they look on me in my latest Instagram post reel here.
6. Lips
Remember now is not the time to wear anything too trendy on the lips or bright or bold if that’s not usually how you roll in your makeup routine. Do stick with shades that compliment your skin tone and have decent longevity that you don’t have to worry with reapplying multiple times during the day./night. One of my favorite wedding formulas with a wide variety of shade range is Sephora’s Cream Stain liquid lipsticks.
7. Set and Forget It
A setting spray will be your best friend for all day wear. It’s basically hairspray for your makeup. I rely on the Morphe continuous mist.
Would love to hear if any of you are going to be celebrating any upcoming wedding events into the fall and winter?! Let us know in the comments below so we can send our congratulations
In Case You Missed It
Yesterday, I showed you how to incorporate some of Jackie Kennedy’s style elements into your wardrobe. Click the title or image below to read the article.
How to Strike that Jackie Kennedy Note
About The Author
I enjoyed Jennifer’s make up tips for the mother of the bride or groom. I am the Aunt of the groom and I am going to use some of these tips! Especially, the primer on the lids and the setting spray. My eyeliner and mascara seem to transfer to my undereye area ALL.THE.TIME! Drives me crazy!
My oldest grandson is getting married October 9 so this post is timely. The wedding will be outdoors and the foundation I usually wear has SPF 45. The reception will be indoors. Do you think my foundation will be a problem. Ill have to look at the pictures from the other three grandchildren’s weddings that have been held in the past two years. My family is growing by leaps and bounds
I was the mother of the bride . I searched for a dress and all found were dresses that made feel dumpy. I am not dumpy 5″2″ and 118. I found a dress made by chi chi of London. It was silver and had a fitted bodice and a full skirt. It was absolutely perfect. Not too young and not at all dumpy. I had to order it from a shop in London. It came quickly. I paired with heeled silver sandals and Tanzanite earrings. If your order something from London the sizes are not the same. I ordered a size 12 when my size was more a 6-8. The 12 was perfect.
My daughter is getting married at the end of this year.. Thanks the make up tips.
I don’t tend to do any eye make up because I have an eye prosthesis and don’t want to emphasise this area on my face. Do you think I should add a little eye shade Or anything else to balance the make up overall look ?