Your wedding is one of those days where you want everything to be absolutely perfect. If you google “Wedding Day Makeup Tips” you’ll find hundreds upon hundreds of articles that cover every last tip from “apply 10 tons of makeup” to “wear nothing but mascara”. After 6 years of photographing weddings, events and portraits, I’ve seen just about everything. Below are my top 7 tips for your wedding day makeup artistry.

The camera doesn’t require excess makeup anymore, so neither should you.

1) Test your wedding day makeup before hand. Whether you’re doing it yourself or trusting a professional Makeup Artist, you’ll want to try out your look before hand. Take a day or two and play with different looks. Be sure to take pictures (selfies are awesome too!) so that you can see how your makeup looks.

2) Apply your makeup just as you would for every day wear. While a lot of places suggest applying extra makeup in order for it to show up in photographs, this really isn’t necessary. Too much makeup is way too difficult to remove in post processing. Too little makeup is easier, but still time consuming. Refer to tip #1 so that you can find the perfect look for you.

3) Waterproof everything. Your mascara, eye liner, lip liner… if it can be waterproof, make sure it’s waterproof. A wedding is a huge production in most cases. There will be sweat. There will be tears. Hopefully there won’t be any blood. Prevent raccoon eyes and smears with waterproof makeup.

4) Use a primer and setting spray. In addition to your waterproofed everything, consider using a primer and setting spray for your makeup. The primer will assist in smoothing your concealer and foundation. The setting spray will help avoid needing too many touch ups (and hopefully keep you going all day without a single one!). My favorite primer is by Urban Decay and I personally use E.L.F.’s setting spray from Target.

5) Get your shades right. Going along with tip #1, do a trial run of your makeup and be sure that your shades are right. If you aren’t sure, head to a MAC cosmetics counter or Sephora to have a consultant match your shade correctly. You don’t want to choose a shade that makes you orange or washes you out! Having the correct shade is extremely important and avoids any added post production fees.

6) Consider the heat on your wedding day. Getting married in the middle of July? You may want to consider the heat and humidity of your climate. If the day is going to be warm, be sure to use an oil free foundation and keep blotting sheets on hand to erase excess oil throughout your day!

7) Avoid the glitter bomb. No seriously. Avoid it. Glitter can be a fun thing for photos, but not on your wedding day. Having a hair or makeup artist use a bunch of glitter can create odd reflections in your images. Glitter in your hair can appear like dandruff, and glitter on your cheeks can wash them out drastically. Ask your photographer for a couple special glitter shots, or wait until after your formal portraits are done to apply the shiny stuff.