A magical spring wedding in the heart of Bristol. The marriage of Liz and James.

I was delighted to be asked by Liz to do her bridal hair and makeup for her beautiful spring wedding in Bristol earlier this year. 

As with all my brides, I offer a bespoke one to one hair and makeup trial prior to the wedding day. Many brides like to book this in a few months ahead of the big day and we arrange a time to visit my hair and makeup studio in Bristol. 

Liz had some really fantastic ideas for her bridal hair and makeup. I suggest to all my brides, that they have a look at some inspiration images from Pinterest or Instagram, ahead of the hair and makeup trial. This is really helpful, as it gives us both a starting point to creatively explore ideas that would work best for the bride. After looking at the pictures, I often ask more specific questions relating to why they love the image, this really helps me to understand what exactly it is they would like to achieve from the hair and makeup design. I’ll talk in detail about each picture, whether it’s the texture of the hair, the luminosity of the skin, the makeup colours used, or something else which has drawn the bride to these images as a starting point. 

As we began the trial, I asked Liz lots of questions about how she wanted her bridal hair and makeup to look on the wedding day. Liz is naturally very pretty with long hair, so it was easy to create the effortless, natural makeup look that she wanted. 

Firstly, I prepared the skin with an Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer SPF15, which is the perfect bridal makeup primer in my opinion. It glides on effortlessly, yet creates a smooth matte base for the foundation. It helps the makeup stay on really well, which is perfect for a makeup look that needs to stay put all day. 

The foundation I used was NARS Sheer Glow foundation | Glowy Foundation in ‘Sante Fe’. This is a great product with medium to full coverage and is a long ware base, which is perfect for bridal makeup. 

On Liz’s eyebrows, I used Boy Brow – Glossier . I absolutely love this product as it creates a fabulously natural brow, gently defining and adding volume to finer brows. It coats the brows so avoids the ‘drawn on’ look, which is essential for natural bridal makeup. 

On Liz’s eyelids I used Charlotte Tilbury's Eyes To Mesmerise - Champagne Cream Eyeshadow I love this cream eyeshadow and I have it in a few shades. It’s great just applied on its own, or used as a base for powder eyeshadow to go on top. This layering process is also great for bridal makeup longevity, which is often a concern for many brides. 

I then used Charlotte Tilbury's Rock N Kohl Quick Kajal Long-lasting Eyeliner Pencil: Barbarella Brown Matte Brown Eyeliner. This eyeliner is fantastic as it’s very blend-able, but also smudge proof. I used it close to Liz’s lashes to define her eyes and create a small flick to lift the ends of the eyes. This adds a little subtle drama but still keeps the makeup fresh and natural. 

As Liz’s Bristol wedding was in April, we decided to add some warmth to her naturally pale complexion. I used a light bronzing powder strategically on the high points of her face, to give a soft glow of warmth, ahead of the summer months. This is a great way to subtly add bronzer without creating an all over look. I often use bronzer in bridal makeup design for this very reason, and depending on the neckline of the wedding dress, I can also use it on the décolletage and neck as well, to add overall glow to the skin. 

To create a fuller lip shape and achieve more long lasting colour, I used Stay Perfect Lip Pencil 3g | No7

This easy to use lip pencil is the perfect liner to apply before lipstick. The nude colour works really well with many natural shades of lip colour. We chose a pinky peach Mac lipstick Lustreglass Sheer-Shine Lipstick which worked beautifully on Liz’s skin tone and was the perfect bridal colour for her. 

After we had completed the makeup, I started working with Liz’s hair. Liz wanted a soft, elegant bridal updo, which really suited her face shape and hair type.  I back combed the crown to give some additional volume, and created an effortless low bun style. I left some soft, curled tendrils around the face to create a natural and relaxed feel to the hairstyle. On the wedding day itself, I used fresh flowers, including gorgeous little roses to decorate this romantic bridal updo. 

As you can see from the photos, Liz looked incredible on her wedding day, and I was so honoured to have been able to create her bridal hair and makeup look for this beautiful occasion. 

Wedding photography by Stuart Dudlesston.