Taking off bridal makeup after a fourteen-hour day
Pins first, then oil, then a gentle wash: the order our artists suggest for the end of the wedding night.
Planning the wedding morning timeline
Work backwards from the muhurtham, and leave thirty minutes nobody can take.
Most wedding mornings run late for the same reason: the bride’s getting-ready time is the first thing to be squeezed. Here is how we plan it.
Start with the muhurtham or the first photograph, whichever is earlier. Bridal makeup and hair take about three hours, draping and jewellery another 45 minutes. Add 30 minutes for photographs of getting ready, which every photographer will ask for. Then add 30 minutes of buffer that nobody touches.
For a 7 am muhurtham, that means we begin at about 2.15 am. It sounds extreme, but an unhurried bride looks calmer in every photograph. Eat something light before we start, and keep a straw nearby for water once the lipstick is on.
If we are also doing your mother, sisters or bridesmaids, our second artist works in a separate room so the bride’s timeline is never affected. Each family look takes about an hour.
Finally, decide who is in the room. Two or three people you trust is perfect. A crowd of relatives makes the room hot, the lighting changes as people stand in front of windows, and decisions start being made by committee.
