Why the date gets reserved so early
Most of the time, yes. But there are Saturdays in June and September that fill a year ahead, and no amount of technique fixes a full calendar. This page is what I write back to every bride, so you can plan without guessing.
A bride takes the whole morning. Not just the hour and a half in the chair: the arrival, the skin preparation, the bridesmaids, the mother of the bride, the touch-ups before you leave for the ceremony. On the busiest dates I work with my team, which is what lets me say yes to more than one wedding on the same Saturday. There is still a limit, and in summer it arrives early.
In Portugal, high season runs May to October. Saturdays in June, July and September go first. A wedding in November or February has far more room, and that is where three months of notice is plenty.
My rule is simple. As soon as you have the date and the venue confirmed, write to me. You do not need the dress yet, or the hair decided, or even an idea of the makeup. We handle that later. The date is the part you lose.
What happens when you write to me
Send me three things: the date, the venue and, if you know it, the time of the ceremony. I usually reply the same day. I confirm whether I am free, explain how I work, and if it makes sense for both of us, the date is held.
Only then do we schedule the trial. Most people assume the trial happens straight away, and it is the opposite. It happens close to the wedding, with the skin, the hair and the tone you will actually have on the day. A trial in January for an August wedding tells me very little. Summer skin is a different skin.
The trial: four to eight weeks before
The trial is not a decorative rehearsal. It is where the hard work happens, unhurried. I watch how your skin behaves after two hours, test shades against the real colour of the dress, and photograph the result with and without flash, because the photographer's camera does not forgive what a mirror forgives.
Bring references. The ones you love and, above all, the ones you hate. Knowing what you do not want saves us more time than knowing what you do. If you have already chosen earrings, a veil or hair accessories, bring those too. Gold metal and silver metal ask for different undertones in the skin, and the trial is where that gets settled.
Why four to eight weeks and not earlier? Because skin changes. A tan, a new haircut, a facial booked at the last minute. All of it alters what works. And why not later? Because I need time to adjust. Sometimes it is a different foundation, sometimes it is a lipstick shade that exists in exactly one shop. A week before the wedding there is no room left.
The wedding day: what time I arrive
Count on around ninety minutes for the bride. Bridesmaids and the mother of the bride go first, so you leave the chair as fresh as possible.
The schedule is built backwards from the ceremony. There are weddings at ten in the morning and weddings at five in the afternoon, and the arithmetic is the same: the ceremony hour, the travel time, the photographs before you leave, the bride's ninety minutes, and every person who gets makeup before her. That is where my arrival time comes from. We agree it the week before, to the minute, so that on the day nobody has to look at a clock.
One practical note. Whoever goes first should arrive with their hair already done, or at least washed and dried. Wet hair at makeup time is the easiest way to lose half an hour.
Weddings outside Porto
I come to wherever you are getting ready: at home, in a hotel or at the quinta itself. I work in Porto, Vila Nova de Gaia, Matosinhos, Braga, Guimarães, the Douro and Viana do Castelo. The further away, the earlier I leave, and that goes into the schedule from the start.
For weddings elsewhere in the country or abroad, I travel too. Worth raising the conditions in your first message, because the travel becomes part of the plan.
Frequently asked questions
What if the date is already taken?
I tell you immediately. I will not leave anyone waiting on an answer I already know is no. Where I can, I point you to a colleague I trust.
Can I book without doing a trial?
You can, but I do not recommend it. The trial prevents surprises on the one day with no time to fix them. For brides travelling in who cannot come earlier, we do the trial the day before or two days before.
How much does bridal makeup cost?
It depends on three things: whether there is a trial, how many people are getting makeup, and the distance to the venue. Tell me that and I send you a written quote, with no surprises on the day.
Do you also do the bridesmaids and the mother of the bride?
Yes, same day and same place. It helps to tell me how many in your first message, because it changes what time I start.
Do you speak English?
Yes. I work in Portuguese and English. Many of the brides I work with come from outside Portugal.
One last thing
If you are reading this with a wedding a year away, your timing is right. If it is in two months, write to me anyway. Dates open up, and I would rather tell you myself than leave you guessing.
Larissa Wendler, bridal makeup artist in Porto
References
- Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009: the European framework for cosmetic products, covering composition, labelling and safety assessment of everything applied to the skin.
- INFARMED: the national competent authority for cosmetic products in Portugal.