Many brides, especially those on a budget, make the mistake of hiring an amateur makeup artist or use the services of a friend for their bridal beauty needs, but to achieve the stunning results you desire it goes without question that you should stretch your budget and hire an experienced and talented makeup artist do the job. Only a professionally trained makeup artist will have the experience and expertise to beautify you, sculpting and transforming facial features, concealing flaws, giving you styling, dieting and well-being advice (beauty does start from within!) and using her charm and charisma to calm your nerves on your big day.

Finding The Make Up Artist That Is Perfect For You
With such an important role to play in making your wedding dreams a reality, it's essential to execute your research thoroughly to find a good bridal make-up artist and book her as soon as possible, before another bride nabs her!

We recommend you begin your search at least nine to twelve months in advance of your wedding date. Skilful make-up artists are always in demand, particularly during the wedding season and a good make-up artist may even be booked up more than a year in advance.

A good place to start would be to go through the listings in the Bridal Make Up Artists section of Your Dream Shaadi's wedding directory, collate details from bridal magazines, wedding exhibitions and ask for recommendations from friends. If you have employed a wedding coordinator for your wedding then you can also source information from them.

Most make up artists will have comprehensive websites where you can view their work and find out more about the services they have to offer and what their clients have to say about them. Makeup artists can initially be assessed on the following criteria:

• Experience and qualifications are the most important factor to consider while selecting the right person. He or she must have expertise in their field and show evidence of professional training.
• Look carefully at the photographic output of their work. A good makeup artist should be thoroughly familiar with how the camera "reads and translates" different colors and the photograph should look as stunning as the makeup application.
• Do not let your decision making be swayed by photographs taken on bridal magazine shoots. These will have been re-touched to perfection using advanced graphic design packages and are often far from a true reflection of the makeup artists actual skills. Moreover the models, clothes, accessories and stunning looks all come together to create an impressive tapestry that sometimes masks fairly mediocre makeup skills. Photographs of "Real Brides" with before and after shots should form the basis of your assessment.
• The make-up artist has to be an expert in highlighting and shading techniques to bring out your best features and minimize flaws. Corrective make-up art is a prerequisite because you need to look perfect on the most important day of your life.
• Look for recent testimonials from actual brides on the website. It's all very well choosing a makeup artist who is very skilled, but this should be backed up by excellent customer service, she should turn up on the day and have a pleasing personality; remember you will be spending your last and most probably most stressful hours of single life with her!
• Make sure that the make-up artist is up to date with latest colors and looks as well as your particular cultural traditions and the requisite look for your wedding.
• If prices are indicated on the makeup artists; website or brochure make sure these match your budget to ensure you do not waste the make up artist's time.

Confirm that the makeup artist offers hair styling services along with make-up or if she has a partner who does the same. You need to ensure you have a fully coordinated look and that your makeup and hair work together and not against each other.Enquire how long the make-up will last? Ensure that the beautician gives you a long-lasting and waterproof makeup for the long drawn ceremonies and all the sobbing at the bidai ceremony.

Enquire how many brides she will be dealing with on your wedding date. A work of art takes time to accomplish and you should not have your wedding day compromised by a makeup artist who is delayed from a previous appointment or has to rush off to another wedding. Lastly, don't forget to ask what their charges are for a makeup trial and if these can be claimed back when a booking is confirmed.